ANALYSIS: June US Lobster Imports Fall 18% as Canadian Supply Tightens

US lobster imports totaled 58.5 million pounds in the first half of 2026, down 7.0% from 62.9 million pounds in the same period of 2025. June was the weakest month of the period, with overall volumes falling 18.3% year-over-year, driven primarily by compression in Canadian shipments and continued seasonal softness in warmwater tails...

Chile Pushes Back on US Tariffs as Salmon Industry Maps Path to Relief

Chile is mounting a coordinated diplomatic and legal response to the 12.5% Section 301 tariff the Trump administration imposed on Chilean goods on July 24 — a rate that places Chile among the highest-penalized economies in the new forced-labor framework and hits salmon, wine, timber, and fruit exports simultaneously.

The justification has drawn sharp pushback from Santiago. Chilean government ministers publicly questioned the forced-labor basis for the tariff, calling it unjust and damaging to bilateral trust, according to local media reports...

AquaBounty Eyes Data Center Future for Ohio Site

AquaBounty Technologies (NASDAQ: AQB) has expanded its strategic alternatives review for its dormant Pioneer, Ohio property to explicitly include data center and power infrastructure development opportunities — the latest twist for a company that has spent the better part of two years unwinding its salmon farming operations entirely.

The Pioneer site holds a 50 MW substation connection and a 5.25 million-gallon-per-day groundwater permit, making it a compelling candidate for data center use at a time when AI infrastructure buildout has made power-rich...

NOAA and Louisiana Partners Hypoxic Zone in Gulf Has Decreased, Thanks to Tropical Storm Bertha

Good news from federal and state scientists who have been studying the “dead zone” in the Gulf of America (formerly known as the Gulf of Mexico) for four decades: it’s decreased in size.

Researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and scientists at Louisiana State University and the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium announced yesterday that this year’s hypoxic zone is approximately 1,332 square miles, about one-fifth of what was expected, making it the 2nd smallest zone on record in 40 years of measurement...

DFO Steps Up Elver Enforcement as Harvest Climbs Toward Allowable Catch

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) says its fishery officers maintained a strong on‑the‑water and shore presence across Southwest Nova Scotia, Eastern Nova Scotia and Southwest New Brunswick this season to protect the integrity of the highly valued, tightly regulated elver fishery.

Licensed harvesters landed 8,385 kg of the 12,180 kg total allowable catch (TAC) , an increase of nearly 17% from 7,170 kg in 2025, creating added economic opportunities for harvesters. A portion of this year’s quota also supported joint scientific research between DFO...

Three Ecuadorian Shrimp Firms Denied CVD Exclusion as Commerce Sets Rates Up to 15.17%

Three Ecuadorian shrimp processors that sought permanent exclusion from the US countervailing duty order on frozen warmwater shrimp have come up short, with the US Department of Commerce issuing final results on July 31 confirming that all three received countervailable subsidies during the 2022 review period.

The final results of the expedited administrative review (Case C-331-806) cover Empacadora del Pacifico S.A. (Edpacif), Nirsa S.A./Procesadora Posorja S.A. (Proposorja), and Productos Perecibles y Mariscos S.A. (Propemar). Commerce determined net countervailable subsidy rates of 15.17%...

RFK, Jr. Hosts The Real Food Show with Chef Andrew Gruel, Starring Wild Alaska Sockeye

In the premiere episode of The Real Food Show, hosted by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. with guest Chef Andrew Gruel, wild Alaska sockeye salmon took center stage.

Kennedy launched the cooking show to demonstrate that preparing meals with real, whole-food ingredients can be healthy, delicious, and affordable. Chef Gruel — founder of the Slapfish franchise and the founder, CEO and executive chef of Calico Fish House, a casual seafood restaurant in Huntington Beach, CA — addressed an issue at the heart of many political...

US Foods Reports Record Adjusted EBITDA, 23% Earnings Growth in Second Quarter

US Foods Holding Corp. reported strong second-quarter fiscal 2026 results, with net sales increasing 4.5% to $10.5 billion, net income rising 22.8% to $275 million and diluted EPS growing 29.2% to $1.24. The company also delivered record adjusted EBITDA of $604 million, up 10.2%, while adjusted diluted EPS increased 21.0% to $1.44.

Independent restaurant case growth accelerated to 5.1%, helping drive a 1.9% increase in total case volume. Gross profit rose 8.0% to $1.9 billion, while adjusted EBITDA margin...

Consejo del Salmón Presents Sustainable Impact Report Covering Six Years of Member Data

"Six Years Measuring Our Impact: When We Measure Ourselves, We Move Forward" is the title of the sixth Sustainable Impact Report (RIS) presented by Chile's Salmon Council. The publication collects and synthesizes the social, economic and environmental contributions of its member companies: AquaChile, Australis Seafoods, Cermaq Chile, Mowi Chile, Salmones Aysén, and Ventisqueros.

