Five Commercial Fishermen Indicted in Illegal Alaska Halibut Harvesting Scheme

Five southeast Alaska commercial fishermen were charged by a federal grand jury for conspiring to illegally harvest halibut, in violation of the Lacey Act.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) cited court documents which alleged that commercial fishermen Jonathan Pavlik, 43, of Yakutat, Vincent Jacobson, 51, of Yakutat, Kyle Dierick, 36, of Yakutat, Michael Babic, 42, of Cordova, and Timothy Ross, 58, of Washington conspired to harvest halibut on multiple occasions between 2019 and 2023.

Documents alleged that Pavlik separately conspired with Jacobson, Dierick, Babic, and Ross...

Kodiak Skipper Convicted of Lacey Act Violations Now Facing $1.2M Fine Over Clean Water Act

Repeat offender Corey Potter, found guilty last May of illegally transporting live crab from Alaska to Washington, has now been hit with a civil penalty, on separate charges of violating the Clean Water Act, of $1.18 million.

US District Court Judge Sharon Gleason found Potter and three companies he managed — F/V Knot EZ LLC, Aleutian Tendering LLC, and Alaska Tendering Company LLC — guilty of illegally discharging oily bilge waste and imposed a civil penalty of $1,182,265 for the violations...

Highwood Harbor Names Stephen "Felzy" Felsenthal as First Chief Commercial Officer

Highwood Harbor, a seafood industry holding company, has named Stephen "Felzy" Felsenthal as its inaugural Chief Commercial Officer (CCO).

Highwood said Felsenthal brings an “impressive track record of driving business growth, fostering innovation, and delivering exceptional customer experiences across prominent seafood organizations.”

Felsenthal enters the role with over 15 years of experience in the seafood sector. He most recently served as Vice President of Sales & Global Procurement for Riverence Provisions, the largest vertically integrated trout producer in North America...

Two Days Into a Special Session, Dunleavy Issues Sweeping Reforms to Alaska State Government

On Monday, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy issued two Administrative Orders intended to improve state budget efficiencies and reform regulatory procedures. 

Administrative Order #359 begins a “statewide annual Government Efficiency Review”  of all agencies within the executive branch to identify, evaluate, and implement opportunities for greater efficiency and cost-effectiveness. 

“State revenues are contingent on the price of oil,” Dunleavy explained in the Order. This year oil revenues are falling “due to global events such as OPEC’s December 2024 decision to increase output...

Senator Cantwell Leads Bipartisan Effort to Restore NOAA’s Sea Grant Program

Last Friday, Washington Senator Maria Cantwell announced a bipartisan effort to reauthorize NOAA’s national Sea Grant Program. With sign-ons from Mississippi Republican Senator Roger Wicker, Democrat Lisa Blunt Rochester from Delaware, and Alaska Republican Dan Sullivan, the bill to reauthorize the National Sea Grant College Program was introduced in the Senate.  

After cutting funding for the Maine Sea Grant Program last March and having some of the funds restored, NOAA’s budget for 2026, released last month, defunded the national program entirely...

New Zealand’s Cloudy Bay Clams Under New Ownership

New Zealand seafood brand Cloudy Bay Clams is under new ownership led by Tony Muollo and George Manettas, both respected names from regional seafood families.

The new owners said the next chapter for the company focused on preserving its sustainable harvesting roots while expanding its presence across Asia-Pacific and North America.

“We’re excited to take Cloudy Bay Clams into its next chapter,” said George Manettas. “This brand has a legacy and we’re focused on making it more accessible to chefs and markets across the region.”

The Winding Glass: $1 Billion Tariff Hit to Shrimp Industry Will Lead to Downturn in 12 Months

The US has finalized, for now, tariff rates on the major shrimp-importing countries, and the industry is preparing for a period of significantly higher costs. 

In this column, we look back at other periods when shrimp prices rapidly rose 20% or more to predict what the longer-term impact will be on our industry and customers. 

Things don’t look good.  

We calculated tariff impacts by using full year 2024 values for the major types of shrimp imports, shell-on...

ANALYSIS: Assessing the Early Closure of Peruvian Anchovy Fishery as 82% Quota Reached

The Ministry of Production of Peru officially concluded the First Fishing Season of 2025 for anchovy (Engraulis ringens) and white anchovy (Anchoa nasus) in the North-Central Zone on July 24. This decision was informed by scientific recommendations from the Marine Institute of Peru (IMARPE) due to environmental and biological factors, which indicated an increased presence of juveniles...

