2024 Snow Crab Landings Update For NL, Gulf and Maritimes Region As of May 6

More than 75% of the snow crab quota in the Gulf of St. Lawrence has been landed. 

According to the latest landings data from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), 76.45% of the total allowable catch (TAC) in Area 12 has been landed as of May 6. The initial quota for Area 12 — including traditional fleet (01), First Nations (02) and New Access (03) — was set at 22,236.416 t and revised to 21,756.074 t. The season opened April 1 and...

Norwegian Snow Crab Sees Strong Growth in April, But King Crab Struggles

The Norwegian Seafood Council released its latest data for April, revealing that the country exported seafood worth NOK 13.9 billion last month; a 7% increase compared to April 2023. 

“The value of exports has never been higher in April than this year,” commented Christian Chramer, CEO of the Norwegian Seafood Council. “The growth is largely due to the Norwegian krone, which has weakened slightly against the euro and the U.S. dollar compared with April last year.”

Chramer also noted that this past April saw increased...

ANALYSIS: Two Different Conclusions to This Year's Stone Crab Season

The 2023-2024 stone crab season has concluded, showing varied results compared to the last two years depending on size. Medium and large sizes ended below the closing prices of both 2022 and 2023. The past few months saw prices on large averaging around $32.00, marking a 5.8% and 8.5% decrease compared to 2023 and 2022 respectively. However, prices remained slightly above the five-year average of $31.17 by 2.7%. Market observers attribute this to increased landings of...

Spend Plan for Oregon's $7 Million Salmon Fishery Disaster Funds is Ready for Review

Funds for salmon disasters from six years ago are finally almost ready for distribution in Oregon.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife announced this week that a total of $7,050,722 is available to address poor performance of Oregon's ocean commercial salmon fisheries for 2018, 2019 and 2020. This includes impacts to commercial fishermen, processors, and the fishing ecosystem and environment.

The "Oregon Spend Plan," vetted through NOAA Fisheries and the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, is now...

ANALYSIS: 2024 Buying Opportunites Inch Ahead of 2023 for Farmed Salmon

The farmed salmon market at retail has seen the average retail pricing starting to tick above the 3-year average. The last two weeks at retail, the average retail price was 5.6 and 8.4 percent higher than the 3-year average respectively. In addition, the number of buying opportunities or retail features has also increased; levels in the last three weeks have been above the 3-year average.

This is in contrast to one of the lowest buying opportunity weeks about...

ANALYSIS: Fresh Tilapia Prices Rise as Imports Fall

There was a notable decrease in the total import volume of fresh tilapia fillets in February 2024 compared to January 2024, with volumes dropping from just under 4.1 million pounds to 3.2 million pounds, a 21.9% decline. Year-over-year, the decline is even more pronounced at 28.1%, with February 2023 volumes at 4.4 million pounds. This indicates a significant contraction in import volumes over both a monthly and yearly basis.

The year-to-date numbers running January through February show a similar trend, with a decline of...

BOEM Announces Offshore Wind Leasing Schedules This Year for Oregon and Gulf of Maine

The industrial offshore wind steamroller keeps advancing - this time off both Oregon and Maine. Federal agencies announced Tuesday two proposals for offshore wind energy auctions that have the potential to generate more than 18 gigawatts of energy.

The announcement is part of the Administration’s commitment to expand offshore wind opportunities, building on investments made by President Biden's Investing in America agenda to develop a clean energy economy, create good-paying jobs for American workers, and make communities more...

March Sales of Salmon Roe Products at Tokyo Central Wholesale Markets

Lower unit prices of salted herring roe resulted in a sales volume increase at Tokyo Central Wholesale Markets. Prices of salmon roe in particular fell significantly. However, items with sales volumes that remained at the same level as the previous year or had increased prices, declined.

Sujiko Salted Salmon Roe

Last year’s high prices of Sujiko salted salmon roe have been corrected considerably, with the price stabilizing at around 2,600 yen/kg ($16.57/kg) at the beginning of 2024. In March, the price was...

Eight New Members Named to NOAA’s Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee

Late last month Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo appointed eight new members of NOAA’s main advisory committee on fisheries issues — four from Alaska and the West Coast, two from the Gulf Coast, one from the East Coast, and one from Ohio. The eight will join 13 others bringing membership up to the maximum of 21 advisors.

