Bumble Bee Foods Settles Price-Fixing Lawsuit with Sysco

Bumble Bee Foods has settled the tuna price-fixing lawsuit that was brought to them by U.S. food distributor Sysco.

News that Sysco was suing Bumble Bee, as well as Chicken of the Sea and StarKist, broke in January 2018. Sysco filed the suit in Houston, and alleged that the three big tuna companies had secretly agreed to reduce the size of their tuna cans and raise prices as a way to increase profits. In addition, the lawsuit charged that the tuna companies had promised not to offer...

Southern Oregon Crab Under Evisceration Order Again

After waiting two months for the Dungeness crab season to open in southern Oregon, crab from the are must now be eviscerated before being sold due to elevated levels of domoic acid. The meat remains safe for consumption.

The Oregon Department of Agriculture and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife announced late Thursday the establishment of a biotoxin management zone from Bandon (43° 07’) to the California-Oregon border (42° 00’), effective immediately. Traceability measures will be used to ensure whole crab are...

Spending Bill Ensures Better Catch Accounting for Gulf Anglers

WASHINGTON - Included in the spending bill passed by Congress yesterday, which averted another government shutdown, was an important boost to modernize data collection of recreational fishing in the Gulf of Mexico. The bill included up to $10 million to implement electronic reporting on federally permitted charter-for-hire vessels in the Gulf of Mexico. 

Electronic logbooks, or eLogBooks, are used by recreational for-hire vessels in Europe, Australia, and Canada where they were implemented last year. Alaska’s sport charter fleet can use either eLogBooks or paper logbooks ...

Chile Looks to Salmon Stability for a Profitable Business Model, Expects Moderate Growth for Years

In a recent interview with Aslak Berge of Salmon Business, Arturo Clement, former CEO of Multiexport and current president of SalmonChile, says that Chile is poised to grow at a moderate, profitable pace for the next five or six years.

This year, Chilean output should grow from 649,000 tons to 674,000 tons, a rate of 3.8%.  Clement sees no barriers  to continuing this growth rate for an extended period of time.

“We have the best performance ever,” he said, adding that...

Mowi Aqua Feed Plant in Scotland Expected to Start Production in Q2

Mowi ASA's (formerly Marine Harvest) aqua feed plant in Skye, Scotland is nearing completion and is expected to start production in Q2, Kim Døsvig, the company's Head of Treasury and Investor Relations Officer told investors yesterday.

Sustainability Rating Drops for Clearwater's Offshore Lobster Fishery

Clearwater Seafoods' offshore lobster fishery in Eastern Canada has lost its "recommended" rating from Ocean Wise, a seafood sustainability recommendation program of the Vancouver Aquarium.

It's more fallout from a 2018 conviction for what the Crown called a "gross violation" of a Canadian fisheries regulation by Halifax-based Clearwater.

In a separate action, the Marine Stewardship Council, another much larger eco-sustainability organization, has moved up its scheduled "full surveillance audit" of Clearwater's offshore lobster fishery by two months to April.

Clearwater asked for the early audit...

Salmon Price Drop May be Aggravated by Late Start of Lent this Year

With Valentine’s Day now upon us, there is usually anticipation in the farmed salmon market of an uptick in demand and activity. This year does not appear to be the case.

The farmed salmon market is adjusting lower and has been since the beginning of 2019, more dramatically the past 4 weeks.

This year there is an unusually long period between the end of the December Holidays and Lent. In 2019 Lent does not begin until March 6. That is 20 days after valentine’s day...

India Shrimp Rejections for Antibiotics Spike in January 2019

India shrimp rejections for January 2019 have spiked significantly, according to FDA import refusal data.

This past January the FDA refused 32 shrimp entry lines from India. Of those 32 refused entry lines, 26 were related to banned antibiotics. Looking back to January 2018 there were 14 shrimp refusals from India, however, none of the refused entry lines were due to banned antibiotics. In fact, in 2018 the FDA only refused 15 shrimp entry lines from India for antibiotics. This means that one month in 2019 had...

