American Seafoods looks forward to better year on pollock in 2014

SEAFOOD.COM NEWS   March 7, 2014

Economics of Lent: Fish on Friday gaining popularity with 20% increase in 3 years says Food Writer

Jane Lear was a food writer for Gourmet Magazine for 20 years.

Collapse of insurance for Mexican shrimp farmers another hurdle for production this year

SEAFOOD.COM NEWS [El Economista / Seafoodnews]

Acidification is melting shellfish

SEAFOOD.COM NEWS [Fish Factor] by Laine Welch - March 7, 2014

Lobster was the main event at last week's Maine Fishermen's Forum

SEAFOOD.COM NEWS March 7, 2014 - 

The T-shirts said it all - "Commercial Fisherman: Proudly Feeding America." "Maine Coast Fishermen's Association, Together We Persevere." "Fish Forever." There was an aura of feistiness at the 39th Maine Fishermen's Forum last weekend, as fishermen of all stripes, government officials, environmentalists and business people came together to discuss the current state of fishing in New England.

Underlying the discussions was a pervasive recognition that the western Atlantic Ocean is inexorably changing as the world's climate grows warmer.

Albertsons parent Cerberus is buying Safeway for more than $9 billion

SEAFOODNEWS.COM March 7, 2014

Albertsons is making a play for the top spot in the U.S. grocery industry with the purchase of rival Safeway for more than $9 billion in cash and stock.

Safeway, now the second-largest chain behind Kroger Co.,  owns the Vons and Pavilions brands in Southern California. With the purchase, Albertsons would operate more than 2,400 stores, compared with Kroger's 2,640.

Board members of Safeway, based in Pleasanton, Calif., unanimously approved the transaction, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter, assuming it passes muster with antitrust regulators.

Pacific tuna nations say foreign fleets, particularly China's, are pushing them to brink of collapse

SEAFOOD.COM NEWS March 7, 2014 

Tuna fishing nations in the Pacific say their industry is close to collapse because they can no longer compete with the growing number of foreign fleets fishing in their waters.

The Western and Central Pacific has the world's largest tuna fishery, worth an estimated $7 billion a year.

But the Pacific countries say their local industry is in crisis and they are being fished out of their own market.

"Their fuel is subsidised, their boat building fees are subsidised by their governments, that's an unfair advantage as they come here to Fiji with the local boats that don't have fuel subsidies," Robert Matau from the Suva-based Islands Business magazine said.

California's Klamath River salmon run estimate falls short, but good enough for commercial fishing

SEAFOOD.COM NEWS March 7, 2014

Klamath River salmon runs fell short of predictions but still met requirements for commercial and sport fishing in 2013. Predictions for the 2014 Klamath River salmon run aren't available yet, but scientists estimate surplus numbers will be considerably less than last year.

According to Sara Borok, a scientist for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), 179,541 salmon entered the Klamath River and its tributaries in 2013. Of those, 165,125 were adults and 14,416 were 2-year-old males, known as "jacks."

"It's still an above-average run," she said. "We did good; it just wasn't as big as projected."

Potential big reduction in Newfoundland inshore shrimp quota may create huge controversy

SEAFOOD.COM NEWS by John Sackton  March 6, 2014

Alaska salmon permit values drift upward

SEAFOOD.COM NEWS  [KLDG]  by Mike Mason - March 7, 2014

The so-called California “sardine crash” isn’t anything of the sort

Tentative deal will lift Russian ban on Vietnamese pangasius shipments starting in April

SEAFOOD.COM NEWS [Thai News Service] March 7, 2014

Vietnam's pangasius fish will likely to be shipped to Russia once more in April, thanks to the efforts of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers.

The association said Russia has agreed to remove its ban on tra fish exported by Vietnamese enterprises, which was imposed on January 31.

The ban came after an inspection team from Russia visited eight tra fish processing plants in Vietnam and found some of them falling short of anti-bacteria requirements.