The eight new members of the Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee (MAFAC) are: 

• Kristina Alexander, Corpus Christi, Texas: Endowed Chair for Marine Policy and Law, Texas A&M University; Harte Research Institute for Gulf of ...

ANALYSIS: March U.S. Shrimp Imports Move Higher

In data released today, U.S. shrimp imports continued to move higher year-over-year behind a significant surge from the top two trade partners. As Urner Barry Seafood market reporters Gary Morrison and Jim Kenny report, total March imports were 139.489 million pounds, compared to 129.469 million pounds in 2023. India (+24.6%), Ecuador (+24.6%), and Vietnam (+39.0%) all gained. These positive numbers shifted year-to-date figures to the upside for those three countries as well...

ANALYSIS: Gulf Quota Reaches 72% Caught, Newfoundland Reaches 15% Caught for Snow Crab

Area 12 in the Gulf of St. Lawrence has passed 70% of their quota caught. According to landings data from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, 72.86% of the quota has been caught as of May 2. The initial quota for Area 12 — including traditional fleet (01), First Nations (02) and New Access (03) — was set at 22,236.416 t and revised to 21,756.074 t. The season opened April 1 and reporting as of May 2 shows that 17,049.903 t has been landed with...

ANALYSIS: March U.S. Shrimp Imports Move Higher

In data released today, U.S. shrimp imports continued to move higher year-over-year behind a significant surge from the top two trade partners. Total March imports were 139.489 million pounds, compared to 129.469 million pounds in 2023. India (+24.6%), Ecuador (+24.6%), and Vietnam (+39.0%) all gained. These positive numbers shifted year-to-date figures to the upside for those three countries as well. Indonesia (-30.0%) and Thailand (-25.7%) shipped less rounding out the top five.  Mexico (-31.8%) and Argentina (-28.8%), while shipping less, were...

Peltola Introduces Bristol Bay Protection Act, Permanently Protecting the Area from Pebble Mine

Alaska’s sole representative in the U.S. House of Representatives Mary Peltola introduced the Bristol Bay Protection Act yesterday to codify last year’s Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to veto the Pebble Mine, into law.

The proposed open-pit copper-gold-molybdenum mine, EPA said, would harm a fragile ecosystem that includes more than 8 miles of documented salmon streams, more than 90 miles of additional streams that support the salmon habitat, and more than 2,000 acres of wetlands in the Bristol Bay region of...

The Retail Rundown: Maximizing May’s Buying Occasions

The grocery sector is maximizing several buying occasions this month as the change in weather and outdoor grilling season breathes new life into the meat case.

May brings about a seasonal shift as daily life bustles with spring activities like sports and outings—boosting the supermarket's convenience and snack food sections. Busy families will also frequent the deli counter more often and turn to quick dinners and frozen options for weekday meals.

Retailers are currently highlighting holiday items for Cinco de Mayo this Sunday. The upcoming holiday, which commemorates the anniversary of Mexico’s...

Russia Begins Preparations for 2025 Salmon Fishing Season

Russia has begun preparations for the 2025 salmon fishing season. According to preliminary forecasts made by Rosrybolovstvo during the recent Far Eastern Scientific Council in Vladivostok, the catch of Pacific salmon is expected to reach about 320,000 tonnes.

“All the work will be carried out as in previous years. Once again I want to say that 320,000 tonnes is still a preliminary forecast. I think it will increase,” said Ilya Shestakov, the head of Rosrybolovstvo. 

Of the 320,000 tonnes, 192,900 will account for pink salmon, while chum salmon will account for...

Maruha Nichiro Estimates Worldwide Surimi Production in 2023 Reached 800,000 Tons

Ryota Masaki, General Manager of Maruha Nichiro's North American Division, delivered a compelling speech on April 24 after the Fish Protein Health Research Group general meeting in Minato-ku, Tokyo. He shared a company estimate that the world's total surimi production reached 800,000 tons in 2023. Masaki emphasized the dynamic changes in the supply and demand side of surimi, particularly the rapid increase in the production of Russian Pollock surimi, which is primarily imported into China. 

Consumption of Russian Pollock Surimi Soars in China

Masaki provided detailed...

ANALYSIS: Gulf Quota Reaches 72% Caught, Newfoundland Reaches 15% Caught for Snow Crab

Area 12 in the Gulf of St. Lawrence has passed 70% of their snow crab quota caught. According to landings data from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, 72.86% of the quota has been caught as of May 2. The season out of Newfoundland and Labrador continues with 15% of the 57,118 M.T. quota caught...