Hurricane Helene Intensifies U.S. Agriculture Disruptions As Port Strike Officially Starts

Hurricane Helene, a powerful Category 4 storm, made landfall in Florida's Big Bend region on September 26, 2024. The storm caused widespread destruction across the southeastern U.S., with the death toll approaching 125 as of this writing. 

Its damaging winds, storm surge, and flooding led to power outages and infrastructure damage in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and the Carolinas–with the Carolinas seemingly suffering the greatest impacts. Parts of North Carolina are submerged under water, where roads have been washed out and properties have been flattened. As of October 1...

NOAA Fisheries Unveils National Seafood Strategy Implementation Plan

Last August, NOAA Fisheries released its National Seafood Strategy, a document designed to outline the direction over the next five years to support a “thriving domestic U.S. seafood economy.

A little over a year later, NOAA has now released its National Seafood Strategy Implementation Plan, a 14-page document that will outline actions taken to support the national strategy.

“The Implementation Plan is where the rubber meets the road,” said NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator Janet Coit. “It outlines the specific actions to achieve the goals we laid out in the strategy...

Total Familiarity of Wild Alaska Pollock Hits the Highest Recorded Since Tracking Began

Total familiarity with Wild Alaska Pollock increased by an astounding 6 percentage points since tracking consumer familiarity began in 2019, said data experts from Ketchum Analytics at the Wild Alaska Pollock Annual Meeting this morning in Seattle. During the sixth industry annual meeting, hosted by the Association of Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers (GAPP), data experts Melissa Kinch and Lauren Hasse of Ketchum noted that, in looking at other white fish as a benchmark for performance, Wild Alaska Pollock last year, for the first time...

Washington Researchers Use Drones to Determine Marine Mammal Predation on Salmonids

Just how much salmon and steelhead do Washington’s seals and sea lions eat?

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife plans to use drones to help determine the answer.

WDFW recently finalized a drone use plan that authorizes staff to conduct pinniped research and management surveys in the state’s coastal and inland waters. Department staff and researchers will use drones to survey for seals and sea lions in the Department’s Southwest, Coastal, and North Puget Sound regions.

This fall, WDFW will fly drones in the Nisqually, ...

How a Port Strike Could Ripple Through the Ag Sector

Only five days remain before a possible strike at major ports along the East and Gulf coasts, set for October 1, if negotiations between the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) fail. 

The 45,000 port workers represented by the ILA are pushing for improved wages and added worker safety, as well as growing concerns over the increased use of automation. This would be the first ILA coastwide strike in nearly 50 years.

ILA Executive Vice President Dennis A. Daggett said in a statement on September 20...

Oregon Governor Takes a Stand on Offshore Wind; BOEM Postpones Auction

Plans for Oregon’s offshore wind future blew out like a storm came through on Friday, when Gov. Tina Kotek announced a request to the federal government to cancel the auction and also to withdraw from the Renewable Energy Intergovernmental Task Force.

At the same time, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced it was going to postpone the auction anyway, since only one of the five qualified bidders expressed an interest in participating in the auction schedule for Oct. 15.

“I am disappointed that BOEM’s accelerated ...

Japan’s Proximar Seafood Completes First Harvest of Atlantic Salmon

Land-based salmon farmer Proximar Seafood announced that it has achieved its first commercial harvest, a pivotal milestone for the firm, which boasts a salmon facility near Mount Fuji in Japan.

“Proximar is the only supplier of domestically produced Atlantic salmon in Japan, years ahead of competition. We have since October 2022 proven great production capabilities and fish growth, and I am now immensely proud to see all the hard work from our excellent team being commercially validated through the first harvest,” said Joachim Nielsen, CEO of Proximar Seafood...

Cod Farmer Ode Appoints New Sales Manager

Ode, a top producer of farmed cod in Norway, announced that Tone Hellesvik has been appointed as Sales Manager.

Hellesvik brings over thirty years of seafood industry experience to the role, with much of it focused on whitefish sales and marketing. She previously served as the Sales Director at Nordic Group and was in a similar position for Domstein and Terra Seafood.

In the new role, Hellesvik will be tasked with “further developing the sales of Ode’s farmed cod to the North American and Nordic markets.” Furthermore, she will be the category...

Appellate Court Finds Structure of Fishery Management Councils Unconstitutional

An appellate court ruled in favor of a pair of commercial fishermen who challenged the constitutionality of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Fishery Management Council's (MAFMC) appointment process.