Japan's H1 Fishery Products Exports Up 33% in Volume and 27% in Value

According to trade statistics released by the Ministry of Finance, seafood exports (fish and shellfish preparations and fishmeal) for the first half of 2025 (January to June) increased 33% in quantity to 281,443 tons compared to the same period last year. They increased 27% in value to 163.374 billion yen ($1.10 billion). Exports of scallops, the main product, decreased 35% to 21,817 tons, while the export value increased 32% to 39.511 billion yen ($266.78 million)...

New Seafood Accelerator "Catch+Create" Launches to Drive Product Innovation  

A new startup accelerator program was recently launched to stimulate product  innovation, market growth and economic opportunity within the West Coast groundfish sector.  

Catch+Create, developed by nonprofit Positively Groundfish, is a highly resourced, no-equity accelerator focused on supporting entrepreneurs and small businesses to develop value-added products using West Coast groundfish like Pacific rockfish, sole, lingcod, sablefish, skate and more. This first-of-its-kind program is designed to help entrepreneurs create value-added packaged products like canned fish, frozen meals, smoked fish...

Thai Union Sees Record Margin Gains, Will Leverage Global Footprint Amid 19% US Tariff

Thai Union Group announced its gross profit margin (GPM) reached an all-time quarterly high of 19.7% in Q2, along with a record for the first half of the year at 19.3%.

The company said its results reflected “exceptional resilience and continued growth in profitability” via the record-high GPM, as its earnings per share saw an 18% growth.

The GPM record was linked to a favorable product mix and raw material costs.

The group posted Q2 2025 sales...

Nissui-owned French Seafood Firm Cite Marine to Ramp Up Seafood Output with New Plant

French seafood producer Cite Marine, a company under Japanese seafood giant Nissui Corporation, acquired a new factory, the Pontivy plant of Traiteur de Paris (Cesson-Sévigné, France), on July 21.

Cite Marine is a producer and distributor of chilled and frozen fried seafood, according to a press release from Nissui. It is also the European whitefish product hub for Nissui.

As the key white fish producer for the group, Cite Marine has expanded its offerings to include a range of frozen convenience foods, such as...

Wild Alaska Pollock Industry Undertakes Two Comprehensive Economic Studies to Measure Fishery Impact

The results of the Wild Alaska Pollock industry’s two economic studies, designed specifically to measure the significant financial and infrastructure contributions of the fishery to Alaska, will be unveiled at the upcoming Wild Alaska Pollock Annual Meeting, the Association of Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers (GAPP) announced today. Renowned research firms McKinley Research and Northern Economics undertook two separate studies designed to catalogue and analyze the fishery’s tangible and intangible economic benefits...

GSA Releases Salmon Farm Standard Issue 3.0

Global Seafood Alliance (GSA) is pleased to announce the official release of its Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) Salmon Farm Standard (SFS) Issue 3.0. The standard will become effective on August 5, 2026, at which point all salmon farms must apply to Issue 3.0.

Updates have been made to make the standard more robust, including strengthened human rights requirements, stronger requirements for the protection of predator species, and stricter requirements for humane slaughter methods. This standard will also transition all salmon farms to a mandatory two-day audit duration...

ANALYSIS: Indian Shrimp Sector Faces Rising Challenges Amid Export Growth

Indian shrimp exports showed robust year-on-year growth, up 12.2% between January and May to reach 304,267 metric tons. The US remains the leading destination, accounting for 42% of shipments, while China and the EU-UK follow with 16% and 15% shares, respectively. This dependency on the US market was underscored in May, when exports reached record-high levels at 79,540 MT; volume jumped 26.7% year-on-year, as Indian suppliers accelerated shipments ahead of the expiry of the US tariff exemption...

Mitsubishi Boosts Stake in Thai Union Group to 20% in Strategic Seafood Partnership

Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) announced it has agreed to an enhanced business alliance with Thai Union Group. The deal will see MC acquire 13.81% of Thai Union’s total issued shares, increasing its stake in the firm from 6.19 to 20%.

MC highlighted the global rise in seafood demand, led by population growth and shifting consumer preferences. The company sees tuna as an item that stands out for its “widespread appeal” in both developed and emerging markets, the species that is the backbone of Thai Union’s business...

Cooke Aquaculture’s Cold Ocean Salmon Reports Mortality Events in Newfoundland

Cold Ocean Salmon, which operates under the Cooke Aquaculture umbrella, reported a trio of notices related to mortality events at its Newfoundland, Canada, salmon farming sites.

The first notice, published on the Newfoundland Aquaculture Industry Association (NAIA) website, focused on a July 22 incident that impacted 52,000 salmon on a site that houses over 500,000 fish. The site was Cold Ocean Salmon’s Northwest Cove facility near Hermitage.

According to the notice, all of which were published in line with the Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture (FFA)...