World's Largest Snow Crab Fishery Is Underway — Is The Market Ready For Higher Prices?

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has expressed that the current interest rates are restrictive which could potentially slow economic activity and aid in curbing inflation. Last week he suggested that a further rate increase is "unlikely," providing a positive jolt to the markets. However, Powell also stepped back from earlier indications of potential rate cuts, stating that the Fed needs to be assured that inflation is on a definite return to the target level. source: WSJ

In related economic trends, there are signs that...

The Retail Rundown: Showdown for Consumer Dollars this Mother's Day

Grocers and foodservice are preparing for a showdown with Mother's Day just a few days away. 

The upcoming holiday typically favors foodservice sales over retail as consumers celebrate their loved ones by visiting a dining establishment. According to the National Restaurant Association, 34% of consumers will dine out this Sunday, particularly during lunch and dinner. An additional 12% will order takeout or delivery.

However, retailers have a few tricks up their sleeves to get shoppers through the door by promoting deals on flowers, cards, gifts, and more. Grocers...

Thai Union Confirms In Financial Results That They Expect Red Lobster Sale To Be Completed This Year

Thai Union has released its financial results for Q1 of 2024, for the three month period ending March 31, 2024. While the report is full of wins for the seafood giant —particularly in the PetCare side of its business—all eyes are on updates regarding Thai Union’s exit from Red Lobster.

As previously reported by Seafoodnews, the company made a decision to exit its minority investment in the seafood restaurant chain in the fourth quarter of 2023.

“The combination of...

ANALYSIS: U10 Scallops Rally Ahead of Mother's Day

The Atlantic sea scallop sector has reported conflicting pressures dependent upon scallop size, affecting the market as the season closes out the second month of the 2024-2025 fishing year. Framework Adjustment 38 to the Atlantic sea scallop Fishery Management Plan has resulted in an estimated harvest of 27.4 million pounds of Atlantic sea scallops for the new season that began April 1, 2024, a 2.4 million pound increase from the previous year, marking the first quota increase since 2019.

As seasonally expected, prices began to...

Cermaq Deficit JPY 20 Billion: Consolidated Mitsubishi Corp. Profit/Loss for FY Ending March 2024

Among the consolidated results of Mitsubishi Corporation for the fiscal year ending March 2024, the Cermaq Group, a subsidiary dedicated to salmon farming, processing, and sales, faced significant challenges. The profit and loss of the group was in the red, recording a loss of 20.3 billion yen ($130.44 million), a stark contrast to the previous fiscal year's surplus of 30.8 billion yen ($197.91 million). Minato Shimbun reported that the factors contributing to this downturn were...

FDA Flags Choice Canning, 3 Other BAP-Certified Shrimp Exporters For Antibiotic-Contaminated Shrimp

India’s Choice Canning has been flagged by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for antibiotic-positive shrimp just weeks after a whistleblower accused the company of shipping antibiotic-tainted shrimp to the U.S.

The FDA recently published its seafood entry line refusals for the month of April. The government agency documented 89 entry line refusals, 15 of which (16.9%) were for shrimp related to banned antibiotics. Those 15 entry lines were split amongst four companies — one of which was the embroiled...

The Biggest Takeaways From NOAA’s 2023 Status of Stocks Report

Last week NOAA Fisheries released its annual “Status of Stocks,” a report that highlights the work that the government agency, the eight Regional Fishery Management Councils, and other partners are doing to ensure the sustainability of fisheries and fishing communities. 

As of 2023, NOAA Fisheries manages a whopping 506 stocks or stock complexes in 45 fishery management plans. Prior to last year, NOAA managed 492 stocks/ stock complexes. The latest report, an 11-page document, takes a look at the data from 2023, revealing stocks that have...

Hokkaido Surimi Production Rebounded in March after Three Months

According to the National Surimi Manufacturers Association, Hokkaido land-based surimi production in March improved due to the impact of the significant increase in pollock catch over the previous year.

