ANALYSIS: Argentina Sets Early January Start for 2026 Illex Squid Season

According to the Chamber of Argentine Potero Shipowners (CAPA), an early opening of the squid fishing season south of the 44° South parallel has been agreed, following a request from CAPA to the Federal Fisheries Council (CFP).

The CFP has decided to commence the 2026 squid (Illex argentinus) fishing season south of the 44° South Latitude parallel at 00:00 hours on January 9, 2026, for vessels that have not operated south of the 49° South parallel.

Additional staggered opening...

2025: A Pivotal Year Reordering Global Seafood Trade and Policy

The year 2025 marked a watershed in seafood trade and policy with transformative impacts felt across international supply chains, domestic regulations, and industry competitiveness. At the center was President Trump’s sweeping reciprocal tariff regime, reshaping sourcing and pricing dynamics from shrimp to crab, while high-profile regulatory actions, from the FDA's radioactive shrimp recalls to NOAA’s Marine Mammal Protection Act import bans, reverberated through global markets. Domestically, the Trump administration launched bold initiatives, including an executive order to cut regulatory burdens and a strategic roundtable...

No 2026 Deal as Russia–Japan Fisheries Talks Stall

Russia and Japan have failed to reach an agreement on fisheries for 2026. The two countries hold annual negotiations to set quotas, identify target species, and establish catch conditions. These arrangements have governed operations in the Southern Kuril Islands since 1984.

Japanese Minister Norikazu Suzuki said the prospects for further dialogue remain unclear, with Tokyo seeking a solution that protects national interests.

Contacts between the parties may continue. For Russia, the Japanese market is relatively minor in terms of imports. According to Kommersant, citing industry sources, Japanese seafood...

ANALYSIS: October Marks the Second-Highest Month on Record for EU‑UK Shrimp Imports

October proved the strongest month of the year for EU‑UK shrimp imports, according to Eurostat, with volumes up 9.2% year‑on‑year and 15.9% above the five‑year October average. Purchases totaled 72,381 metric tons, the second‑highest monthly volume on record (behind November 2021 at 72,866 MT). The surge reflects robust summer consumption that prompted substantial replacement buying and strengthened year‑end stocking. Year‑to‑date imports since January are 7.1% higher than a year earlier, confirming a positive trend across the region...

$400K Costco-Bound Lobster Shipment Hijacked in Cargo Theft

A $400,000 shipment of shelled lobster destined for Costco stores in Illinois and Minnesota was hijacked en route, with Rexing Companies claiming the theft was carried out by a driver impersonating a legitimate carrier, in what the company calls a targeted act linked to organized cargo crime rings.

Dylan Rexing, the head of Indiana-based The Rexing Companies, said his company was managing the lobster shipment from a Tauton, Massachusetts facility that was destined for the Costco locations.

“It is pretty safe to say that this...

Russian Far East King Crab Price Dropped 6% to $37.50 per Kilo at the Second Bussan Auction

The second bidding round of the year for frozen king crab from the Russian Far East took place on December 18th in Busan, South Korea. According to one trading company, 14 tons of cooked, air-blast-frozen crab (10kg fixed weight) produced in mid-November was up for bid. The winning bid (M-3L single price, EXW Busan) was $37.50/kg, 6% lower than the initial bid, and it appears that a single South Korean trading company won the entire...

Pescafácil Partners with OMARSA as Lamar Group Exits After Venezuela Turmoil

Spanish processor Pescafácil has entered a new growth phase after Ecuadorian shrimp giant OMARSA acquired shares in the company and the Llop family joined Pescafácil's board, the company announced.

The ownership change follows the departure of Venezuela's Lamar Group, which put its stake up for sale last year after political developments in Venezuela forced it to abandon shrimp farming operations. Pescafácil said Lamar had been a partner for seven years.

OMARSA, Ecuador's second-largest exporter of vannamei shrimp, has supplied Pescafácil for nearly 25 years and now takes...

Op-Ed by Ambassador Jamieson Greer: The Year of the Tariff

WASHINGTON – United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer published an op-ed in The Financial Times explaining how President Trump’s trade program is accelerating America’s re-industrialization, incentivizing domestic production with improved market access for US exports.

The full text of the op-ed is below:

The year 2025 will be remembered as the year of the tariff, regardless of one’s economic ideology. International trade is neither good nor bad — it just is. The real question is whether trade patterns serve the national interest...

