ANALYSIS: Stone Crab Season Opens With Initial Low Landings 

The 2017 season started a month after Hurricane Irma crossed the Florida Keys, eventually making landfall further up the west coast and hitting two of the state’s largest stone crab producing regions. Luckily, most traps avoided destruction and initial landings were strong. Many attributed the strong landings to the hurricane churning the water and making it cloudy, which gives protection to the crabs as they search for food. However, by November, landings started to diminish. Many attributed the lack of catches to the warmer weather ...

LISTEN: Future Leaders and SeaShare Project; 3rd Right Whale Death; StarKist Pleads Guilty

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - October 22, 2018

This week on the SeafoodNews Podcast, co-hosts Amanda Buckle and Lorin Castiglione welcome Laurel Raffan, the Director of National Accounts for Open Blue Cobia. Laurel, who is also the class president of the National Fisheries Institute’s 2018 Future Leaders class, joins the podcast to discuss raising money and awareness for SeaShare. To donate products email MaryH@SeaShare.org or to make a monetary donation visit https://www.seashare.org/donate/nfi2018.

Topics this week also include the third right whale death of 2018, as well as ...

Sea of Okhotsk Pollock Catch Will be More Than 1 million Tons with Improved Fall Fishing

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] by Eugene Gerden - October 22, 2018

Russia has officially started a new autumn-winter fishing season for pollock and herring in the Far East, according to the Russian Federal Agency of Fisheries (Rosrybolovstvo).

As part of these plans, particular attention will be paid to the catch in the Sea of Okhotsk, particularly the North-Okhotsk sea subzone, where all the quotas, allocated for the current year, should be used.

By the end of the year total quotas for ...

NFI’s Seafood, See Jobs Campaign Returns to Minnesota to Highlight Importance of Trade

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - October 22, 2018

Minnesota is back in the spotlight thanks to the National Fisheries Institute’s (NFI) “Seafood, See Jobs” campaign.

NFI highlighted a handful of companies from Minnesota last month in an effort to show the “importance of trade to the Land of 10,000 Lakes.” Now the campaign is focusing on Minnesota again, releasing three more videos to educate Americans about how the tariffs are hurting American seafood jobs in the state.

“There are very few other jobs in the area ...

Like Other Sectors, UK Seafood Industry Faces Waves of Uncertainty Over Brexit

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] by John Sackton - October 22, 2018

The UK Seafood Summit, held October 17-18, was a chance for government agencies and experts to weigh in on potential changes facing the industry with Brexit.

The verdict, at least to an outsider: tremendous confusion everywhere you look.

On the one hand, Mike Park from the Scottish Whitefish Producers said that Norway and Iceland catch 80% to 90% of the fish species in their own EEZ.  Therefore, it would be reasonable to think that UK producers who ...

White Shrimp Prices Drop in Guangxi, Where Farmers Hope for Better Winter Market

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Shuichan] translated by Amy Zhong - October 22, 2018

The year of 2016 was greatly successful for Guangxi’s white shrimp aquaculture. The success rate was close to 70 percent in the first round, which encouraged local farmers and strengthened their confidence. However, they were disappointed again in the mid round with the success rate having plummeted to about 20 to 30 percent.

Local farming was depressed both last year and this one as well. Great changes have occurred to the industry ...

Alaska Ferry Acidity Tests Show Water is More Corrosive in Fall/Winter 

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Fish Radio with Laine Welch] - October 22, 2018

This is Fish Radio. I’m Laine Welch – The state ferry Columbia has been testing the waters for acidity since last October from Southeast Alaska across the entire Province of British Columbia to Bellingham, Washington. 

It is part of an unprecedented Alaska/Canada project to learn how increasing ocean acidity affects regional fisheries.

“The fantastic thing about this vessel is it’s going from Bellingham to Skagway and back every week ...

VIDEO: Trawler Damaged; Global Whitefish Supply Declines; Seafood, See Jobs Campaign and More

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - October 19, 2018

Watch the latest Seafood News Weekly Recap with hosts Amanda Buckle and Lorin Castiglione. This week we talk about Hurricane Michael damaging a factory trawler; the global whitefish supply declining; the Seafood, See Jobs Campaign; and King Crab in China.

This video is sponsored by Urner Barry’s Reporter, the quarterly newsmagazine for the food industry professional packed with the latest industry headlines, analysis and trending articles. Contact advertise@urnerbarry.com to be a featured sponsor in ...

West Coast Pink Shrimp Fishery Improved This Year: Better Landings, Better Shrimp

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] by Susan Chambers - October 19, 2018

This year's coldwater pink shrimp season was a definite improvement over last year, according to fishermen and processors.

So far, Oregon's landings stand at 34.93 million pounds, according to Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission's PacFIN preliminary data. That's roughly one-third more than last year's landings at 23.06 million pounds. Washington's landings also are up, at 8.42 million pounds in 2018 from 6.9 million pounds in 2017.

Still, this year's landings are a far cry from the boom year in 2015, ...

Seafish Launching Young Seafood Leaders Network For U.K. Seafood Professionals 

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - October 19, 2018

Seafish, a non-departmental public body to improve efficiency and raise standards across the seafood industry in the U.K., announced at the UK Seafood Summit on Thursday that they are launching a “Young Seafood Leaders Network.”

The Young Seafood Leaders Network will be a platform for young seafood professionals to explore different business ideas, network with others in the industry, develop leadership skills and more. “At Seafish we believe that Seafood is the way forward,” CEO Marcus Coleman said in a press release ...

All About Healthy Foods Launches Plant-Based Seafood Alternative

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - October 19, 2018

All About Healthy Foods Holdings, LLC announced earlier this week that they have entered into an agreement with Worldwide Food Associates (WFA) of Liverpool to introduce, market and distribute their Loma Linda brand of products.

Loma Linda develops plant-based protein products, including their latest product TUNO, a plant-based seafood alternative.

"As we continue our journey in food development, we are pleased with the enthusiastic consumer reception of our ready-to-eat meals, and we're exceptionally bullish on our newest creation ...

INSIGHT: Arrival of New Insect Feed Capacities May Give New Dynamic to Aqua Feed Sector

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [FeedInfo News Service] - October 19, 2018

The insect feed sector is scaling up.

In recent months, French InnovaFeed said it was planning to locate its new production plant in Nesle (Somme department), while French insect rearing company Ynsect announced that it would begin construction next year on a mealworm production site outside of Amiens. Elsewhere, North America’s Enterra Feed Corporation has added three major funding partners and is on track to complete construction of new ...

Jeff Bolton new CEO at Atlantic Capes as Danny Cohen Retires, Remains Chairman of the Board

SEAFOODNEWS.COM  [SeafoodNews] by John Sackton - October 18, 2018

Danny Cohen, the founder and long time CEO of Atlantic Capes Fisheries, announced that he was stepping down, and that he has named Jeff Bolton as his successor and new CEO.

Atlantic Capes is one of the US largest scallop producers, handling about 22% of the domestic harvest with 17 of its own vessels, and 50 independent affiliated vessels.  They also process Atlantic Surf Clams, and distribute other species as well.

As the new CEO, Bolton will have direct management responsibility for all of the Company’s operating units worldwide including its expansion investment and new business development activities....

Norway and Russia Reduce 2019 Barents Sea Cod Quota to 725,000 tons, a 7% Decrease over 2018

SEAFOODNEWS.COM  [SeafoodNews] by John Sackton – October 18, 2018

Norway and Russia, which jointly manage stocks in the Barents Sea, announced a 7% reduction in the cod quota for 2019.  The TAC will be 725,000 tons.

The quota is split equally between both countries.

This is a 7% reduction from the 780,000 tons of quota in 2018.

"After another round of constructive and good fisheries negotiations with Russia, I am pleased that we have reached an agreement for 2019, which means we can still harvest sustainably from our common fisheries resources in the Barents Sea," said Fisheries Minister Harald T. Nesvik.

The haddock quota is also down to 172,000 tons,...

Alaska Board of Fish Rejects Pressure to Rule on Hatchery Issues at October Meeting

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] by John Sackton and Peggy Parker - October 17, 2018

In one of the most hotly contested issues of recent years, the Alaska Board of Fisheries rejected two proposals to limit hatchery production of salmon after hours of staff reports and public discussion.

With the decline in salmon runs in parts of the State this year, opponents of hatcheries have seized on the unproven theories that excess competition from hatchery salmon is hurting wild stocks.

Accordingly, they have put forward motions to limit hatchery fish, although fully 31% of Alaska salmon landings are supported by hatcheries.  At the meeting the ADF&G said that 40%...

Norwegian Fishing Company and Software Group Create PC Game Based on Fishing the Barents Sea

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] Octobere 18, 2018

Leave it to the Norwegians to keep expanding the footprint of fisheries.  

Two companies, the fishing company Hermes AS and Scanmar AS, a company selling electronic catch recording software, have combined to create a PC based game of fishing the Barents Sea.  The game will be available for download in November.  Vessels in the game are actual simulations of existing Barents sea vessels.

In the game world, modeled after actual regions of northern Norway, the player will move freely across the ocean in their own fishing vessels...

Canada's SeaChoice Criticizes ASC Certified Salmon Farms for Often Being Below Stated Standards

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] by John Sackton - October 18, 2018

SeaChoice, a marine NGO based in Vancouver, says that farmed salmon under the ASC standard often fails to meet stated requirements.  They argue that some ASC certifications are contrary to stated ASC standards, and that the number of exceptions given to ASC certified salmon farms amounts to a broad chance in ASC salmon standards.

At issue is sea lice treatment and whether farms that exceed ASC standards for either total sea lice load, or treatment frequency, can still carry the ASC certified salmon label.

Their study claims that farmed salmon might be less sustainable than the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) eco-logo leads...

Ugly Crab Campaign Aims to Expand Markets for Old Shell Crab

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Fish Radio with Laine Welch] - October 17, 2018

This is Fish Radio. I’m Laine Welch – Alaska crabbers say it’s what’s on the inside that counts.

People shop with their eyes and when it comes to crab, shells that are discolored or scarred or covered with barnacles can be a turn off. 

In the Bering Sea fisheries, ugly shells can comprise up to 30 percent of a catch at certain times of year and crab molting cycles.  While the crabs are every bit as tasty a prettier product ...

StarKist Gets $100 Million Fine in Guilty Plea on Tuna Price Fixing; More Payments to Vendors Likely

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] by John Sackton October 19, 2018

Starkist has pled guilty to a single count of price fixing for canned tuna, and has agreed to pay a $100 million fine.

The Justice Dept. announced the plea and fine amount in a filing in California’s northern district federal court.

The charge is that between November 2011, and December 2013, StarKist engaged in a conspiracy with Bumble Bee and Chicken of the Sea (Owned by Thai Union), to fix prices for ...

Preliminary Sablefish TACs Don’t Necessarily Mean High Quotas for 2019

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] by Peggy Parker - October 19, 2018

At the October North Pacific Council meeting, preliminary -- not final -- catch limits were adopted for about two dozen species in the Gulf of Alaska. There were a few changes in the table from last year, but the sablefish Allowable Biological Catch (ABC) and projected Total Allowable Catch (TAC) were not changed. The Council makes two-year projections as part of their guidance to industry, but stock assessments are done each year on sablefish.

The final 2019 sablefish catch numbers will be set ...

Urner Barry’s Seafood Import Workshop Brings Together Industry Professionals and Government Reps

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - October 19, 2018

Urner Barry just wrapped up another successful Seafood Import Workshop in Boston this past Thursday, bringing together industry professionals and government representatives for a day of learning and networking.

Scott Zimmerman of Safe Quality Seafood Associates kicked off the Workshop with a lecture on modernizing seafood safety, quality and sustainability compliance. Attendees then welcomed Corey L. Norton, Thai Union’s Group Counsel for Responsible Sourcing, for an informative discussion about the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP) ...

Norway: Skretting Factory in Averøy Now Producing Salmon Feed with Insect Mealv

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Skretting] - October 19, 2018

Indonesia To Produce 400,000 tons of Pangasius This Year, Attracted by High Price

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Shuichan] translated by Amy Zhong - October 19, 2018

Vietnam’s basa farm gate prices have risen to VND 36,000 per kg ($1.54/kg USD) recently, which means an increase of 40 percent from that of early August. This sets a new record and now the market is challenged by price increase and supply shortage.