Black Box: February was another challenging month for restaurant sales

SEAFOOD.COM NEWS March 7, 2014 - 

The year continues to be disappointing for the restaurant industry as February again resulted in negative same-store sales, according to The Restaurant Industry Snapshot released this week by Black Box Intelligence and People Report.

Same-store sales for restaurants fell 0.7 percent during February, which is a small, 0.2-percent improvement from the 0.9-percent decrease reported for January. February is the third consecutive month in which this key metric has been negative — something that hadn’t occurred in more than three years.

Don Giles and Dennis Guhlke return to salmon industry in deal to take over Icicle's Chilean business

SEAFOOD.COM NEWS by John Sackton   March 5, 2014

Fishmeal prices up in Thailand, in sign shrimp farm demand is improving

SEAFOOD.COM NEWS  March 6, 2014

Shell-on shrimp shipments carry overall increase in US imports in January

SEAFOOD.COM NEWS  - March 7, 2014

US shrimp imports were up 4.1% overall in January, versus the same month in 2013.  Shell-on shrimp imports helped drive the increase in US shipments in the year's first monthly import snapshot.

Total shrimp imports to the US were up 4.1 percent in January compared to year-ago levels to 103.1 million pounds.

Ak Governor Parnell nominates Simon Kinneen to succeed Eric Olsen on North Pacific Council

SEAFOOD.COM NEWS   March 7, 2014

House holds hearing on exempting commercial fishing vessels from vessel discharge requirements

SEAFOOD.COM NEWS March 7, 2014  

The Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the U.S. House of Representatives held a hearing on March 4 on Maritime Transportation Regulations: Impacts on Safety, Security, Jobs and the Environment: Part II.

U.S.Congressman Frank A. LoBiondo (NJ-02), a senior member of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, applauded inclusion by the Committee of his amendment (co-sponsored by Rep. Rick Larsen of WA State) to place a permanent moratorium from Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), state regulations and fines governing incidental discharges on commercial fishing and charter fishing vessels regardless of size, and all other commercial vessels less than 79 feet.

Mackerel talks collapse makes North Sea whitefish negotiations more difficult for Scots

SEAFOOD.COM NEWS March 7, 2014 - 

Fishermen were left in limbo last night after crunch talks aimed at ending the “mackerel war” collapsed without a deal being struck.

Hopes had been high that three days of discussions in Edinburgh would produce an international agreement on annual north-east Atlantic quotas for the Scottish fleet’s most valuable catch.

But failure by the EU, Norway, Iceland and Faroe to reach a settlement means the four-year dispute will continue to rage – putting livelihoods at risk.

Crucially, the impasse threatens the chances of a satisfactory deal for the Scottish white fish fleet in other talks taking place in the capital aimed at fixing the 2014 catch limits for several key North Sea species.

Delays in the EU and Norway agreeing quotas for shared stocks such as cod and haddock are preventing many boats from working in their traditional grounds.

Brazilian salmon buyers cancel, renegotiate contracts as Chilean prices dip in February

SEAFOOD.COM NEWS [Techno Press] March 7, 2014

The Brazilian market's strong push for more Chilean salmon hit a snag in recent weeks after buyers tried to back off some of their orders as the market adjusted below originally negotiated contract prices.

Over the last year Chilean salmon shipments found a new market in Brazil thanks to stronger demand from a growing middle class and an increased marketing campaign from the Chilean industry to get Brazilians to eat more salmon.

But in recent weeks some Brazilian buyers have canceled salmon shipments, upset as prices have come down a bit compared to what was originally negotiated.

Too early to tell how market will react to this year's smaller Alaskan halibut quota (Fish Radio)

SEAFOOD.COM NEWS March 7, 2014

Alaska longliners are ready to steam out of town for the Saturday start of the Pacific halibut fishery. Alaska’s catch of roughly 19 million pounds is down about 11 percent. The sablefish, or black cod, fishery also opens on March 8. That quota was reduced by 10 percent this year to just under 34 million pounds. 

