ANALYSIS: US Shrimp Retail Prices Cool, But Trade Policy Risk Remains Unresolved

Discounted shrimp prices at retail have declined meaningfully, with feature and ad pricing running at levels not seen in some time. Estimated pounds moved reached 13.6 million in a single week, the strongest weekly print in years and a marked shift from what had been the weakest seasonal stretch since 2020...

Bristol Bay 2026 Sockeye Harvest Falls Short of Last Year, Ex-Vessel Value Surges on Higher Prices

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game released its 2026 Bristol Bay salmon season summary Tuesday, showing a smaller harvest than last year but a significantly higher fishery value, driven by stronger prices.

In the preliminary summary, ADF&G reported a commercial harvest of 30.1 million sockeye at an average ex-vessel price of $1.72 per pound, for a fishery value of $260.2 million.

That compares with the 2025 season, when fishermen caught 41.2 million sockeye...

New England Council Leaves Scallop Permit Stacking to NOAA, Pushes Northern Edge Access to December

The New England Fishery Management Council worked through a list of management priorities at its September 2026 meeting that NOAA laid out in a July 2 letter tied to Executive Order 14276, "Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness," with outcomes ranging from deferral to outright rejection ahead of a formal Council response due to NOAA by September 30.

The most consequential decision came on scallop permit stacking, which would let vessels combine multiple permits' allocations onto a single boat. Despite NOAA tasking the Council with pursuing action...

FDA Classifies Trinity Seafood Tuna Recall as Class II Over Scombrotoxin Contamination

The US Food and Drug Administration has classified a recall of fresh tuna distributed by Buckhead Meat Company, doing business as Trinity Seafood, as a Class II recall, the agency's second-highest risk designation, following the detection of elevated levels of scombrotoxin in the product.

The classification, issued September 16, formalizes a recall that Trinity Seafood, based in Lakewood, New Jersey, had already initiated voluntarily on July 24 after the New Jersey Department of Health notified the company that two samples of its tuna tested positive for high...

Thai Express Bets on Calamari as Canada's Next Premium QSR Protein

Thai Express, a Canadian quick-service chain, is betting on calamari with its latest menu item. The Montreal-founded chain has grown into one of the largest Thai restaurant concepts in Canada, with more than 300 locations worldwide.

The brand launched its first-ever Crunchy Calamari as it looks to bring a premium seafood item to more Canadians. The launch follows the company's lobster debut, which turned into one of its hottest limited-time offerings ever.

Thai Express said the success of last year's lobster launch showcased demand...

SSA Backs Ten-Year Gulf Shrimp Permit Moratorium Extension, Urges Threshold Review

The Southern Shrimp Alliance (SSA) filed comments last week supporting a proposed ten-year extension of the federal commercial shrimp permit moratorium in the Gulf, while urging an urgent examination of the moratorium's minimum permit thresholds amid a continued decline in the fleet.

As Expana reported in August, NOAA Fisheries published a proposed rule implementing Amendment 17B to the Gulf Shrimp Fishery Management Plan, which would extend the existing moratorium on new commercial shrimp permits through October 2036...

Russia Expects Barents Sea Cod Catch Recovery in Coming Years as Stocks Stabilize

Russia is anticipating a recovery in Barents Sea cod catch over the coming years as fish stocks show signs of stabilizing, according to scientists from the Polar Branch of the All-Russian Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography (PINRO).

Researchers say the negative trend of declining Barents Sea cod populations is coming to an end, with stocks expected to gradually increase starting next year.

PINRO director Konstantin Sokolov said the commercial stock of cod — one of the most important fish species in the Barents Sea — was near...

Copernus Names Jeff Milner as Managing Director Successor

Copernus Managing Director Dean Simpson will step down from his role in October after more than a decade leading the seafood business, with current Finance Director Jeff Milner set to succeed him.

The leadership change follows a period of significant transformation for Copernus, including its acquisition by Polish salmon processor Suempol in 2024 and subsequent integration into the Suempol Group.

Simpson remained with Copernus following the acquisition to support the integration and provide continuity through the transition. The company said the change will now...

Luke's Lobster Offers $20 Lobster Roll Combo for National Lobster Day

Luke's Lobster is marking National Lobster Day with a two-day promotion on its signature lobster roll, offering a quarter-pound Lobster Roll and Chips combo for $20 at participating shacks nationwide. The deal runs Thursday, September 24 and Friday, September 25 — National Lobster Day — and represents a discount from the combo's usual price of $26 to $28, depending on location.