The report was presented at the Aula Magna of Universidad San Sebastián's Patagonia campus in Puerto Montt, before an audience of regional authorities, academic representatives, member company executives, and stakeholders...

Santa Monica Seafood Begins Expansion of California Distribution Hub

Santa Monica Seafood has begun an expansion project at its Rancho Dominguez, California, facility, adding new cold storage, packaging and warehouse capabilities at a key distribution hub that serves customers in more than 40 states.

The project will renovate approximately 13,000 square feet within the facility, including modernizing 9,000 square feet of warehouse space to support growth in packaging, box-making, storage and distribution operations.

A central component of the expansion is a new 4,000-square-foot temperature-controlled cooler designed to maintain temperatures at 35°F...

Japanese Frozen Mackerel Exports Hit Four-Year High in June, Prices Surge on Tight Norwegian Supply

In June, the export volume of Japanese frozen mackerel rose 23% year-on-year (YOY) to 16,108 tons, marking a significant monthly total for the fourth consecutive month. This marked the first time the volume reached the 16,000-ton range in four years.

Driven by strong domestic and international demand following a sharp drop in Norwegian production, the average export price surged 50% to 258 yen/kg ($1.63/kg). This marked the third-highest price on...

Fishing Vessel Joins Trained Team to Free Injured Humpback Whale 20 Miles Off Oregon Coast

A researcher in a US Coast Guard helicopter first spotted the entangled humpback whale anchored to the bottom about 20 miles off the Oregon Coast on July 23. He could see the whale’s white pectoral flipper extended underwater and the outline of its white baleen showing a lower jaw stretched permanently open, making it unable to feed.

Hayslip reported the whale anchored by heavy fishing gear to NOAA’s West Coast Entanglement Hotline, which activates trained responders across the region...

The EU’s Own Market Advisory Council Offers Improvements to New CATCH Program

On August 4, the Market Advisory Council (MAC) of the European Commission (EC) announced recommendations calling for “… operational stabilization and strategic alignment of CATCH with the aim of ensuring proportionality, legal certainty, and market stability.”

As a stakeholder-led organization composed of representatives of the entire value chain (primary producers, auctions, processors, traders, suppliers, retailers, trade unions) and other interest groups (environmental and development NGOs, consumer groups), MAC’s comments added weight to comments made by exporting nations to the EC over its new IT program, known as CATCH...

ANALYSIS: Supply Tightening Signals Price Recovery for Norwegian Atlantic Salmon

Norwegian Atlantic farmed salmon exports through week 30 are 12.4% higher YTD, yet recent weeks show tightening availability (Figure 1). Exports declined 8.3% WOW, according to Statistics Norway, as producers approach the end of their 2024 generation harvest cycle, pressuring availability of larger fish sizes (5+ kg)...

Clearwater Scallop Shortfall Weighs on Premium Brands' Seafood Results as Parent Posts Record Q2

Clearwater Seafoods delivered a difficult second quarter, with total revenue falling $46.4 million year-on-year to $91.7 million as a combination of asset sales and weak Canadian scallop catch rates dragged on performance — even as parent company Premium Brands Holdings Corporation posted record overall results for the period ended June 27, 2026.

Three factors drove Clearwater's revenue decline: the sale of its Macduff land-based operations in Q3 2025, the divestiture of its Argentine scallop business during the latter...

VIMS Launches Survey to Measure Seafood Sector's Economic Role Ahead of Offshore Wind

The Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) is surveying shoreside seafood businesses from Massachusetts to Virginia to quantify the economic value of the coastal seafood economy ahead of possible offshore wind development.

Seafood processors, dealers, wholesalers, distributors and other first-sale seafood businesses are being asked to participate in the Seafood First Sale Value Added Survey. The effort is funded by a grant from the Science Center for Marine Fisheries (SCEMFIS), a member of the National Science Foundation’s Industry/University Cooperative Research...

Japan Fisheries Association Hosts Seafood Show Featuring Record 1,545 Booths in Tokyo August 19–21

On August 3, Miwako Takase, Executive Director of the Japan Fisheries Association, outlined the details of the 28th Japan International Seafood Show in Tokyo. The event’s theme is "Let’s Create the Future of Seafood Consumption Together." The scale of the exhibition matches the record-breaking figures of the previous year, featuring 1,545 booths, with an attendance target of 30,000—surpassing the previous year's 27,932 visitors.

According to the Minato Shimbun, the event will be held from July 19 to 21...