Happy Valentine’s Day! Name a Salmon After Your Ex Before It’s Fed to a Bear

Valentine’s Day is a day about love. But for some, it’s a painful reminder of a relationship that didn’t work out. Well, Wildlife Images Rehabilitation and Education Center in Oregon has a solution for those with a broken heart: name a salmon after your ex before it’s fed to a bear.

“Let our 1,000 pound bears tear into your ex… Did you fall hook, line and sinker for someone who broke your heart?” reads the promotion. “Kodi and Yak would love to help you get...

Jet.com partners with New York’s Fulton Fish Market

Jet.com’s new City Grocery experience now features a New York landmark: The Fulton Fish Market.

Walmart subsidiary Jet said Wednesday that it has begun offering customers fresh seafood through the famous Manhattan venue for daily purchase. Under the partnership, Jet shoppers can order sustainably sourced seafood such as fresh bronzini, wild Chilean sea bass and wild yellowfin tuna and have it shipped to them the same day. The products are all fresh and never frozen, the companies noted.

Initially, 24 Fulton Fish items will be sold via...

Fish Stick Uproar Upsets Russians, Leads to Misinformation Dump

Over the weekend, CNN ran a story on how US attempts to put tariffs on Russian pollock backfired, but the article confused the situation with USDA guidelines on school fish stick purchases with the broader issue of the US – China Trade war.

Russian media jumped on this, saying that Russians were completely innocent of the fact that Americans shot themselves in the foot.

As most readers know, the effort by Alaskan producers to get an exemption from tariffs for Alaska pollock processed in China and shipped back to...

Hendrix Genetic, Nutreco Partner to Offer Sustainable Shrimp Solutions in Ecuador

Hendrix Genetics announced that they plan on establishing a state-of-the-art shrimp laboratory in Ecuador thanks to a partnership with Nutreco and Ecuacultivos. The three companies will be investing capital to modernize the existing Macrobio laboratory, and the facility will focus on providing “local production of shrimp, genetics and advanced breeding technology, in addition to nutritional solutions in food supply for aquaculture.”

“After our entry into shrimp farming in 2017, we have put all our efforts in developing the Kona Bay shrimp breeding program... 

Washington's Anti-Gillnet Bill Draws Strong Support, Opposition in Committee Hearing

The Washington Senate Committee on Agriculture, Water, Natural Resources and Parks held a hearing Tuesday on SB 5617, the anti-gillnet bill, and testifiers on both sides of the issue had strong feelings about the bill.

As introduced, SB 5617 would mandate the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife develop a three-phase program for purchasing and retirement of nontribal salmon gillnets by Dec. 31, 2022. However, no appropriations for buying out the permits was included in the bill. It would effectively eliminate gillnet fisheries ...

Grieg Seafood Group Ends 2018 With Record High Harvest Volume

Grieg Seafood ended 2018 on a positive note. The company released their Q4 results this week and announced that they have ended the year with a record high harvest volume.

The company reports that in Q4 of 2018 they harvested 23,682 tons, a jump from the 18,667 tons harvested in Q4 of 2017. Meanwhile, total harvest volume for the year reached 75,000 tons, a 20% increase compared to 2017.

“This was achieved by maintaining a strict focus on sustainability and driving forward improvements to our farming operations...

Mowi Releases Q4 2018 Results; Boasts Record High Full-Year Turnover

Mowi, formerly known as Marine Harvest, has released their results for Q4 of 2018. According to the company, which is the largest producer of farm-raised salmon in the world, “2018 was a very good year.”

“Strong demand for salmon and high prices in all markets resulted in great earnings for the company,” said CEO Alf-Helge Aarskog. “I am proud of all my colleagues who work hard to produce healthy and tasty seafood for consumers all over the world. The have all contributed to the strong results...

