ANALYSIS: Domestic Scallop Landings Could Point to a Gradual Longer-Cycle Recovery

Domestic scallop landings continue to show a quietly improving underlying trend, even as the 2026-27 season now appears to be settling into a more normal late-summer pace. Through August, cumulative landings reached roughly 16.8 million lbs, effectively meeting the projected annual limit of 17 million lbs and running ahead of the same point in each of the prior two seasons. That is notable not simply because the fishery started strong, but because it adds to the evidence of a broader multi-season recovery...

Fisheries Issues Front and Center in Alaska's 2026 Governor and US Congressional Races

For the first time in recent memory, fisheries and seafood issues are taking center stage in Alaska's political discussions, just seven weeks ahead of the November midterms. Part of the reason is that two candidates on the ballot have spent a lifetime in commercial fishing; part of it is the ongoing controversy over trawl bycatch of salmon.

In the Bering Sea pollock fishery, unintentional salmon bycatch continues even as salmon returns to the rivers feeding the Bering Sea have dwindled to levels that won't support even subsistence...

ANALYSIS: Norway's Salmon Exports Maintain Growth Despite Mixed Performance in Key Markets

Norwegian Atlantic farmed salmon exports through week 36 show an increase of 11.8% year-to-date (YTD), with an upward trend in exports since week 30 (Figure 1). Exports grew 1.0% week-over-week (WOW) in week 36, according to Statistics Norway. This recovery follows a slight dip in week 35, after exports hit an all-time weekly high of 31,378 mt in week 34...

Supreme Court to Weigh Maine Lobsterman's Fourth Amendment Challenge to GPS Boat Tracker Mandate

The US Supreme Court will decide on September 28 whether to hear a Maine lobsterman's challenge to a state requirement that he install a government GPS tracking device on his boat, in a case that could reshape the legal footing for vessel monitoring programs across the US commercial fishing industry, the Associated Press reported.

Frank Thompson, a federally permitted lobsterman, sued Carl Wilson, commissioner of the Maine Department of Marine Resources, arguing that the tracker requirement amounts to an unreasonable search and seizure under the Fourth...

Indonesia's Fishery Exports Hit $3 Billion in H1 2026, Vannamei Shrimp Leads Portfolio

Indonesia's fishery product exports totaled 566,250 tons valued at approximately $3 billion (Rp52.6 trillion) in the first half of 2026, according to a press release from the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP), which credited an expanded quality certification program with widening the country's access to global markets.

Ishartini, acting head of KKP's Quality Control Agency (Badan Mutu KKP), said in the release, dated September 12, that the export performance rested on 10 flagship commodities: vannamei shrimp, seaweed, tuna, sardines, mackerel, skipjack tuna...

Europeche Demands EU Scrap 35,000-Tonne Tuna Loins Tariff Quota Ahead of 2027

Europêche is pressing the EU Council to reject a rollover of the bloc's 35,000-tonne Autonomous Tariff Quota (ATQ) for zero-duty tuna loins, arguing that a rapidly expanding web of preferential trade deals has made the quota obsolete and increasingly damaging to European tuna fishermen.

The European fishing industry association contends the case for the ATQ has been overtaken by events. All African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries and Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) nations — including Indonesia, Mexico, India and Vietnam...

Japan: Surimi Product Exports Rose 9% to 6,186 Tons in January-July

According to trade statistics from Japan's Ministry of Finance, cumulative exports of surimi products, excluding fish sausage, from January to July totaled 6,186 tons, up 9% year-on-year. Exports to the United States, the largest overseas market, continued to drive growth, rising 10%, while shipments to Taiwan, Norway, and Singapore also expanded significantly. Exports to newer markets grew sharply, with volumes increasing fourfold in Thailand and 2.2-fold in Vietnam. Southeast Asia is gradually gaining a stronger presence in overseas markets. Minato Shimbun reported...

Pacific Catch Appoints Sam Hallak as CEO

Pacific Catch, a leading West Coast seafood restaurant brand, announced today the appointment of Sam Hallak as Chief Executive Officer. Pacific Catch has recently expanded beyond its Northern California roots into Southern California, most recently opening a new restaurant in Brea, California in May 2026. Hallak succeeds co-founder Keith Cox, who will remain involved with the company as a member of its board of directors.

Hallak joins Pacific Catch with a mandate to elevate hospitality and the guest experience, strengthen operational discipline, and build the systems and leadership capabilities required...

EPA Proposes Loosening Clean Water Act Permit Rules for Offshore Seafood Processing Vessels

The EPA has proposed a rule exempting most offshore seafood processing vessels from Clean Water Act (CWA) discharge permitting, a change the agency estimates will save the seafood processing industry $1.8 million annually in compliance costs.

