ANALYSIS: Raw Material Scarcity Drives Skipjack Tuna Prices to Near All-Time Highs

The latest data from the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) show that cumulative yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) landings in the Eastern Pacific Ocean (EPO) from January to August 2026 remained stable, down only 73 mt year over year (YOY). Mexico leads yellowfin landings with a 41% share, followed by Ecuador with 22%...

NOAA Signals Lower Right Whale Mortality From US Gear; Maine Lobstermen Welcome Shift

NOAA Fisheries has postponed the December meeting of its Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team to March 2027. Preliminary analysis suggests right whale deaths and serious injuries from US commercial fixed-gear fisheries, including the lobster and Jonah crab fleets, will come in substantially below the 2022 estimates, the agency said Nov. 5. The Maine Lobstermen's Association (MLA) called it a major shift in federal whale policy...

ASMFC Board Cuts Atlantic Menhaden Catch Limit 34% by 2028, Lowers Bay Cap

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's (ASMFC) Atlantic Menhaden Management Board adopted reductions to both the coastwide total allowable catch (TAC) and the Chesapeake Bay Reduction Fishery Cap. The Board set the 2027 TAC at 170,000 MT and the 2028 TAC at 155,000 MT, a 17% reduction from the 2026 TAC and a 34% reduction from the 2025 TAC over the next two years, ASMFC said.

The decision represents a compromise between the positions of environmental groups and Virginia-based Ocean Harvesters. The company's union workforce accounts...

Expana's Weekly Top 10

Global commodity markets continue to navigate shifting supply dynamics, changing trade policies and uneven demand across sectors. From rising agricultural input costs and evolving protein markets to mounting trade pressures and industrial price movements, the latest developments highlight the challenges facing producers, suppliers and buyers as the industry heads toward the end of the year.

Global Commodity Markets and Industry Developments: Agricultural and Protein Markets

Expana Exclusive: India’s Animal Feed Industry Faces Rise in Feed Prices amid Corn Shortages by Nupur Gill

India’s animal feed industry is facing rising costs...

Workplace Holiday Party Budgets to Rise 13%, with Food Key to Employee Turnout

US companies are increasing spending on workplace holiday celebrations this year, with food and catering expected to play a central role in driving attendance, according to a new report from ezCater. The food technology platform’s 2026 Workplace Holiday Party Report found that holiday party budgets are projected to increase 13% on average this season. Nearly all planners surveyed (96%) said they expect to spend as much as or more than they did last year.

Employee interest in the events is also...

High Liner Q3 Adjusted EBITDA Nearly Triples on Tariff Refunds; Umios Deal Set for Dec. 15 Vote

High Liner Foods said third-quarter sales rose 15.8% to $288.0 million as volume climbed 5.9%. Adjusted EBITDA jumped 173% to $41.5 million, but most of the gain came from $21.8 million in refunds of IEEPA tariffs the company paid earlier. The results come two weeks after High Liner agreed to be acquired by Tokyo-listed Umios Corp., and one day before the company set a Dec. 15 shareholder vote on the deal.

The Nova Scotia-based frozen seafood...

Ecuador Shrimp Sector Links Mangrove Restoration to Sustainability Goals

Ecuador’s shrimp industry is looking to bring mangrove restoration and more sustainable farming practices together through a new initiative targeting 250 hectares of mangrove recovery on shrimp farms by 2030.

The Mangroves for Climate project, led by the Sustainable Shrimp Partnership (SSP), the National Chamber of Aquaculture (CNA) and Conservation International Ecuador (CI-Ecuador), also aims to advance certified production practices across 20,000 hectares of shrimp farms. The restoration target is expected to deliver an estimated reduction of 112,870 metric tons of CO₂...

ANALYSIS: US Shrimp Wholesale Declines Reach Retail Slowly, and Only in Part 

Wholesale shrimp prices have declined since late November 2025, a period of roughly a full year. Retail prices have also moved lower, but by a smaller amount.

Part of the explanation is that pass-through from wholesale to retail has historically been slow, and it differs by direction. Expana ran the relationship monthly back to 2012 for frozen and fresh shrimp. It measured average moves over time rather than week to week, and split the results by whether wholesale was rising or falling...

