ANALYSIS: Chilean Salmon Market Driven by Fewer Arrivals, Higher Costs, and Stiffer Competition

Fresh Chilean Atlantic salmon fillet prices have established themselves at meaningfully elevated levels through 2026, with multiple structural shifts converging to push pricing well above recent seasonal norms. The current mid-price for 3-4 lb fillets of about $6.50/lb represents a gain of roughly $1.22/lb — or about 23% — versus the same period one year ago, when the market traded near $5.28/lb. The current level also sits approximately 15% above the three-year seasonal average for this time of year, suggesting...

Red Lobster Brings Back Endless Shrimp for Limited-Time Run

Red Lobster is bringing back its Endless Shrimp promotion for a limited time, betting that strong customer demand can once again turn the long-running offer into a traffic driver, this time with tighter operational controls.

The dine-in-only promotion, available now, lets guests mix and match five shrimp preparations throughout the meal.

"Our guests were thrilled to have Endless Shrimp back this spring and made it clear they wanted more — so we listened," said Damola Adamolekun, CEO of Red Lobster. "We proved we could...

Eight Ecuadorian Shrimp Plants Back in China's Market After Two-Month Sulfite Standoff

China has restored import access for eight Ecuadorian shrimp processing plants suspended since June, marking the first concrete sign of progress in a dispute that has cost Ecuador's shrimp sector tens of millions of dollars and drawn urgent diplomatic attention from both governments.

According to Diario Expreso, China's General Administration of Customs reinstated the eight facilities effective August 14, 2026 — roughly six weeks after restrictions were first imposed following a change in China's sodium metabisulfite testing methodology that took effect June 30...

Commerce Raises Final Antidumping Rates on Vietnamese Pangasius

The US Department of Commerce has finalized significantly higher antidumping duty rates for Vietnamese frozen pangasius fillet exporters, closing out the 21st administrative review of an order that has governed the trade for more than two decades — and delivering a sharper outcome than the preliminary results suggested.

The final results, published in the Federal Register on August 13 (91 FR 52286, Doc No. 2026-16553), cover the period of review (POR) from August 1, 2023 through July 31, 2024. Commerce determined that mandatory respondents Bien Dong Seafood Co., Ltd...

USDA's Office of Seafood Joins UMaine's Local Catch Network to Connect Industry With Federal Program

The US Department of Agriculture's Office of Seafood, now four months old, has signed an agreement with the University of Maine's Local Catch Network to help connect fishing communities with federal programs and services — and to learn from the industry about what it actually needs.

The partnership is designed as a two-way exchange: the Office of Seafood gains direct outreach into fishing communities and seafood businesses that could benefit from USDA programs, while the industry gains a clearer picture of what the office can...

KIME Akva Becomes Second ASC-Certified Cod Producer

KIME Akva AS, a Norwegian seafood company specializing in fully integrated, sustainably farmed Atlantic cod, has announced it has received Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) certification, becoming the second cod producer to achieve the standard.

In a statement shared on LinkedIn, the company said the certification could help expand its market opportunities.

"The ASC logo on the packaging on the store shelf opens new doors to markets that require documentation that our fish is produced in a way that safeguards quality, welfare, biodiversity and...

ANALYSIS: US Scallop Season Runs Ahead of Pace but Smaller Counts Weigh on Pricing

The 2026–27 domestic sea scallop season is tracking ahead of the prior two years, with cumulative landings reaching 14.18 million lbs through July — representing 83.1% of the 17 million lb Annual Projected Limit. Monthly volumes followed a typical seasonal pattern: May reached 4.52M lbs, June came in at 3.63M lbs, and July moderated to 2.15M lbs, slightly below last year's July result but keeping the season ahead on a year-to-date basis compared to both 25-26 (11.97M lbs) and 24-25 (10.96M lbs)...

Annual Tuna Closure Hits Eastern Pacific — Routine, But Timed as Prices Stay Elevated

The Eastern Pacific Ocean purse seine tuna fishery is in its annual closure period under rules set by the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC), the multilateral body that manages tuna and other fish stocks across the region. The closure applies to large purse seine vessels targeting bigeye, yellowfin, and skipjack tuna and is a standard conservation measure in place for years.

For 2026, the closure runs 64 days—eight days shorter than the 72-day closure in prior years —following a resolution adopted...

Russia Ramps Up Seafood Exports in Push for Additional Revenue

Russia is stepping up seafood exports this year as part of a broader effort to generate additional revenue for the state budget.