The rule, published in the Federal Register September 4 and open for comment through October 19, revises the definition of "discharge of a pollutant" under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program. Since 1972, the CWA has excluded "a vessel or other floating craft" from NPDES permitting when...

Fire Destroys Former Bornstein Seafoods Cold-Storage Plant in Bellingham

A multi-unit fire broke out around 10:30 p.m. last Saturday night on the Bellingham, Washington waterfront at a seafood processing and cold-storage plant. By 4:25 a.m. Sunday, firefighters had extinguished the blaze and kept it from spreading to nearby buildings and boatyards. No injuries or deaths were reported. The cause and extent of the fire remain unknown at press time.

The building at 1001 Hilton Ave. was the former headquarters of Bornstein Seafoods, a family-owned business that operated continuously from 1934 until spring 2024.

The building is currently subleased to Michigan-based Lineage Logistics. All of the frozen fish products stored inside were destroyed in the fire, according to Bellingham Fire Captain Dustin Michaelis.

Florida Vibrio Vulnificus Death Toll Hits Four for 2026 as Health Officials Track Rising Case Count

Florida has confirmed its fourth Vibrio vulnificus death of 2026, with the state's health department reporting 20 cases of the bacterium so far this year, according to Florida Department of Health data cited by multiple outlets this week.

The most recent fatality involved a Broward County resident between 75 and 79 years old, according to the Florida Department of Health. Previous 2026 deaths were reported in Bay, Palm Beach, and Broward counties, with the year's first fatality — a Palm Beach County patient — confirmed in...

Six Rescued After Yacht Becomes Entangled in Northern Ireland Salmon Farm

Six sailors were rescued following a seven-hour overnight operation after their yacht became trapped in a salmon farm off Cushendall, County Antrim, marking the second such incident involving an Irish salmon farm in just over a month, according to the RNLI.

Red Bay RNLI's all-weather lifeboat launched at 3:22am on September 12 after Belfast Coastguard received a Mayday call from the 46ft yacht, which was sailing from Oban, Scotland, to Portugal, the RNLI said in a news release...

BBRSDA Awarded S-K Grant for New Wild Alaska Sockeye Salmon in Foodservice Campaign

With an eye to increasing demand for wild Alaska sockeye salmon in the domestic foodservice industry, the Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association (BBRSDA) sought and received its first-ever Saltonstall-Kennedy (S-K) grant, worth $499,400 over two years.

"This grant comes at an especially important time for Bristol Bay's fishermen, as the seafood industry continues to navigate a challenging and highly competitive market," said Lilani Dunn, executive director of BBRSDA. "Foodservice represents significant untapped potential for Bristol Bay sockeye salmon, and...

Ocean Mineral Mining Hits Headwinds in Virginia, Faces Transparency Calls in Pacific

Efforts to extract minerals from the ocean floor, pushed by the Trump administration, are attracting interest from mining companies while drawing strong opposition from fishing, shipping, and tourism interests across the country.

On August 22, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management closed a two-month public comment period on potential lease sales in a 2,764-square-mile region off Virginia. The area contains heavy mineral sands that could hold rare earth-bearing minerals, zircon, and titanium, according to the US Geological Survey...

ADM Inaugurates Aqua Feed Facility in Tianjin, China

ADM has inaugurated its Tianjin Early Nutrition Aqua Feed Facility. The newly operational facility produces specialized early nutrition aquafeed products for fish and shrimp targeting hatchery and nursery stages, the company said in an announcement.

With an annual capacity of approximately 5,000 MT, the Tianjin operation produces micro-particles ranging from 50 microns to 3 millimeters using cold micro-extrusion and marumerization technology to ensure water stability and nutrient integrity, ADM said. It will serve customers across China, Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

ANALYSIS: Pacific Halibut Supply Improves but Market Remains Historically Firm

The Pacific halibut market has entered the latter part of the 2026 season with a somewhat different tone than earlier this summer. According to the International Pacific Halibut Commission, coastwide landings through Week 34, ending Aug. 16, have nearly caught up with the 2025 pace, with roughly 64% of the annual quota harvested to date. This marks a signif

Ocean Rainforest Clears Final Hurdle for 2,000-Acre California Kelp Farm

Seaweed farmer Ocean Rainforest has secured the last major regulatory approval needed to build a commercial-scale offshore kelp farm in California, the company said in a Sept. 10 statement. The California Coastal Commission voted unanimously on Sept. 9 to approve the project's consistency certification, according to Ocean Rainforest and the trade publication Fish Farming Expert.

The approval clears the way for construction of a 2,000-acre site in federal waters about four miles off the coast of Ventura County, where the company plans to cultivate native giant kelp...