Noodles & Company Introduce Limited Time Shrimp Dishes Just in Time for Lent

Noodles & Company is expanding their menu. The fast-casual restaurant announced this week that for a limited time they will be offering two new dishes featuring shrimp – and just in time for Lent!

Starting today, diners can indulge in a Zucchini Shrimp Scampi dish or a Penne Rosa with Shrimp dish. According to Noodles & Company, the new options were created with their guests in mind. The dishes, which are a light, protein-rich option, can help diners reach their New Year’s resolution goals...

West Coast Trawlers see Highest Groundfish Landings Since 2000 with Rockfish Resurgence

Call it a rockfish resurgence -- West Coast trawlers and processors are seeing the highest landings in groundfish since 2000, thanks in part to an ongoing exempted fishing permit from the National Marine Fisheries Service. At the same time, rockfish stocks are growing.

The EFP has allowed West Coast trawl fishermen to test changes in the fishery that increased their catch by more than 14 million pounds of fish in 2018, an increase of 300 percent from 2017

The National Marine Fisheries Service issues EFPs exempting vessels from ...

Australian Seafood Industry Shocked into Action After WA Government Attempted Lobster Grab

Seafood Industry Australia has been shocked into action after the Western Australia government was forced to back off a plan to take lobster licenses and force them into domestic production.

The national body representing the seafood industry across all Australian states will create a task force to focus on resource security for the seafood industry on a national scale.

The action is a response to the Western Australia Goverenments attempt to take back some lobster quota and redistribute it to domestic sales...

King Crab and Lobster Again Shine for Chinese New Year, 'The Most Important Dinner in China'

China’s largest-scale shopping carnival has come to an end with the ending of its lunar New Year holiday recently. Impressively, its residents spent more than 1 trillion yuan celebrating the holiday. One new feature of festival consumption is that imported commodities have become increasingly popular and affordable for frenzied Chinese consumers.

According to Alibaba, the country’s e-commerce giant, king crabs have become a hot choice for the festival feast. Their sales ballooned by 769% on its T-mall platform around...

Maryland Crab Industry Nervous About H-2B Visa Situation, Can’t Take Another Year With No Staffing

A meeting of Maryland’s crab industry processors and other stakeholders was held in Hooper’s Island last week, and the primary topic was concern over H-2B visas.

For years, Maryland crab picking houses relied on workers from Mexico who were highly trained, and would return each year to work at the same picking houses.  That was possible because under prior laws, returning H-2B visa workers did not count under caps on total visas, and were not subject to the annual visa lottery...

Tanner Crab Fishing Opens in Southeast Alaska

The season for tanner crab in Southeast Alaska opened last Tuesday with 62 vessels carrying almost 5,000 pots registered by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. That amount of effort  coupled with the current estimated mature male biomass, will result in two additional days of season length in “core”, “non-core”, and “exploratory” areas. 

The season opened at 12:00 noon last Tuesday and will close in “core” fishing areas at 12:00 noon next Tuesday, February 19, 2019. “Core” fishing areas are listed in ADF&G’s announcement here. ...

Bruce Gabrys, Alaskan Fisherman, Financial Planner and Resource Advisor (1955-2019)

Bruce Gabrys, an Alaskan who excelled at so many enterprises he defied sector-defined labels, died January 30 at home in Eagle River, surrounded by his family. He was 63.

A 40-year Alaska fisherman, Gabrys fished first in Cook Inlet as skipper of a drift boat for salmon, then in the Gulf of Alaska, longlining for halibut in Area 3A. He also made a living as a certified public accountant and financial planner.

Gabrys participated at every level of Alaska’s state and federal fisheries management ...

SeaWeb’s Seafood Summit, Now Owned by Diversified, Will be Held in Thailand This Year

Diversified Communications announced that the 2019 SeaWeb Seafood Summit will be held in Bangkok, Thailand from June 10 to June 14, 2019.

The format will include several field trips and offsite work trips aimed at people who may have not visited fisheries centers in Thailand before.