ANALYSIS: Live Lobster Prices Under Pressure Ahead of Holiday, Chinese New Year Demand Test

The live lobster market continues to move at a measured pace, with buyers limiting purchases to immediate needs and showing little interest in building positions. Improved Maine catches and expanding Canadian fall production have added supply at a time when both live and processor demand remain restrained, shifting leverage toward buyers and pressuring prices across the complex...

UW-FRI Forecasts 53.4 Million Sockeye Run for Bristol Bay in 2027, 35.6 Million Catch

Four days after the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) issued its forecast of a 49.31 million sockeye run for Bristol Bay in 2027, the University of Washington's Fisheries Research Institute (UW-FRI) released a larger one. Its run is about 4 million fish bigger, and its harvest is about 1.6 million bigger.

"This forecast is 12% lower than the recent 10-year average (61 million) and 5% higher than the recent 20-year average (51 million) of observed sockeye runs...

US Indictment Alleges Cocaine Smuggled in Ecuadorian Seafood Shipments

US prosecutors say a Manta-based seafood exporter owned by a prominent Ecuadorian political family was used to smuggle cocaine in shipping containers of tuna. The allegations are in a Southern District of New York indictment unsealed Nov. 5 against five Ecuadorians. They include a former National Assembly member and the son of a former president.

The charges are against individuals. The company is not named as a defendant in the DOJ's release, which calls it "a major Manta-based seafood company...

FMI Research: Holiday Shoppers Put Family Meals First & Lean on Grocery Loyalty Programs to Save

Holiday food remains the centerpiece of the season, and shoppers are protecting it. According to U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends 2026: Holidays, released today by FMI – The Food Industry Association, 45% of shoppers are extremely or very concerned about rising prices for holiday foods, up 8 points from fall 2025. Yet shoppers say they would rather cut back on holiday clothing, décor or events than scale back their holiday feast, and many are turning to their grocery store’s loyalty program to make the math work.

Shoppers also report feeling more in control of their grocery budgets. The share reporting a lot or some control over...

FDA Warns Minh Phu's US Importer Over Shrimp Ring Cocktail Sauce Verification Gaps

The US Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning letter to California importer Mseafood Corp., saying it failed to verify the safety of the cocktail sauce packed with its shrimp ring products.

The letter, dated Aug. 21, was posted by FDA on Nov. 10. It followed an April 20-28 inspection of the company's Fountain Valley, CA, facility under the Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP). That program requires US importers to confirm that imported food meets US safety standards...

Haaland World Cup Campaign Lifts Norwegian Salmon Awareness in US, China; Germany Lags

The Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC) says its World Cup campaign with soccer star Erling Haaland sharply raised awareness of Norwegian salmon in the US and China, but had little effect on buying preference in Germany.

Haaland became a Norwegian seafood ambassador in 2024. The NSC ran paid campaigns around this summer's FIFA World Cup, which marked Norway's men's team's first appearance in the tournament in the partnership's run...

Dr. Wilson Laney Receives Award for Outstanding Contributions to Atlantic Coast Fisheries

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is pleased to announce Dr. Wilson Laney, formerly with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, as the recipient of the Captain David H. Hart Award, the Commission’s highest honor recognizing outstanding individual contributions to marine fisheries along the Atlantic coast.

Dr. Laney is being recognized for more than three decades of exceptional service to Atlantic coast fisheries science and interstate fisheries management. Throughout his career, he has been a dedicated scientist, collaborator, mentor, and advocate for...

Chile Truckers' Fuel Strike Hits Shipping Routes, Putting Salmon Logistics on Watch

Chilean truckers began a national strike Tuesday over diesel costs. Organizers say more than 4,000 trucks are stopped along routes from Arica in the north to Puerto Aysén in the south, according to ADN Radio's live coverage. Aysén is one of Chile's salmon-farming regions.

Truckers are blocking stretches of Route 5 North and South and Route 68. Blockades have been reported in the Tarapacá, Maule, Biobío, La Araucanía and Metropolitan regions. Interurban buses also cut Route 5 South at San Bernardo...

NMFS Proposes Reopening Pacific Remote Islands Monument Waters to Commercial Fishing

The Trump administration on Monday proposed a rule to open the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument (PRIMNM), which environmental groups call the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument, to commercial fishing. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) proposed rule was published in the Federal Register on Nov. 9 and covers the monument expansion, US waters 50 to 200 nautical miles (nmi) around Johnston Atoll and Wake and Jarvis Islands. Comments are due Dec. 9...