Chile Pushes Back on US Tariffs as Salmon Industry Maps Path to Relief

Chile is mounting a coordinated diplomatic and legal response to the 12.5% Section 301 tariff the Trump administration imposed on Chilean goods on July 24 — a rate that places Chile among the highest-penalized economies in the new forced-labor framework and hits salmon, wine, timber, and fruit exports simultaneously.

The justification has drawn sharp pushback from Santiago. Chilean government ministers publicly questioned the forced-labor basis for the tariff, calling it unjust and damaging to bilateral trust, according to local media reports...

Proximar Seafood Secures NOK 100 Million Bond to Fund Ramp-Up at Mount Fuji RAS Facility

Norway-founded, Japan-based land-based salmon farmer Proximar Seafood has completed the placement of a NOK 100 million ($9.8 million) three-year unsecured convertible bond, with settlement expected around August 12, the company announced August 5. The raise comprises NOK 75 million in new subscriptions and NOK 25 million rolled over from existing bonds, with the instrument to be listed on Nordic ABM...

RFK, Jr. Hosts The Real Food Show with Chef Andrew Gruel, Starring Wild Alaska Sockeye

In the premiere episode of The Real Food Show, hosted by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. with guest Chef Andrew Gruel, wild Alaska sockeye salmon took center stage.

Kennedy launched the cooking show to demonstrate that preparing meals with real, whole-food ingredients can be healthy, delicious, and affordable. Chef Gruel — founder of the Slapfish franchise and the founder, CEO and executive chef of Calico Fish House, a casual seafood restaurant in Huntington Beach, CA — addressed an issue at the heart of many political...

Chile's Economic Reform Law Clears Congress, Giving Salmon Farmers Long-Sought Regulatory Relief

Chile's Congress has given final approval to President José Antonio Kast's flagship economic reform package, the Ley de Reconstrucción Nacional y Desarrollo Económico y Social, and the aquaculture sector is among the clearest winners. The Senate signed off on August 4 after months of contentious debate, completing a bill that industry groups had lobbied hard to shape.

For salmon farming, the headline provision is a new "micro-relocation" mechanism that allows operators to shift the physical footprint of an existing concession by up to 350 meters...

Advocates Report ICE 'Soft Raid' Targeting Workers at Washington Seafood Plant

For the past three months, agents reportedly working for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have been targeting the Premier Packing plant in Lynden, WA. Over those months, the federal agency's strategies have changed as Washington laws have passed to protect residents from illegal ICE actions.

"One of the things that makes this unique is it's along roadsides, on public thoroughfares," said Jeremy Dorrough, executive director of Racial Unity Now, the advocacy group documenting ICE activity in the area. "It's even, in some of the instances, happened at people's place...

Cargill Invests NOK 90M to Expand Halsa Salmon Feed Plant

Cargill is investing NOK 90 million (approximately $9.4 million/€8.2 million) to expand its aquafeed manufacturing facility at Halsa in Meløy municipality, northern Norway, as the company eyes continued growth in salmon feed demand, according to reports from iLaks, Salmon Business, and IntraFish.

The investment will fund construction of a new 1,100-square-meter finished-goods warehouse at the site, along with new offices, changing rooms, and employee facilities. The project is designed to improve storage capacity and operational efficiency at the plant, which produces feed under Cargill's...

Trump's Section 301 Tariffs Cast New Shadow Over Norway's Declining US Seafood Exports

Norway's seafood industry emerged from the Trump administration's Section 301 tariff announcement on July 24 facing fresh uncertainty in a US market that was already sliding — with a 12.5% rate now locked in while key competitors secured lower or zero-rate access.

The determination stems from the US Trade Representative's finding that Norway lacks legislation explicitly prohibiting imports of goods produced with forced labor in third countries. Seafood Norway CEO Geir Ove Ystmark called the assessment unreasonable, pointing to the Norwegian Transparency Act and the country's pending...

Update of Statewide Salmon Landings Emphasize Concern for Pinks and Chums

Alaska salmon harvests are continuing to show a concerning pattern of very few pink salmon returning in any areas of the state and a severely depleted keta (chum) run to date.

