Russia to Boost Pollock Exports to EU, Domestic Demand low due to Poor Quality in Soviet Times  Russian fisherman plan to significantly increase the volume of pollock exports to the EU market over the next several years. The Russian Pollock Association said negotiations are underway with EU partners where demand for Russian pollock in Western Europe is especially high because of its use as a dietary product. The Association wants to supply 300,000-400,000 metric tons of pollock to the EU market. Russia's push to export more pollock to the EU is partially because of a lack of demand for the fish in its domestic market. This dates back to Soviet times when pollock was branded as a cheap fish with poor tasting qualities. Jeff Sedacca and his shrimp team, based in Florida, will be moving from National Fish to Guolian's US Subsidiary, Sunnyvale Seafoods reports John Sackton from the GOAL Conference in China. Both Sedacca and Pacific Andes, Parent Company of National Fish, have acknowledged the move, but neither has specified a firm timetable. "I will be moving to Sunnyvale with other members of my team, but there are still details to be worked out," said Sedacca. He also said that they would continue to support and work closely with National Fish. In other news, SeaA Inc. has revived Astoria Holdings' shuttered sardine processing business by converting its operations to process anchovies. Astoria Holdings closed its sardine-only business in 2014 after unexpectedly low catch limits were set for West Coast sardine season. The fishery was then closed in 2015 and 2016. SeaA Inc. owner Tony Kim took over Astoria Holdings' facilities and converted them into an anchovy-based operation. Kim's plan is to eventually turn the Astoria site into a year-round enterprise by branching out into other species like hake, shrimp and squid. Meanwhile, the fresh domestic, farmed catfish market is trending at record or near-record highs because of tight supplies driven by an extended period of poor production in 2016. Production slowed because a delayed spring season brought colder than normal water temperatures and wetter weather to domestic ponds. Poor output persisted into the summer months, which has kept supplies tight and pushed prices higher in the third quarter. Finally, research has confirmed that escaped farmed salmon are breeding with wild salmon and producing offspring in many rivers in Newfoundland. "We did find evidence of successful breeding between farmed and wild salmon. Approximately a third of the individuals we sampled showed evidence of hybrid ancestry," said Department of Fisheries and Oceans scientist Ian Bradbury. However, scientists studying the breeding patterns were not surprised to see interbreeding between the farmed and wild species. You can now listen to our Podcast content using the player embedded on the left-hand side of the homepage. You can also download or stream the podcast to your mobile device using iTunes, Google Play or SoundCloud. Subscribe to the podcast to get notified when new content is published. Also give us a rating and leave a comment so we can keep improving the content.