Rapid Rise, Hard Fall in US Crab Meat Prices Sticks Importers with High Cost Inventories
US crab meat importers have been battling with high cost inventory in 2015 as the wholesale market in the last year has been marked by the quickest rise to record highs only to be followed by a hard crash in the market. In 2014 overseas producers commanded higher premiums for their for crab meat for much of the year. The wholesale market adjusted to higher import costs, evident in the similar increase to record highs in 2014 according to Urner Barry quotations. However, US crab meat inventories grew this year driven by near record shipments. But crab meat has entered the US market in 2015 at falling prices, which has left some importers holding high-cost inventories in a down market.
NOAA has delayed charging observer fees to New England’s groundfishing fleet for another month. NOAA said this summer fishermen would have to begin paying to cover the costs starting Nov. 1. That deadline is now pushed to Dec. 1, NOAA spokesperson Jennifer Goebel said. NOAA currently pays for the at-sea monitoring.
In other news John Sackton writes of the various efforts across several global fisheries to restrict bottom trawling in order to avoid the potential of habitat destruction to slow growing deep sea corals and benthic communities. However, Sackton warns that some NGOs can use these issues to spook retailers into agreeing to seafood sourcing agreements that do not use existing science-based approaches that already monitor these impacts to the environment.
Finally, the NPFMC will start crafting a plan to reduce bycatch among Gulf of Alaska trawl fisheries. The plan is likely to include catch shares for up to 25 groundfish species. Today’s story features Council member Duncan Fields explains some of the major factors the NPFMC will consider in setting up the plan.
Have a great weekend.
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