As the McKinley Research weekly update of July 25, 2026 puts it “Keta harvests were down 66%, and pink salmon runs are either low or late to arrive.”

Landings are recorded daily but published at different times in each port. In some areas, like Southeast Alaska and Prince William Sound, pink and chum...

Asian Demand Helps Lift Global Salmon Trade in 2025

Global salmon trade expanded in 2025, supported by stronger production, rising Asian demand and shifting trade flows shaped in part by tariffs, according to a new report from FAO Globefish.

Global salmon production reached roughly 3.157 million metric tons in 2025, up 12.1% from the previous year, the report said. Increased output from major suppliers, particularly Norway and Chile, helped boost export volumes, while the European Union (EU) and the United States (US) remained important market drivers.

Norway exported 1,414,909 metric tons of...

High Liner Foods' Sea Cuisine Skillet Meals Hit Retail Shelves After SENA Debut

High Liner Foods announced on July 27 that its Sea Cuisine Skillet Meals are now available at select grocery stores across the United States, completing a journey that began with a first look at the Seafood Expo North America in March.

The line, three globally inspired, one-pan seafood dinners ready in 15 minutes, is designed to address what the company describes as a meaningful gap in the frozen meals aisle. Chicken and beef account for nearly 70% of the top 300 frozen multi-serve SKUs...

The Winding Glass: What Alaska Has Lost

In 2016, Alaska fishermen received an average of 40 cents per pound for their catch (in 2025 dollars). In 2024, they got 27 cents, a 32% decline in real terms. Alaska's other resource industry, oil, saw its price rise 30% in real terms over the same period.

These are not just the actions of commodity markets. Seafood lost a third of its real value, a fifth of its processing plants, and most of its mid-sized owners. The losses did not fall evenly along the supply chain. Total wholesale sales fell by only...

Bristol Bay Sockeye Run Tops Pre-Season Forecast; Harvest Closing In

Landings in Bristol Bay are on track to exceed the pre-season harvest forecast of 32.26 million sockeye, with cumulative catches reaching 29.44 million as of July 22, close but not yet at the target.

The full sockeye return has already cleared the bar. The July 22 report showed 44.64 million sockeye returned to Bristol Bay, surpassing the pre-season inshore run forecast of 44.05 million. Cumulative bay-wide escapement stood at 15.2 million, roughly 3 million above the pre-season estimate of 11.79 million...

Norwegian Salmon Mortality Falls 35.7% as Industry Improvements Drive Decline

Mortality among Norwegian farmed salmon and trout has fallen significantly in recent years, with new data from the Directorate of Fisheries showing a 35.7% decline compared with the same period over the past three years.

The decline marks the lowest mortality level recorded for the first half of the year since 2018, with June 2026 also recording the lowest figures for the month across the same period.

The improvement has been seen across most of Norway’s production areas (POs), with 11 of 13 POs reporting lower...

Chile Defines 'Micro-Relocation' in Aquaculture Reform, Unlocking 95 Stalled Concession Requests

Chile's Senate Environment Committee has approved a key definition within the country's sweeping aquaculture reform legislation, establishing the concept of "micro-relocation" for salmon farming concessions and exempting such moves from the country's full environmental impact assessment process.

Under the approved language — put forward by President José Antonio Kast's administration — a micro-relocation is defined as a shift of no more than 350 meters from any vertex of an existing concession, undertaken solely to improve environmental conditions such as water depth and current velocity, which affect the dispersion...

Dallas Seafood Wholesaler Hit with $250K Fine for Selling Chilean Salmon as European

A Dallas seafood wholesaler has been fined $250,000 for falsifying the country of origin on salmon products in a scheme that generated an estimated $200,000 in illegal gains, the Department of Justice announced July 17.

Seafood Supply Co. was sentenced on two felony counts of violating the Lacey Act (Case No. 3:26-CR-00088) after court documents revealed the company had designated Chilean salmon as product from Scotland, Norway, and Canada from January 2020 to February 2022. The mislabeling was designed to exploit...

Trio of Norwegian Salmon Farmers Acquire Arctic Seafood Group

Three Norwegian aquaculture companies have teamed up to acquire Arctic Seafood Group, a Norway-based seafood trading company, in a deal announced July 17 that bucks the trend of large-scale industry consolidation, according to various industry media reports.

