Today's Main Story: Slade Gorton Sells Minority
Stake to Iceland's Samherji in Strategic Distribution Deal
Slade Gorton & Company has partnered with one of Iceland's largest seafood company's Samherji. The move expands market access for the Icelandic operator's farmed and wild caught seafood products in the US while also fulfilling Slade's goal to bolster its value-added offerings. Under the deal, Samherji will be a minority shareholder in Slade's business. The Gorton family retains majority ownership and control of the operation. “Samherji will be a great strategic fit as we are able to offer our customers more vertically integrated access to some of the most sustainably harvested and grown seafood in the world, and capitalize on growing consumer interest in where their food comes from," said Slade Gorton President & CEO, Kim Gorton.
We run two updates from Alaska's Copper River salmon season, which opened this week. On Monday night, the price per pound was $6.50 for sockeyes and $9.50 for kings. Several reports say the salmon are much smaller compared to previous seasons. Fishermen landed an estimated 25,000 sockeye and 1,400 kings in the first 12-hour opener on Monday. The take was slightly under the ADF&G's forecast but was still within range.
In other news Hanwa, whose food division is a major trader in salmon, shrimp, crab and pollock, reported a difficult year in fiscal 2015. Sales losses at the company's US seafood subsidiary, Seattle Shrimp & Seafood were credited to a decline in shrimp prices. Hanwa also reported declines in salmon and pollock roe sales volumes.
Finally, the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Power, and Oceans heard testimony about getting fisheries issues and industry stakeholders considered during the formation of a National Ocean Policy. Today's story publishes the full testimony from Meghan Lapp, the fisheries liaison for Seafreeze, the largest pelagic fish producer on the East Coast. In Lapps' view the NOP is not supposed to supersede the regulatory bodies such as the regional fishery management councils, but in reality, that seems to be happening.
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