SeaWeb says the conference will be bringing together attendees from all facets of the seafood sustainability movement for a week of collaborative learning, networking and problem solving. The Summit is produced by Diversified Communications in partnership with SeaWeb...

Thai Union, WWF Release First Sourcing Transparency: Wild Caught Fish and Shellfish Report 

Thai Union has partnered with WWF for years, and now the two have released the first “Sourcing Transparency: Wild Caught Fish and Shellfish Report.”

The report presents data from WWF’s assessment process, which reviews Thai Union’s European supply chain, including information on vessels, species, catch methods, catch areas and more. Thai Union uses the results to identify and develop fishery improvement projects (FIPs).

“WWF believes that for seafood companies to demonstrate their sourcing is truly sustainable they must work towards full transparency of supply chains and...

2019 Herring Forecast Lower for B.C., Higher for Alaska in Sitka and Togiak

All areas except the Strait of Georgia will be closed for the sac roe herring season in British Columbia this year. The catch target there is 10,021 short tons.

In Alaska, Sitka’s guideline harvest limit (GHL) is 12,869 tons based on a 20% harvest rate of a forecasted mature biomass of 64,343 tons. The 2019 forecast is more than the 2018 forecast of 55,637 tons but less than the 2016 and 2017 forecasts (74,707 and 73,245 tons).

Further northwest, Togiak’s sac roe herring forecasted harvest for...

ASC Logo Rated Among Top 10 Food Product Labels That Dutch Consumers Can Trust

The Aquaculture Stewardship Council has reason to celebrate. Dutch researchers Milieu Centraal, on behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, has listed the ASC logo as one of the top 10 food product labels that Dutch consumers can trust.

ASC received the honor after Milieu Centraal analyzed almost 100 quality marks. Eventually the researchers were able to narrow the product labels down to the top 10 that “provide the most reassurance to shoppers looking to make environmentally and socially responsible choices...

Truluck’s Seafood, Steak & Crab House Experiences Data Breach 

Truluck’s Seafood, Steak & Crab confirmed that they have experienced a data breach at their Houston (Downtown), Houston (Woodlands), Dallas, Austin (Downtown), Austin (Arboretum), Naples, Southlake and Chicago locations.

The restaurant was contacted about the FBI about “potential unauthorized access to one of their servers.”  Upon an investigation by third-party forensic experts, the restaurant was able to determine that an “unauthorized actor inserted malware into the point of sale systems at eight restauraunts to capture customer payment card information.” According to the restaurant, cards that were used at...

NOAA, USFWS Release Atlantic Salmon Recovery Plan

On Tuesday NOAA Fisheries and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services released a joint Atlantic Salmon Recovery Plan. The plan, which was created to guide the species recovery process, outlines the needed actions and criteria for “determining when the necessary level of conservation has been achieved, and time and cost estimates for meeting these criteria.”

Atlantic salmon have been listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act since 2000. NOAA and USFWS aim to give salmon “their best chance to recover” with the latest recovery plan...

Lack of Alternatives is Pushing Retailers to Stick with Snow Crab Despite High Prices

Snow crab prices for 5-8 Newfoundland, Gulf and Russian  Snow Crab have been trading in the $8.50 to $8.60 range in January and February 2019, about 7 or 8% below their season highs last June and July.

However, two things stand out about the current snow crab market.  First, there has been a pickup in interest in 5-8 ounce sections in the last few weeks, after some signs that an inventory overhang might last until spring...

ANALYSIS: Mahi Imports Up 51% From October to November 2018

Although frozen mahi imports from C&SA peak in December and January, we are starting to see early indications of the new fishing season from Peru and Ecuador in the November 2018 import numbers. Imports from Peru for the month of November registered 553,694 pounds. This represents a 139 percent increase from the previous month. However, it is down 27 percent compared to November last year.

November imports from Ecuador registered 622,189 pounds, up 453 percent from the previous month. Compared to the same month a year ago...