Torrential Rain, Massive Flooding Deals Blow to Peruvian Scallop Production Weeks of torrential rains and flooding in Peru are impacting scallop production in the Northern part of the country. Expectations are for Peruvian scallops supplies to be limited at least short term.According to European seafood analysts at Seafood Intelligence Portal (SIP), the flooding is hurting Peruvian scallop production. Van Herwijnen said many scallops farms in Sechura Bay are closed indefinitely, particularly those that use bottom farming systems. He said operators that use hanging rope systems have relocated production farther out to sea. The expectation is for Peruvian supplies to be tight. Meanwhile, long term damage to Peru’s production and exports remains murky. In Newfoundland, the return of cod may be signaling a shift in the food cycle that could hurt coldwater shrimp stocks. For the last decade the northern cod stock has been increasing at a rate of about 30 per cent per year. Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s 2016 stock assessment estimated its total biomass at around 300,000 metric tons. Biologists say a shift is occurring back to the traditional order of a capelin-cod dominated food chain. In other news, booming squid catches and high prices have some squid fishermen in Point Judith concerned. At issue is how the port's economy has become heavily reliant on the squid fishery. Fishermen live in a constant worry about losing their fishing grounds; they worry over changing policy and the uncertainty of finances from one year to the next. A vessel used to be able to jump from one fishery to the next, from cod to fluke to squid to herring. That no longer occurs. This is a similar problem Maine is experiencing with fishermen almost solsolelypendant on lobster. Meanwhile, Alaska's Board of Fisheries is meeting in Anchorage this week and commissioners are looking into the possibility of opening the fishery even in low abundance years.The Bering Sea Bairdi (or Tanner) crab fishery stayed closed this year, for the first time in four years. State biologists decided there were too few crab to safely harvest. But fishermen are questioning that decision. They say there were plentiful Bairdi when they were fishing for other species. Finally, in this week's Seafood News Roundup show we recap some of the major stories that we reported from this week's Seafood Expo North America in Boston. It was a busy and upbeat show with lots of traffic at Urner Barry's booth and around the show floor. We appreciate those in the industry who took time out of their schedules to meet with us. Have a great weekend and get some rest.