Shrimp is a particular focus. Russian shrimp exports reached more than 5,000 MT in the first half of the year, valued at approximately $76 million — up 17% year-on-year, according to the Russian federal export center Agroexport. South Korea is the largest buyer, accounting for $57 million of that total, with China and Japan also among the top destinations...

ANALYSIS: India’s Shrimp Exports in June Reach Second‑Highest Monthly Volume

Indian shrimp exports hit the second‑highest monthly volume in June after a gradual build since the start of the year. According to the Indian Directorate General of Commercial Statistics, exporters shipped 79,884 metric tons in June, up 10.1% m-o-m and 6.4% y-o-y. June revenue was 50.27 billion INR, a 13.1% increase y-o-y; converted to USD, the y-o-y rise is reduced at +2.4% (529.6 million USD)...

Ode Names Marcy Bemiller Commercial Director to Drive Americas Expansion

Atlantic cod producer Ode has appointed Marcy Bemiller as Commercial Director as it steps up expansion in the Americas ahead of a broader US market launch this fall.

Bemiller will lead regional commercial strategy, bringing more than 30 years of experience in seafood management, logistics, sales, marketing and international trade. She joins the company from Candor Consulting LLC and Candor Seafood, where she spent the past decade advising global seafood clients across marketing, sales and logistics.

"Over the years, I’ve had many...

Baltic PE Giant INVL Bets on Fish Processing with Dual Lithuanian Acquisition

INVL Private Equity Fund II, one of the leading private equity funds in Central and Eastern Europe, has signed agreements to acquire two Lithuanian fish processors — Nordian Group and Norvelita — in a deal that will create one of the largest fish processing groups in the region, with combined annual revenues of approximately EUR 200 million ($232 million).

The acquisition, announced August 17, is subject to approval from the Lithuanian Competition Council and is expected to close in the coming months. Financial terms were not disclosed...

State Department Launches $2M Initiative to Combat Forced Labor, IUU Fishing in Supply Chains

The US Department of State's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL) is seeking a single NGO or institutional partner to run a nearly $2 million program targeting forced labor and illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing across global seafood supply chains, with a focus on East Asia, the Pacific, and the Western Hemisphere.

The funding opportunity — formally titled "Ensuring Resilient Seafood Supply Chains: Countering Forced Labor and any Associated Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing" (DFOP0019538) — was posted August 6, 2026, with applications...

ANALYSIS: July US Shrimp Inventory Estimated at 376M lbs — Above Trend but Within a Manageable Range

With July imports estimated at 167–169 million lbs on a customs-model basis, end-of-July inventory is projected at approximately 376 million lbs — roughly 5.6% above the pre-pandemic ETS trend line, which serves as a demand-consistent baseline. At the export-seasonal model's midpoint of 183 million lbs, that gap widens to approximately 6.6%. A 5–8% overhang above trend represents a soft supply bias, not a structural imbalance. The July figure is worth contextualizing...

AGRIMINGOLD First in Ecuador to Move from ASC’s Improver Program to Full Certification

Ecuadorian shrimp producer AGRIMINGOLD S.A. has become the first company to transition from Aquaculture Stewardship Council’s (ASC's) Improver Programme to full ASC certification, marking a milestone for both the producer and the ASC improvement pathway.

Last year, AGRIMINGOLD became the first farm in Ecuador and the first producer in Latin America to enter ASC’s Improver Programme through an Aquaculture Improvement Project (AIP).

According to an Expana report, the project initially covered a 135-hectare Pacific white shrimp farm in El Oro Province...

Dungeness Crab Price-Fixing Suit Discloses $263M Damages Claim Against Pacific Seafood, Defendants

Plaintiffs in the Dungeness crab antitrust lawsuit targeting Pacific Seafood Group and dozens of other West Coast seafood buyers have publicly disclosed for the first time that they estimate total damages at $263 million — a figure that could reach approximately $789 million under federal antitrust law, which allows courts to award triple damages in price-fixing cases.

The disclosure came in an August 11 filing in the US District Court for the Northern District of California...

The Kingfish Company Reports Positive H1 EBITDA as Sales, Margins Improve

The Kingfish Company, a sustainable land-based producer of yellowtail kingfish, on Friday reported preliminary, unaudited first-half 2026 financial results, with operational EBITDA returning to positive territory as profitability improved across the business.

The company said stronger sales volumes, higher revenue per kilogram and lower farming costs drove the improvement in the first six months of the year. Sales volume rose 13% to 1,470 metric tons from 1,301 tons a year earlier, while revenue increased 16% to €19.8 million...