The buyers, Sjybol, Kobbvaglaks, and Selsøyvik Havbruk, are all locally rooted salmon producers operating in the Helgeland region of northern Norway. Following the acquisition, Sjybol, parent company of Norwegian salmon producer Lovundlaks, will hold the largest stake at 49%, while Kobbvaglaks and Selsøyvik Havbruk will each hold 25.5%, per Fish Farmer Magazine...

Consejo del Salmón Presents Sustainable Impact Report Covering Six Years of Member Data

"Six Years Measuring Our Impact: When We Measure Ourselves, We Move Forward" is the title of the sixth Sustainable Impact Report (RIS) presented by Chile's Salmon Council. The publication collects and synthesizes the social, economic and environmental contributions of its member companies: AquaChile, Australis Seafoods, Cermaq Chile, Mowi Chile, Salmones Aysén, and Ventisqueros.

The report was presented at the Aula Magna of Universidad San Sebastián's Patagonia campus in Puerto Montt, before an audience of regional authorities, academic representatives, member company executives, and stakeholders...

Tariffs Keep Biting: Norwegian Salmon Loses Ground in US Despite Record July Exports

Norway posted record overall seafood export figures in July, but the US market remains a notable weak spot as tariffs weigh on trade across multiple species, according to the Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC).

US-bound exports fell 4% in July, dropping Norway to its fifth-largest salmon market — a striking slide from the second spot it held just a year ago. "Tariffs on exports to the US are still affecting salmon exports," said Paul Aandahl, seafood analyst at the NSC...

Superior Fresh Completes First Atlantic Salmon Harvest at Indiana RAS Facility

Superior Fresh has completed its first commercial Atlantic salmon harvest at its Albany, Indiana recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) facility — a milestone roughly two years in the making since acquiring the site from the now-defunct AquaBounty Technologies in September 2024 for US$9.5 million (AndNowUKnow).

"From redesigning the facility, to continuously caring for our fish, to harvesting our very first salmon just a few weeks ago — every milestone has been made possible by our incredible teams both in Indiana and Wisconsin," the company said in a LinkedIn post...

Scottish Salmon Arrives in India Tariff-Free as UK-India Trade Deal Takes Effect

The first shipment of Scottish salmon has landed in India following the entry into force of the UK-India Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement on July 15, marking a significant new market opening for Scotland's £828 million ($1.1 billion) farmed salmon industry.

The deal eliminates India's previous 33% import tariff on Scottish salmon immediately upon entry into force, alongside tariffs on haddock, cod, and other finfish. Shellfish including mussels, scallops, and lobster will see tariffs reduced on a longer glide path rather than eliminated...

Coalition Celebrates First Chinook Salmon to Mount St. Helens Watershed Since 1980 Eruption

The plan began shortly after the cataclysmic eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980. The upper Toutle River watershed, source of abundant populations of spring and fall Chinook, coho salmon, and winter steelhead, took the hardest hit, buried under hundreds of feet of ash, volcanic debris, and sediment. Work began almost immediately by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to build a Sediment Retention Structure (SRS), a large earthen dam, to stop downstream sediment flow, and a Fish Collection Facility (FCF)...

Study Finds Low or Non-Detectable PFAS Levels in Wild Alaska Seafood

A peer-reviewed toxicology study, Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Commercially Important Marine Species of Fish and Shellfish from Alaska and Implications for Human Exposure, found that many of Alaska's most widely consumed wild seafood species contain low or non-detectable levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), commonly known as "forever chemicals." Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) highlighted the findings in a recent post. 

In the study, samples of commercially harvested Alaska seafood collected between 2022 and 2024 from the Bering Sea...

Santa Priscila Wins Antitrust Approval for Ecuaprotein Asset Deal

Ecuador's antitrust regulator, the Superintendency of Economic Competition (SCE), has approved Industrial Pesquera Santa Priscila's proposed acquisition of assets and production resources from Proteínas del Ecuador Ecuaprotein SA.