It will take a week or so for market prices to settle out and overall less fish might bump up prices. But buyer resistance to the high priced fish came into play last year. The first fresh halibut landings fetched $5.25 - $5.75 with a 20 pound split in major ports, then dropped about a dollar in the first week. Likewise, starting sablefish prices were down by 40%. 

Consolidated Fisheries toothfish longliner gains MSC certification

SEAFOOD.COM NEWS March 7, 2014 - 

Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification has been granted to the Falklands Islands Toothfish longline fishery

The certification was granted to Consolidated Fisheries Ltd. (CFL) and is the first in the Falkland Islands to be certified.  CLF is a locally owned company that wns and operates one longliner.

The fishery entered assessment in August 2012 and was evaluated by independent MSC certifier Intertek Fisheries Certification (formerly Intertek Moody Marine). 

Blount expands Legal Sea Foods brand soups and chowder retail product line

SEAFOOD.COM NEWS [SCOM] - March 7, 2014 - 

Blount Fine Foods, based in fall River, MA, has  announced a new line of seafood soups and chowders  in a 32-ounce retail cup under the Legal Sea Foods brand.

The varieties include Maine Lobster Bisque, New England Clam Chowder and Shrimp & Roasted Corn Chowder, which are three of the brand’s most popular restaurant soups.

“We are quite pleased to bring Legal Sea Foods soups in this new line of larger-sized retail cups, which include some of Legal’s most popular and successful restaurant soups,” says Bob Sewall, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Blount. “A larger sized SKU is something retailers have been asking for", he added.

Vietnam's seafood exporters see better access to Japan, and expansion of pangasius positive for 2014

SEAFOOD.COM NEWS [SCOM]  March 7, 2014

Louisiana restaurants try to shield consumers from high crawfish prices as Lent demand booms

SEAFOOD.COM NEWS March 7, 2014

Wednesday marked the first day of Lent with Catholics across the world taking part in mass, communion and a cross on their forehead. 

Some give up meat on Fridays in observance of Lent and rely on seafood.  In south Louisiana, crawfish is something many rely on, not just on Fridays, but all through Lent and beyond.

"Lent is our busiest time of the year," said Sammy's manager John Bell.

Vietnamese fishermen getting high prices for young lobster in demand for commercial lobster seed

SEAFOOD.COM NEWS March 6, 2014

In the past two weeks past, fishermen in coastal areas of district had relatively high income from exploiting young lobsters (as big as a chopstick top) to provide seed for commercial lobster farming according Tuy An, a district division of Vietnam's Agriculture and Rural development. 

According to the district each night, one boat keeping bamboo screen in the sea can catch from 15 to 30 lobsters, in which boats hit lobster-running jet, catching from 50 to 70 lobsters.

Saucy Fish Co enters US market in deal with Giant supermarkets in time for Lent

SEAFOOD.COM NEWS March 7, 2014 

Saucy Fish, owned by Icelandic Seachill and based in Grimsby, UK, will export seven products into the US, including two new products designed specifically for the American market.

These include salmon with a sweet soy and chilli dressing and tilapia with a Thai sauce. Asian-themed flavours performed particularly well in the firm’s market research, Mr Smith explained.

Saucy has struck a deal with American supermarket chain Giant, which will see its products sold through 390 Giant Carlisle and Giant Landover stores.

The products will be in dsitribution in time for Lent.  The project was spawned at last year's Seafood Expo in Boston. 

Study finds Omega-3s can significantly lower blood pressure

SEAFOOD.COM NEWS March 7, 2014 - 

A study published online today shows that the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA -- commonly found in fatty fish and fish oil supplements -- are as effective, if not more effective, in lowering blood pressure as some of the commonly recommended lifestyle changes like increasing physical activity and restricting alcohol and sodium intake.

The findings, released by the American Journal of Hypertension, are good news, especially for those with elevated blood pressure-- estimated to be approximately 60 percent of the U.S. adult population.