The 2-1 split-decision appellate court ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by commercial fishermen Raymond Lofstad and Gus Lovgren, represented by the Pacific Legal Foundation. PLF has filed various lawsuits against some of the eight U.S. fishery management councils, as SeafoodNews reported.

The duo sued the MAFMC after its decision to approve an amendment to its fishery management plan that cut the ...

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Nearly $40 Million in Disaster Funding Allocated for ’23-24 Bering Sea Snow Crab Fishery

The U.S. Secretary of Commerce announced that $39.5 million in funding will address a fishery resource disaster that occurred in the Alaska Bering Sea Snow Crab Fishery from 2023 to 2024.

“As climate change continues to have severe impacts on the fisheries and ecosystems that are vital to Alaska’s economy, the Department of Commerce remains committed to providing disaster relief across the state,” said Secretary Raimondo. “This funding will help Alaskans recover from the Bering Sea Snow Crab Fishery disaster...

NCLA Files Another Brief Urging Court to Drop Atlantic Herring Monitoring Rule

The New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA) said it filed a “Supplemental Brief” urging the court to vacate the federal rule that forces North Atlantic herring fishermen to pay for at-sea monitoring.

Specifically, the NCLA wants the Omnibus Amendment, issued by the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC), to be shut down for almost all of the region's fisheries.

Implemented by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) February 2020 Final Rule, the Herring Rule is just the first of many industry-funded monitoring programs...

Biden-Harris Administration Delivers Over $26.7 Billion In Market Access for U.S. Agriculture

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced that the Biden-Harris Administration has secured over $26.7 billion in agricultural market access across the globe for America’s farmers, ranchers, fishers, and food manufacturers. Under President Biden and Vice President Harris’s leadership, United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack have worked to ensure American agriculture can reach global markets and customers around the world...

ANALYSIS: Slight Year-Over-Year Increase for EU & UK Shrimp Imports

In July 2024, according to census data, the volume of coldwater and warmwater shrimp imported by the EU and the UK progressed by 2.6% year on year, from 57,343 MT to 58,820 MT. This is following a mild 1.5% increase the previous year between July 2022 and July 2023.

Regarding the first seven months of the year, imports progressed by 3.7% since last year. Amongst all types of species, so far this year, imports of frozen warm water shrimps grew by 6.3%  compared with 2023...

Wild Alaska Pollock Industry Continues Work to  “Make Surimi Sexy Again”

Deliberate storytelling around the real-ness of Surimi Seafood, and embracing the name, which is associated with higher perception, is critical to moving the needle and driving demand around the world, say data experts and industry speakers at the sixth Annual Meeting hosted by the Association of Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers (GAPP) today. According to the year-over-year GAPP survey results, presented today, amongst attributes that drive intent to purchase, “knowing surimi seafood is made from real fish, Wild Alaska Pollock,” rose by 5 percentage points in importance...

Commerce Announces Fishery Disaster Determination for 2023 Tribal Klamath River Salmon Fishery

Last year was a tough year for West Coast salmon, for salmon fishermen, and for Tribes that depend on salmon for subsistence and ceremonial use. At least five West Coast fisheries are in the queue to request a disaster determination for salmon fisheries.

Last week, the Secretary of Commerce announced one determination was complete: a fishery resource disaster occurred in the 2023 Pulikla Tribe of Yurok People Klamath River subsistence salmon fishery. The Pulikla Tribe was formerly known as the Resighini Rancheria. The determination is in response to ...

Coast Guard Seizes 500 Pounds of Illegally Caught Fish Off Texas Coast

The Coast Guard interdicted a lancha and seized 500 pounds of illegally caught fish in federal waters off southern Texas, Tuesday.

A Coast Guard Station South Padre Island boat crew in coordination with Coast Guard Sector Corpus Christi watch standers and Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi aircrews located and stopped five Mexican fishermen engaged in illegal fishing north of the Maritime Boundary Line.

After interdicting the lancha, Coast Guard personnel seized 500 pounds of red snapper, along with fishing gear and highflyers on board the vessels...

FTC Sends Warning to Seafood Restaurants: Décor Can be Misleading

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued new guidance last week warning the restaurant industry that it is against the law to use decorations, menus or social media to mislead customers about where the seafood they serve came from.

The FTC drew up a scenario where a customer sits down at a seafood restaurant with beachy décor, including fishing nets, shrimp and fishing boats all over the walls. Then, the server comes by with a shirt on that says, “We catch ‘em, you eat ‘em!” The menu showcases “locally sourced seafood...