The decision was announced Tuesday, 28 July, by the First Instance Resolution Commission (CRPI) of the SCE, which concluded the transaction would not generate adverse effects on competition in the relevant markets.

Under the deal, Industrial Pesquera Santa Priscila, Ecuador's largest shrimp producer and exporter, will acquire assets used in the production and marketing of shrimp...

West Coast Fishing Communities Face Historic Threat From Super El Niño

The West Coast is bracing for what forecasters say could be one of the strongest El Niño events in recorded history, with Pacific Ocean temperatures off Washington and Oregon already running well above normal. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has reported soaring sea surface temperatures — already twice the 0.5-degree Celsius threshold that triggers an official El Niño declaration — and Ocean Conservancy experts warn the US is dangerously underprepared for what could follow.

Marine heatwaves that accompany Super El Niños suppress ocean nutrients, allow toxic algae to flourish...

Chilean Salmon's Biggest Tariff Hurdle Yet as Section 301 Takes Effect

Chilean salmon will now face a 12.5% tariff when entering the United States following the Trump administration's latest tariff actions, which went into effect on July 24. The move is significant for the industry, which supplies over 40% of the salmon consumed in the US.

The new Section 301 tariffs mark the most significant tariff hurdle for the Chilean salmon sector yet, raising the rate from the 10% that had applied throughout President Trump's earlier trade actions. The determination stems from a US Trade Representative finding that Chile lacks...

EU Seafood Consumption Hits Decade Low as Price Pressure and Convenience Demands Reshape the Market

European consumers are eating less fish than at any point in the past decade. EU apparent consumption fell from 12.94 million tonnes in 2014 to 10.25 million tonnes in 2023, with per capita intake dropping from 25.5 kg to 22.9 kg — the lowest level of the period — according to a sweeping new study from the European Market Observatory for Fisheries and Aquaculture Products (EUMOFA). The sharpest decline came after 2019, as COVID-19, the war in Ukraine, and sustained food price inflation accelerated behavioral shifts...

Section 301 Forced Labor Tariffs Take Effect; Seafood Gets No Exemptions as New Trade Map Takes Hold

The Trump administration put a new set of tariffs in place on Friday, ranging from 10% to 12.5% on 60 US trading partners. Seafood received no product exemptions; the sector had been named a priority target when USTR launched the Section 301 forced labor investigations in February, and the final rule followed through.

The tariffs, imposed under the Trade Act of 1974 by USTR Ambassador Jamieson Greer at the direction of President Trump, replace the temporary 10% Section 122 levies that expired...

Robot-Assisted Ike Jime Comes to Cook Inlet as Shinkei Systems Eyes Premium Salmon Market

Shinkei Systems, the seafood robotics company that created Seremoni Grade™ premium fish, has developed new harvesting technology now in place on selected fishing vessels in Cook Inlet, Alaska. The wild sockeye salmon caught there will reach markets as Seremoni Grade, Shinkei’s distinctively higher-quality fish, this summer.

Seremoni Grade’s higher quality comes from killing the fish quickly and humanely, as traditional Japanese fishermen have done for generations. Shinkei has automated the Japanese slaughter technique...

WA and OR Legislators and Industry Respond to Sudden Loss of BPA Funding for Columbia River Hatchery

State and federal lawmakers are joining industry to object to the Bonneville Power Administration's (BPA) June 18 decision to end its $2.4 million annual fund for the Select Area Fisheries Enhancement (SAFE) Program in the Lower Columbia River. The SAFE Program is a collaboration of three partners: the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), and Clatsop County.

Withdrawal of the funds places more than 7 million hatchery salmon currently in production at immediate...

Alaska Sockeye Harvests Meeting Forecasts, Pink and Chum Landings Far Below 5-year Averages

Bristol Bay’s sockeye harvest has reached 29.2 million salmon as of July 16, 2026, very close to the pre-season forecast of 32 million. Kodiak’s harvest of 785,000 as of July 15 has so far exceeded its pre-season estimate of 730,000 in landings for sockeye.  

In the Alaska Peninsula, nearly 4 million sockeye have been harvested, contributing to a statewide total of 34.6 million.  

But for all other species, except coho salmon, which start in September, harvest totals are dismal. Total salmon landings...