Seafood Expo North America 2025: Day 1 in Photos

The 43rd annual Seafood Expo North America (SENA) 2025 kicked off at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center in Massachusetts on Sunday, March 16, 2025.

The event—which brings together key players of the global seafood industry—is seeing a good turnout so far, with 1,215 companies exhibiting from 51 different countries, including new participating exhibiting countries Bahrain, Croatia, Ireland, Mauritius, Puerto Rico, and United Arab Emirates.

This year, the event is also seeing an increased presence from China, Ecuador, France, Japan, Norway, and Vietnam.

US-Canada Trade Tensions Loom Over Newfoundland Snow Crab Negotiations

FFAW-Unifor, a union representing fishermen throughout Newfoundland and Labrador, said negotiations with the Association of Seafood Producers (ASP), a trade group representing processors and producers in the region, “have been productive.”

According to the FFAW, stronger snow crab market conditions compared to recent years have helped negotiations. The FFAW also noted the price increases in the Urner Barry by Expana price index.

“We have seen steady increases in the Urner Barry price index and inventory is not a factor. In fact, Urner Barry ceased quoting...

ANALYSIS: Overview of the EU–US Seafood Trade Amid Tariff Uncertainty

In the context of a trade war initiated by the US, the EU announced this week a tariff retaliation plan on US imports, including "certain seafood" items, as Expana reported.

Last year, US seafood exports to the EU represented 850.4 million USD for 217,197 metric tons of finfish and shellfish. With the exception of 2020, when global trade was hit by the pandemic, 2024 saw the lowest export revenue since 2009 for US seafood sent to the EU. The large majority of this amount...

Navigating the Trump Tariff Turbulence: A Comprehensive Timeline

As April approaches, the ongoing tariff saga continues to unfold, bringing new developments each day. Expana is tracking the latest headlines and breaking down the key updates as they happen.

March 12, 2025: European Commission announces countermeasures to US steel, aluminum tariffs

The European Commission (EC) responded to new US tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from the European Union (EU) by launching countermeasures on imports from the US into the EU...

Japanese Importers See Opportunities to Increase Canadian Spot Prawn Imports

According to a Minato Shimbun report, following China's announcement to impose an additional 25% tariff on Canadian seafood products, a Japanese trading company predicts that the volume of Canadian spot prawn and lobster exported to Japan will increase. Regarding Canadian spot prawns, the trading company predicts that "in recent years, exports to Japan have decreased due to an increase in exports to China, but the Japanese market will be subject to market restructuring."

Canadian spot shrimp are caught in British Columbia. The 2024 fishing season was from...

Snow Crab Quota Drops 28% in Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence for 2025

The 2025 Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for snow crab in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence dipped to 18,334 metric tons (t), per a Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) notice.

The quota is lower than 2024’s 25,710mt TAC but the drop off from last year’s quota was less dramatic than projections indicated earlier this year.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported last month that the DFO recommended a 33% quota cut for the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence. Instead, the quota dipped by about 28% in 2025...

Japan's 2024 Surimi Product Export Value Reaches Second Highest on Record with JPY 10.6 Billion

According to the Ministry of Finance's trade statistics, 2024 exports of surimi products, excluding fish sausages, reached 10,402 tons, which marks 8% more than the previous year and recovery of the 10,000-ton mark for the first time in two years. This amounts to the fifth-highest volume ever.

While exports to China were lost entirely due to the embargo, exports to the United States, the largest market, grew significantly. Exports to the Middle East and Southeast Asia also increased...

Nueva Pescanova's Profitability Surges with New Strategy, Exceeding Forecast

The Nueva Pescanova Group said that it achieved an EBITDA of €40.1 million ($43.6 million) from April to December 2024, a mark that is four times higher than in the previous financial year (April 2023 to March 2024).

Nueva Pescanova’s EBITDA through the first three quarters surpassed its own forecast of €37.5 million for the end of the year.

The company credited the results to measure implemented by its new management team that focused on “improved profitability in all operations, cost containment, the renewed commercial strategy focusing on...

US Coast Guard Detains 16 Mexican Fishermen for Illegal Fishing, Seizes 2,500 lbs of Red Snapper

On the night of Tuesday, March 11, 2025, U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) crews intercepted and detained 16 Mexican fishermen who were engaging in illegal fishing activities off the coast of southern Texas. During its interdiction, Coast Guard officials seized approximately 2,500 pounds of illegally caught red snapper.