Expana Publication Schedule for the 2025 Holiday Period

Expana will be observing several holidays which will impact the publication of some Expana Benchmark Prices. Daily assessments falling on these dates will not be published, while weekly assessments falling on these dates will be assessed on the last working day before these dates.

Expana's Market Insights and Market Updates will be suspended from Monday, December 22, 2024, to Friday, January 2, 2025, inclusive. Normal publishing schedules will resume on Monday, January 5, 2025.

See the publication schedule for the 2025 Holiday Period...

Cermaq Completes $1 Billion Acquisition of Grieg's Finnmark and Canadian Salmon Farming Operations

Grieg Seafood has finalized the sale of its Finnmark, Norway, and Canadian operations to Cermaq for NOK 10.2 billion (USD 1 billion) on a cash- and debt-free basis, with a normalized working capital assumption.

First announced in July 2025, Mitsubishi Corporation–owned Cermaq said the acquisition will strengthen its competitiveness in salmon farming and drive significant growth. Last week, Expana reported that Cermaq would inject fresh equity into three of its holding companies to finance the purchase...

Long John Silver’s Brings Back $6 Fish & Chicken Basket

Long John Silver’s is bringing back its popular fish baskets, harmonizing flavors from both sea and land while delivering the value customers seek. This revival features the $6 Fish & Chicken Basket for a limited time. 

"Guests have been telling us for years that our chicken is a best-kept secret," said Christopher Caudill, Long John Silver's senior vice president of marketing and innovation. "Our hand-battered chicken strips—known as Chicken Planks—are every bit as crave-worthy as our legendary fish. It's time we let that secret...

Golden King and Tanner Crab Seasons Open in SE AK Mid-Feb. 2026, GHLs Slightly Less than 2025

The six-week season of golden king crab and tanner crab in Southeast Alaska will open on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, with a slightly lower guideline harvest limit for golden king crab and a lower biomass recorded for mature tanners.    

Last summer and fall’s crab survey data produced a biomass estimate of 3.05 million lbs. of mature male Tanner crab, about 250,000 lbs. lower than the 2024 estimate of 3.30 million lbs. This puts the biomass in a conservative position...

2026 Will Be Another Strong Year for Sitka Herring

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) announced last week that the guideline harvest level (GHL) for the 2026 Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery is 35,015 tons with a forecasted weight of 156 grams, averaged across all age classes.  

The forecast is based on an estimated biomass of 233,433 tons of mature herring, a slight (6%) decrease from the year-ago forecast of 247,081 tons. 

Two new management changes were made at the Board of Fisheries meeting in late January and early February 2025 that impacted the GHL...

ANALYSIS: US Shrimp Consumption Edges Up in 2025; Costs, Inventories Shape Near‑Term Outlook

Our preliminary per‑capita consumption estimates for 2025 indicate a mild increase versus 2024, effectively a flat year in practical terms. Demand in our framework is driven by inflation‑adjusted prices (real prices), population growth and net supply, where net supply is modeled from imports and an inferred inventory “clearing” rate. Inventories are estimated using price elasticities with respect to lagged and transformed imports, applying an assumed clearing rate to approximate the product absorbed each period...

A Tale of Two Whales, How Gray and Humpbacks Face Ecosystem Change In the Pacific Arctic

Two new studies, one from Oregon State University and one from the University of Southern Denmark, show the stark differences in how gray whales and humpback whales find food in the northern Bering Sea and the Chukchi Sea of the Arctic Ocean. 

The first study “Changing the Menu: Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) Diet Switching in Senyavin Strait, Chukotka” was published in September by Marine Mammal Science with funding from the Russian Science Foundation. 

For University of Southern Denmark whale researcher...

ANALYSIS: US Lobster Market Ends Year with Modest Demand and Depressed Prices

As Christmas draws near, a wave of last-minute holiday interest has provided the live lobster market with a modest lift. For much of December, demand lagged behind seasonal expectations, marked by plentiful supply and a lack of urgency from buyers. Although this week has seen a slight improvement tied to holiday-driven orders, overall market activity remains subdued compared to typical year-end trends...

Russia Eyes Haddock and Pollock as Alternatives Amid Cod Decline

Russia continues to face declining cod catches due to low stock levels and changing climatic conditions, adversely affecting production.

To compensate, local analysts suggest increasing haddock and pollock catches as possible replacements for cod.

German Zverev, head of the All-Russian Association of Fish Producers (VARPE), told Kommersant that cod has an unfortunate history—200–250 years ago, it was the main commercial target for Russian fishermen. However, high demand combined with natural factors has led to overexploitation of cod populations in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans...