IPHC Approves 16% Increase in Halibut TACs, Matches Last Year's Bering Sea Quota

SEAFOODNEWS.COM  By Peggy Parker  - January 30, 2015

The U.S./Canadian halibut commission agreed this morning to increase catch limits in Area 4CDE from half a million pounds to 1.285 million pounds, saving the Bering Sea communities of Saint Paul, Saint George, Gambell, Savoonga, Nome, and dozens others from foregoing a halibut season altogether.

The six member panel justified their decision on the same points brought up during discussions with the advisory bodies: uncertainty in survey and catch data provided room to consider an increase, the severe socio-economic need in such a remote area where options for making a living are limited, and...

IPHC Meeting Concludes Today with Vote on Halibut Catch Limits

SEAFOODNEWS.COM by John Sackton - January 30, 2015

Zhangzidao Officer Resigns,  Company Reports Wider Loss for 2014 of Around $1 billion Yuan

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Shuichan] Translated by Amy Zhong - January 30, 2015

Tomato Sushi Seen As Tuna Substitute for Those Who Want 'Vegetarian' Seafood

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [NPR] by Alastair Bland - January 30, 2015

It's a dead ringer for Ahi tuna sashimi. It cuts into glistening slivers that are firm and juicy. And it's got a savory bite.

But this flesh-like food is not fish. It's made of tomato, and it's what San Francisco chef James Corwell hopes could be one small step toward saving imperiled species of fish, like bluefin tuna.

"What I want is to create a great sushi experience without the tuna," Corwell tells The Salt.

To make this Tomato Sushi, he skins and removes the seeds from fresh Roma tomatoes. Then he vacuum seals them in sturdy plastic bags and cooks them in hot...

Chefs Gearing Up for Lent with Old and New Seafood Ideas

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Nation's Restaurant News] By Fern Glazer - January 30, 2015 - 

For the millions of people who abstain from eating meat during Lent each year, the 40-day Christian holiday that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Easter, eating out can be a challenge.

This year, a number of chefs and restaurant chains plan to make it easier on customers by reviving popular seafood dishes and creating fresh options.

At Molyvos in New York City, chef Diane Kochilas and executive chef Carlos Carreto have long offered a special Greek Lenten menu, featuring an evolving list of seafood dishes.

“Lent brings even greater attention...

Minimal Commercial Impact Expected From Proposed Deep Sea Trawl Ban Around UK Fishing Grounds

SEAFOODNEWS.COM by Michael Ramsingh - January 30, 2015

A plan in the UK that will ban bottom trawling in waters around the Inner and North Seas will not have a notable impact on commercial fishing in the area.

The proposal is part of an EU plan to replace existing protection regulations in favor of a more stringent plan that will target deep sea ecosytems in waters around the Inner and North Seas that surround UK and Irish waters.  It is believed the selected areas are under threat of permanent environmental damage from French and Spanish deep-sea trawlers.

According to the plan bottom trawling below 600 meters in the designated waters would be banned. There would be a phase-out period to the deep-sea bottom trawling below 600 meters. The plan requires selective, sustainable and low impact deep-sea fisheries as opposed to closing select areas only, which is likely to leave the majority of key vulnerable habitats in UK and Irish waters unprotected according to The Deep Sea Conservation Coalition...

Requests For Commercial Licenses For Green Crabs Piling Up In Newfoundland, Waiting On DFO

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Herald News] by Tom Ayers - January 30, 2015

A Cape Breton fisherman says he can make money catching and selling the invasive European green crab, if only Fisheries and Oceans Canada would allow a commercial fishery for the crustacean.

Department officials say they have received many requests for green crab licences and are sorting through them before giving the fishery the green light.

Derrick Wadden, a multi-species fisherman from Main-a-Dieu, said he is eager to start building traps for green crab, but he is stuck waiting for federal approval of the fishery...

Cape Breton Fisherman in 'Murder for Lobster' Case Gets 14-year Prison Sentence

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [National Post] - January 30, 2015 - 

A Cape Breton fisherman was given a 14-year prison sentence Thursday for killing a man he said enraged him by cutting his lobster traps, threatening to burn his home and taunting him for years.

But Joseph James Landry was granted about 2 1/2years credit for time served in custody awaiting trial, meaning he would serve about 11 1/2 years, the Nova Scotia Supreme Court ruled.