Processing plants in Vietnam have encountered great difficulties. They have to cancel much of the previously signed orders unless buyers agree to pay more. The prices have risen more than 20 percent compared with ...

EU, Republic of Korea Join Forces in Fight Against IUU Fishing

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - October 19, 2018

This week, the European Union and the Republic of Korea pledged to work closely together to fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing.

European Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Karmenu Vella, and Mr. Kim Young-Choon, Minister for Oceans and Fisheries of the Republic of Korea, signed a joint statement outlining the plan. The signing took place on the eve of a bilateral EU-Republic of Korea Summit.

"Putting an end to illegal fishing is one of the main objectives of the EU's international ocean ...

FFAW applauds National Report on Canadian Marine Reserves that Warns Against Arbitrary Timelines

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews]  October 19, 2018

The FFAW has responded to a recent Canadian national advisory panel on MPAs.  The panel watned that the government currently has no standards for what constitutes an MPA, and that a rush to check tick boxes by meeting a certain target by a certain time might create 'paper parks' that don't meet goals, nor have the requisite impact from stakeholders on how best to meet conservation goals.

One of the discrepancies pointed to by the FFAW is that in Newfoundland, a double standard exists where oil and gas is permitted in MPA's with all the ecological damage of siesmic exploration, but fishing activities are...

Ak. Gov Candidate Mike Dunleavy Accused of Turning Back on Fishing Industry after Cancelling Kodiak Debate

SEAFOODNEWS.COM  [Fish Radio] with Laine Welch - October 18, 2018

Candidate Mike Dunleavy bails on Kodiak’s fisheries debate. More after this – 

Republican candidate for Alaska governor Mike Dunleavy has bailed on Kodiak’s famed fisheries debate set for Monday, October 22, after saying he’d be there.

“I believe that our team has been in contact with those folks and is actually setting something up so that we’ll uh….we’ll uhh… we’ll, uh, be there. We plan on being there.” 

That was Dunleavy on August 31 on a statewide ...

UK study says farmed shrimp is as safe as any food, but websites continue to push false information

SEAFOODNEWS.COM  [SeafoodNews]  October 18, 2018

FFAW Calls on DFO to Re-open Mackerel Fishery, Says Biomass Estimates of Low Abundance are Wrong

SEAFOODNEWS.COM  [SeafoodNews] October 18, 2018

In a statement, FFAW-Unifor, the union representing both harvesters and plant workers in Newfoundland and Labrador, expressed frustration with the recent DFO closure of the mackerel fishery. 

FFAW-Unifor is calling on the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) to reconsider the decision to close the Atlantic Mackerel fishery despite evidence that suggests the stock on the northeast coast is abundant. Coastal communities are understandably frustrated at the loss of millions of dollars in income due to an unnecessary closure of the mackerel fishery.

“FFAW members are justified in their frustrations at being shut out of a fishery that is showing many signs of being healthy and abundant...

California Spiny Lobster Fishery Closed in State Waters Around Anacapa Island Due to Domoic Acid

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] by Susan Chambers - October 17, 2018

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced Wednesday a commercial spiny lobster fishery closure around Anacapa Island, effective immediately.

State health agencies determined that spiny lobster near Anacapa Island in Ventura County had unhealthy levels of domoic acid and recommended closure of the commercial fishery in the area. The recreational fishery for spiny lobster remains open statewide with a warning from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) to sport fishermen to avoid ...

Sea Grant Announces 2018 Aquaculture Research Awards

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - October 18, 2018

NOAA Sea Grant has announced the award of $11 million in grants for 22 projects to further advance the development of a sustainable marine and coastal aquaculture industry in the U.S.

The research projects are designed to address specific priorities of the 2018 Sea Grant National Aquaculture Initiative including: supporting the development of emerging systems or technologies that will advance aquaculture in the U.S.; developing and implementing actionable methods of communicating accurate, science based information about the benefits and risks of U.S. marine aquaculture to the public; and ...