Boat crews from Coast Guard Cutter Daniel Tarr and Coast Guard Station South Padre Island coordinated with Coast Guard Sector Corpus Christi Command Center watchstanders and Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi aircrews to intercept four vessels...

SENA 2025: And the 2025 Seafood Excellence Awards Go to…

The Seafood Excellence Awards took place on Sunday, March 16 at Seafood Expo North America (SENA) 2025, with two companies being honored for premium seafood offerings: American Unagi Inc. for Best New Foodservice Product and Icy Waters, LLC for Best New Retail Product.

This year's SENA/Seafood Processing North America review panel consisted of three seafood industry experts who judged the products on their “uniqueness, appropriateness to the market, taste profile, packaging, market potential, convenience, nutritional value, and originality.”

The review panel made its decision live on Sunday morning, comprised of judges...

ANALYSIS: Atlantic Cod Continues Upward Pricing Trend While TAC Declines in the Barents Sea

The markets for Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus) have exhibited upward pricing pressure in both Europe and the United States. In the European market, the most significant factor driving the surge is the continuous reduction of the total allowable catch (TAC) for Atlantic cod in recent years in the Barents Sea...

American Food Partners Adds The Town Dock to Growing Seafood Brands

American Food Partners announced the acquisition of NGC, Inc., which includes Rhode Island-based seafood company The Town Dock.

The Town Dock, which specializes in squid and calamari, was founded by Noah Clark in 1980. Fast forward to 2025, and the company is an international firm in the wholesale squid and seafood space. Clark’s son, Ryan Clark, will remain at the helm of The Town Dock as President & CEO.

“We are happy to join AFP and are looking forward to significant growth of our squid program, especially...

Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Says to Avoid Certain Mexican-Caught White and Yellow Shrimp

Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Program (Seafood Watch) released its March 2025 updated recommendations for Mexican shrimp in the Eastern Central Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico regions, with certain white and yellowleg shrimps receiving downgraded recommendations, now classified amongst the "Avoid" category.

Meanwhile, certain brown, blue, and pink shrimps were upgraded from red to yellow ratings. For the most part, however, the majority of shrimp maintained yellow or red ratings due to bottom or skimmer trawling methods, which Seafood Watch has deemed unsustainable...

NL Delegation to Meet with New Buyers at Seafood Expo North America and Explore Market Opportunities 

The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador’s (NL) Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture division recently announced that Minister Honorable Gerry Byrne and a delegation of provincial fishery representatives will meet with key global buyers during the 2025 Seafood Expo North America (SENA).

The annual seafood expo takes place on March 16 – 18 in Boston, Massachusetts, and will allow the NL government to explore global market opportunities with key players in the seafood sector.

This year, NL will be co-exhibiting with the following companies...

Russia and Japan Agree on 2025 Salmon Catch Quotas, Same as 2024

Russia and Japan have reached an agreement on 2025 salmon catch quotas for Japanese fishermen in the Japanese exclusive economic zone. According to the Japanese Fisheries Administration, the quota is set at 2,050 tons, which is the same as last year.

The parties agreed that Japanese fishermen will be able to catch salmon that migrate from Russian rivers. Currently the sides are also conducting talks on the 2025 salmon catch quotas for Japanese fishermen in the 200-mile exclusive economic zone of the Russian Federation.

Last year, Russia and Japan agreed...

Ecuador’s SSP Celebrates Seven Years of Shrimp Sustainability

The Sustainable Shrimp Partnership (SSP) is celebrating its seventh anniversary as a global benchmark entity for responsible shrimp production.

SSP is comprised of leading shrimp producers in Ecuador’s booming shrimp farming sector, which currently dominates the global shrimp market.

“Leading by example has not only been a strategic foundation but also our greatest source of learning,” said SSP Director Pamela Nath, commemorating another year since the organization’s 2018 founding.

The Partnership’s certification program plays a vital role in how the SSP moves the needle on shrimp farming. At its core, SSP certification...

Pacific Seafood Chooses Schoox to Manage Enterprise-Wide Learning

Schoox, a global leader in frontline workforce learning and skills development, has been chosen by Pacific Seafood, a family-owned and operated provider of the healthiest protein on the planet, to advance the organization's vision for employee development. The company employs more than 3,000 team members across 40 facilities in the United States, Canada, and Chile.

Pacific Seafood is recognized as an employer of choice in its community. It has earned accolades from Top Workplaces USA and has been named one of Oregon's Healthiest Workplaces...