"I grew up in Maine thinking every day could be a lobster day, so National Lobster Day always feels like something...

ICE Operation in New Bedford Targets Fish House Workers, at Least Eight Arrested

At least eight people were arrested Monday as US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents launched a major operation centered on New Bedford, Massachusetts — one of the country's largest fishing ports by landed value — according to reporting by the New Bedford Light. At least four of those arrested worked in local fish houses, according to Adrian Ventura, executive director of the Centro Comunitario de Trabajadores, an organization that hosted a meeting to connect affected families with resources.

The Light reported that a reporter witnessed an arrest near the...

UK Weighs Second Wave of Cost-of-Living Tariff Suspensions on Food, Fertilizer, and Kerosene

Amid consumer price pressure from the Middle East conflict, the UK government has moved on two fronts to suspend import tariffs on selected goods. The first package, announced April 30 and implemented June 21, 2026, removed duties on select fruits, fruit juices, pasta, couscous, and tuna which is in effect now, through December 31, 2028, according to a UK government update...

Handy Seafood Bets on "Crab Wings" Trend With New Panko-Breaded Soft Crab Portions

Handy Seafood is targeting the growing "crab wings" trend with a new labor-saving product line to help foodservice operators capture the social media momentum behind the sauced, shareable seafood dish.

The Salisbury, Maryland-based company's new Panko Breaded Soft Crab Portions are designed specifically for wing-style applications, shipped frozen, pre-cut, and pre-breaded, so operators can move them from freezer to deep fryer in three to four minutes. The company said the format reduces back-of-house prep labor while ensuring consistent portion...

QSR Tech Expectations Rise as Nearly All Consumers Weigh Digital Experience

Technology is playing an increasingly important role in where consumers choose to eat, but new research from Canopy suggests quick-service restaurants have little room for error as digital touchpoints become more embedded in the customer experience.

Canopy’s 2026 Restaurant Tech Report: Add Sauce, Hold the Friction, based on a survey of 1,007 US consumers, found that technology now influences dining choices for 94% of respondents, up from 80% in 2025. At the same time, 37% said they have abandoned an order because...

Walton Family Foundation Spotlights Baja Fishing Communities in New 'Human Nature' Series

The Walton Family Foundation has launched a new multimedia storytelling series called "Human Nature," highlighting nature-based approaches to conservation, with one segment focused on community-run fish refuges in coastal Mexico that fishers and conservation groups credit with helping depleted stocks recover over the past 15 years.

The series is part of the foundation's expanded push behind nature-based solutions, which it describes as practical approaches that work with natural systems to protect water while strengthening local economies. The effort sits within the foundation's...

Bendito Mar Becomes First Mexican Farm to Join ASC Improver Program

Bendito Mar, a Mexican cooperative that farms bivalve molluscs in Bahía Magdalena, Baja California Sur, has become the first farm in Mexico to join the Improver Programme by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), the organization announced. The move marks Bendito Mar's entry into an Aquaculture Improvement Project (AIP) designed to strengthen its environmental and social performance and move it toward eventual ASC certification.

Bendito Mar, established in 2018, is a cooperative focused on regenerative cultivation of bivalve mollusks, including oysters, Catarina scallops, chocolate clams and pen shell...

Leroy Seafood Industries Closed Processing Plant Hestvika, Offers Employees Work Nearby

The Norwegian press has covering an announcement from Leroy Seafood Industries that it plans to close down the production facility In Hitra in Hestvika to counter overcapacity and large investment needs.  All permanent employees have received offers to continue at the company's new facility on Jøsnøya, a short drive away.

“This is a heavy but necessary decision,” Roy Eide, general manager of Lerøy Seafood Industri, told MN24.

“Over time, we have seen that the development in the market and available volume do not provide a basis for...

Five Fined $19,000 for Illegal Shellfish Harvest in Campbell River, B.C.

Five recreational shellfish harvesters were fined a combined $19,000 after being convicted of illegal fishing activities in Campbell River, British Columbia, Fisheries and Oceans Canada said.

The convictions were handed down July 14 in Campbell River Provincial Court following a June 25, 2025, low-tide patrol by DFO fishery officers. Officers found the group harvesting shellfish along the Campbell River waterfront, an area closed under the Canadian Shellfish Sanitation Program (CSSP) for public health protection.

Jucy Canupin was fined $5,000 for harvesting...