Landry, 67, was convicted by a jury in November of manslaughter in Phillip Boudreau's death.

The 43-year-old man vanished on June 1, 2013. His body has never been found.

Backup Intensifies at Port of Portland Oregon As Longshoremen Walk Off the Job

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Portland Business Journal] by Andy Giegerich - January 30, 2015

A Portland terminal operator says a union is increasing efforts to slow shipments.

ICTSI Oregon Inc. said the International Longshore and Warehouse Union "escalated" efforts "far beyond what other West Coast ports are experiencing." The accusations were made in a statement issued Wednesday by Michael Garone of Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt PC, who's ICTSI's attorney.

"During the busy 2014 holiday season, ILWU engaged in approximately 36 work stoppages and slowdowns of various types and for varying durations," ICTSI's attorneys wrote. "Similar efforts, along with intentional labor shortages, have continued into the first month of 2015."

Video: 3 key takeaways from NFI Global Seafood Market Conference

SEAFOODNEWS.COM by John Sackton January 29, 2015

Here are three key takeaways from the NFI Global Seafood Market conference that concludes in Las Vegas today.  Shrimp will be plentiful, the Russians will buy less salmon, meaning more salmon going to other markets, and the biggest risk factors facing the US industry this year are not economic or supply based, but are political and regulatory ...

Q4 Economic Growth in U.S. Was Below Forecast

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Bloomberg News] By by Victoria Stilwell - January 30, 2015 - 

The economy in the U.S. expanded at a slower pace than forecast in the fourth quarter as cooling business investment, a slump in government outlays and a widening trade gap took some of the luster off the biggest gain in consumer spending in almost nine years.

Swept up by the cheapest gasoline in years and the biggest employment increase since 1999, households are gaining the confidence to spend more freely, which will bolster the odds the world’s biggest economy can escape a global slowdown unscathed.

Canadian Lobster Sales Booming in China, Including on Taobao

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [China Daily Canada] By Xiao Lixin - January 29, 2015 - 

The demand for Canadian lobsters from Chinese consumers has witnessed a rapid surge in recent years and especially now as the Chinese New Year approaches less than a month away.

Exports of Canadian lobster to China are now second only to exports to the U.S.

During the first 11 months of 2014, the amount reached $73 million, a year-on-year growth of 136 percent.

The booming e-commerce market in China has also helped boost sales of imported lobsters. In 2013, as many as 20,000 Canadian lobsters were sold on Taobao, China's leading online shopping platform, according to its founder Jack Ma...

Walmart featuring Trident's New The Alaskan Brand Products in Alaska and Washington

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - January 29, 2015 -

Walmart is adding more wild caught Alaska seafood at select stores in Alaska and Washington.

The expanded assortment includes The Alaskan, a new 100% Alaska seafood brand created by Trident Seafood and launched exclusively at Walmart.

The nation’s largest grocer is also adding Alaskan cod, salmon, rockfish, sole and crab to its broad seafood offering. Each of the new items is harvested in Alaska and processed locally in Alaska or in the Pacific Northwest.

Peru's Makro Supermayorista Becomes First Latin American Wholesaler to Support BAP Program

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] January 29, 2015

The Global Aquaculture Alliance 's(GAA) Best Aquaculture Practices fish farming certifiation standard has picked up its first endorsement from a Latin American wholesaler after Makro Supermayorista S.A.said it would commit to adopt the program.

Makro said the BAP certification will be part of a company-wide sustainability initiative, and will work with its suppliers to ensure that its farmed seafood, when available, is sourced from a BAP-certified facility.

Based in Lima, Peru, Makro Supermayorista S.A. is a cash-and-carry wholesaler, selling food and non-food products to registered professional buyers, including small- and medium-sized retailers, caterers and the institutional foodservice. Makro is part of the Dutch SHV Group and has operations in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Venezuela.

Makro offers a number of farmed seafood species, including tilapia, Pangasius, trout, salmon and shrimp. The BAP logo will first appear on packaging for tilapia fillets...

