Russian Crab Producers Say New Quota Rules Will Bring Bankruptcies, Poaching  Russian crab producers say that new rules for auctioning crab quotas will lead to bankruptcies and increase poaching. Starting in 2018, Russia wants to launch a plan that will auction off crab quotas to companies that will build new fishing vessels in Russian yards. There will also be quota incentives for companies that choose to build processing plants on the Russian coasts. However, Russian fishery officials say the plan could result in large scale crab poaching and may also trigger a string of bankruptcies for current crab quota holders. Marine Harvest has split its farming management team into two sectors. One will focus on its Norwegian and Chilean operations while the other will oversee production at its facilities in Scotland, Canada, Ireland and the Faroe Islands. Per-Roar Gjerde will be promoted to COO of the Norwegian and Chilean management team. Marit Solberg will continue to be COO of all farming operations in Scotland, Canada, Ireland and the Faroe Islands. Marine Harvest said the decision to split management of its farming sectors was so the company can better address biological challenges across its operations. In other news, a Canadian court tossed out an appeal that challenged the environmental legality of AquaBounty’s genetically modified salmon egg production facility in Prince Edward Island. The appeal argued that not enough assessment was conducted to show the environmental risks that the facility could have on PEI's salmon streams. However, the court tossed out the challenge since the PEI facility will be a closed containment operation. “We welcome the decision made by the Court of Appeal. We thank the Ministries of Canada who were extraordinarily thorough and transparent in the review and approval of AquaBounty’s applications. Their decisions have now been convincingly reaffirmed in Canada’s courts,” said AquaBounty CEO Ron Stotish. Meanwhile, a court ruling in the US said climate change can be used as a reason to list species as endangered. An appeals court ruled that NMFS acted reasonably when it proposed to list Pacific bearded seals in Alaska as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act. NMFS based the claim on scientific studies that forecast the seals' winter sea-ice habitat in the Bering and Okhotsk seas off Alaskan and Russian coasts to decline severely over the next few decades. The ruling sets a precedent for other species to gain ESA protections because of climate change induced damage. Finally, The Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association, representing Bristol Bay salmon harvesters, and the Chefs collaborative, have come together to promote Bristol Bay sockeye salmon during a Colorado 'Sockeye Restaurant Week.' More than 15 chefs and restaurants in Boulder and the Denver area are participating. They are featuring wild, sustainable sockeye salmon on their menus this week along with restaurant signage and promotions. Remember to check out our latest Weekly Seafood News Video Recap, which can be viewed by clicking on the thumbnail in today's newsletter. Alternatively, the video can be viewed directly on our homepage through the embedded playlist. You can also listen to Seafood News content through our podcast channels available to iPhone and Andriod users through iTunes, Google Play or SoundCloud.