Lobster Exports to Europe Off But Asia Taking Up the Slack
North American Lobster exports to EU markets are lower this holiday season due to a strong US dollar and weak economic conditions overseas. Some US exporters suspect lobster sales to EU markets to be off as much as 25 percent in 2015. "Nobody wants to be seen with a lobster claw hanging out of their mouth when the economy is really suffering,'' said East Coast Seafood’s CEO and President Michael Tourkistas. However, exporters say an increase in Asian lobster demand has been able to offset the sales declines Europe.
A spokesperson for Thailand’s junta government denied claims made by the Associated Press’s report that said officials condoned the use of slave labor at shrimp peeling sheds. Sansern Kaewkamnerd said the Thailand’s national government had been attempting to clean up labor abuse across its seafood sector and said the AP report is not representative of working conditions across Thailand.
In other news Gulf of Alaska Pollock quotas will be up 30 percent from 2015 levels according to a decision by the NPFMC. Meanwhile, the Council adjusted the region’s cod catch down by 4 percent.
President Obama signed the federal omnibus spending bill for 2016, which included a key provision to change the legal market name of “Alaska Pollock” to just “Pollock”. “Seafood consumers across the nation gained more certainty about the source of the seafood they buy,” said Pat Shanahan, Program Director for the Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers, the industry trade association that initiated the name change.
Finally, California’s state health officials said it’s not likely for Dungeness crabs to reach the market until after the New Year. Tests show domoic acid levels in decline but state officials expect fishing delays to linger past January 1. “Things are definitely improving,” said Patrick Kennelly, chief of the Food Safety Section for the California Department of Public Health. “I unfortunately just can’t quite predict how long before it’s going to be resolved to the point we can open things up.”
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