Featured Stories

IPHC Approves 16% Increase in Halibut TACs, Matches Last Year's Bering Sea Quota  

White Cap / Sirena Buy 50% of Shrimp Processor in Quebec in Partnership with Lyons Seafoods

Greenpeace Targets Costco, Albertson's in Orwellian Campaign to 'Bring Balance to the Bering Sea'   (2)

Fishermen Reopen Monopoly Suit Against Pacific Seafoods over Acquisition of Ocean Gold

Coldwater Shrimp Prices Up 7.5% Since the Start of January as Traders Brace for Lower Supply in 2015  

NFI's Global Seafood Market Conference Predicts Higher Prices for Halibut, Pacific Cod (Fish Radio)

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Fish Radio with Laine Welch] January 30, 2014 

This is Fish Radio. I’m Laine Welch – Farmed sablefish, good cod markets and giant squid – news from a global seafood summit after this 

The Global Seafood Market Conference has wrapped up its annual summit, held in Las Vegas this year. The event is hosted by the National Fisheries Institute with a focus on seafood eating trends in the US and market outlooks. Undercurrent News covered the summit events in its on-site blog. Here are some highlights -- 

For halibut, strong demand and high prices for fresh fish is set to continue, with halibut almost exclusively seen ...

West Coast Port Congestion Creates American Samoa Food Shortage, Delays Tuna Plant Completion

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [BBC] - January 30, 2015 - 

A dispute between port workers and their employers is behind the slowdown at ports along the west coast of the US, which has led to chaos in the shipping industry.

For residents in American Samoa, about 4,800 miles away, it means supplies of essential foodstuffs are running low, as there hasn't been a delivery for four weeks.

Production at a new tuna cannery expected to employ 2,000 people, has also been delayed because essential parts needed to operate the factory haven't arrived.

Orca Bay to Launch Retail Line of Single Serve Vac-Pack Chum Salmon and Cod Portions

Orca Bay Seafoods will launch a line of 5 oz. salmon and cod portions that will be offered to retailers in a more environmentally friendly single serve vaccuum pack.

The new 5 oz. retail line will feature both Keta salmon and Pacific cod seasoned with a variety of dry spice rubs and crusts.  The Keta salmon portions will include Mediterranean Spice, Maple Bourbon, Lemon Pepper with Dill, Lemon Herb Thyme, and Spicy Barbecue flavors.  The Cod line will have ...

Taylor Shellfish's Annual Evening Totten Island Feasts Offer Oysters at Their Wintertime Best

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Seattle Times] By By Tan Vinh - January 30, 2015 - 

TOTTEN INLET, As far as I can see, oyster hunters with their headlamps look like specks of fireflies in the dead of winter.

It’s pitch dark off Totten Inlet, between Olympia and Shelton; rainy and gusty, too. I’ve brought along extra rain gear and socks, but more importantly, I’ve brought along a shucking knife.

The goal is to hunt for Virginica oysters.

This is prime oyster season, now through April, when bivalves fatten up before spawning. You’ve not tasted great oysters until you have picked one off the tidal flats, shucked it and then chewed on the cold, briny morsel.

Minh Phu Offering 50 Percent Stake in Company to Fund Global Shrimp Expansion

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Bloomberg News] By Chau Mai - January 29, 2015 - 

Minh Phu Seafood Corp., which sells black tiger shrimp to Costco Wholesale Corp. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc., will seek to sell half of itself to foreign strategic investors to help fund overseas expansion.

“If we stay on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, we can’t raise enough target capital,” said CEO Quang, who plans to raise the company’s registered capital 20 percent to 840 billion dong.

A dozen foreign investors from the U.S, Japan and Canada have expressed interest in the stake sales, Quang said...

McDonald's Replaces CEO with Chief Branding Officer Following Dropping Sales and Earnings

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [New York Times] By Hiroko Tabuchijan - January 29, 2015 -

McDonald’s announced yesterday that its chief executive would step down, just days after the fast-food restaurant chain posted one of its worst financial performances in years.

Don Thompson, 51, will retire as president and chief executive, effective March 1, McDonald’s said in a statement. He will be replaced by Steve Easterbrook, the chain’s chief branding officer, who will also replace Mr. Thompson on the McDonald’s board, the statement said.

Last week, McDonald’s reported a sharp decline in sales and earnings as stiff competition and evolving consumer tastes continued to take a toll on the firm, one of America’s biggest restaurant brands. It has lost a lot of ground with consumers, including having difficulty attracting millennial consumers who gravitate more toward what are called fast-casual restaurants, like Chipotle.