According to a report by Suisan Keizai Shimbun, the production volume of pollock surimi in March was 160 tons, an increase of 12.7% compared to the same month last year, while the production of Atka mackerel surimi was only 14 tons, a 70.2% decrease. Including some other surimi, total production increased by 5.0% to...

USDA Kicks Off May With Open Purchase Requests For Alaska Pollock, Catfish, Salmon and Walleye

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) kicked off the month of May with three seafood open purchase requests.

On May 2 a bid invitation went out for a total of 392,000 lbs of catfish products for use in domestic food distribution programs. According to the document, the USDA is seeking 152,000 lbs of catfish fillets (unbreaded, raw, pkg 20/2), and 240,000 lbs of catfish strips (breaded, oven ready, pkg 4/10). Offers are due by May 9, with acceptances set to...

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...

Choice Canning Refutes FDA Refusal For Antibiotic-Tainted Shrimp

Over the weekend the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released its seafood entry line refusals for the month of April. One of the companies flagged by the government agency for shrimp contaminated with veterinary drug residues was India’s Choice Canning. However, the company is refuting those claims, revealing in documentation shared with Seafoodnews that the three shrimp lines in question that were refused entry into the U.S. were by a different company that was using Choice Canning’s name.

As Seafoodnews reported on Tuesday, Choice Canning, which has...

Alaska Legislature Rejects Dunleavy Appointee to Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission

In a tie vote on Tuesday, Alaska lawmakers rejected Mike Pocaro, who has been serving as one of two commissioners on Alaska’s Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission (CFEC) since he was appointed last summer. 

The vote was one of three other rejections among approvals for many other state board and commission appointments, by wide margins.

Pocaro, a conservative talk radio host and owner of an advertising company, was a strong supporter of Govenor Mike Dunleavy as a candidate and became part of the team running the campaign in...

Clean Seas Seafood CFO Resigns; Company Appoints David Di Blasio As New CFO

Clean Seas Seafood announced on Wednesday that its current Chief Financial Officer, David Brown, has resigned in order to “pursue an opportunity outside of the company.” Brown has served as CFO for Clean Seas for the past four years. Now, Yumbah Aquaculture alum David Di Blasio will be taking the reins as the new CFO of Clean Seas Seafood. 

“David Brown has made an outstanding contribution to Clean Seas over the last seven years, having served as our CFO for...

Lerøy Faces Escape of Estimated 14,000 Salmon

An estimated 14,000 fish are reported to have escaped a Lerøy Midt facility in Norway’s Hitra municipality. The company confirmed the escapement, with general manager Harald Larssen commenting that “this should not happen.”

“We have a vision of zero escapes, and take this very seriously,” said Larssen.

The escaped fish in question are said to weigh approximately 7.3 kilos each. The company has brought in additional resources to not only secure the pen, but also recapture as many of the escaped fish as possible. Lerøy has already deployed more than...

A Deep Dive Into Mother’s Day: Seafood Wins With Special Brunch Menus

Mother’s Day is this Sunday and the National Retail Federation reports that spending in 2024 is expected to reach $33.5 billion. While greetings cards and flowers are always at the top of the list for gift purchases, special outings round out the top three in gift categories for mom. And although “special outings” can mean anything from a concert or exhibit to brunch or dinner, we’re going to focus on the dining element of the holiday—because let’s be honest…mom doesn’t want to cook...

Russia Eyes More Active Expansion of its Fish Exports This Year 

Amid the ever tightening restrictions on the exports of Russian fish and seafood to the U.S. and the EU, Russian fish producers and regulators are looking for new foreign directions for their export supplies. As part of these plans, the All-Russian Association of Fisheries Producers (VARPE) has recently proposed the Russian agricultural regulator, Rosselkhoznadzor, to expand access to the markets of countries such as India, Chile, Peru, Argentina, and Vietnam, with a potential import volume of about 275,000 tons per...

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...