Trump Slaps Tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China: Seafood Industry Braces for Impact

After weeks of nonstop speculation, the White House confirmed that President Donald Trump would be implementing tariffs on various US trading partners, including Canada, Mexico and China.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reports on January 31 that Trump will implement 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico and a 10% duty on China starting on February 1.

NBC News reported that the details of how tariffs will be distributed remained unclear, but the plan will be available for public inspection on February 1. No comments were...

Captain Fresh Secures $29M as It Prepares for 2025 IPO

Captain Fresh raised roughly $29 million in its ongoing pre-IPO funding round. The company is continuing toward a public listing by the end of 2025.

The company said it has seen its revenue grow by 5x over the past two years, while it has been active in the mergers and acquisitions front.

“We have transformed into a truly global business over the last 24 months, with more than 98% of our demand coming from outside India. Current funding enables us...

New Data Shows Trudeau Policies Weakened Canadian Aquaculture Volume by 27%

According to the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance’s (CAIA) recent analysis of 2023 Statistics Canada aquaculture production and trade data, the country’s aquaculture industry suffered significant losses during Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s time in office.

Now, as 25% tariffs loom for imports into the U.S., the CAIA has determined that policy reversals are necessary.

“Aquaculture production is fast expanding and now accounts for over 50% of global seafood production,” said Timothy Kennedy, President & CEO of CAIA. “It is a critical path to feeding a growing global population..."

ANALYSIS: Anchovy Catch Reaches 96.5% of Quota as Peru Closes Second Season

The second season of Peruvian anchovy (Engraulis ringens) and white anchovy (Anchoa nasus), finished in the North-Central Zone of Peru, with total catches reaching 2,419,438 metric tonnes (MT), which is 96.4% of the 2,510,000 MT quota. 

Scientific studies by the Marine Institute of Peru (IMARPE) indicated an evident reproductive activity, which led The Ministry of Production (Produce) to close the second fishing season 2024 on January 23, 2024. The spawning period is a key phase in the anchovy life cycle...

Tanner Crab Fishing Continues in Kodiak and Southern Alaska Peninsula

Tanner crab fishing continues in Kodiak but only in the federal waters of the Southeast District, which has a Guideline Harvest Limit (GHL) of 405,000 lbs. For the Eastside District, where the GHL was 155,000 lbs, it was another near-record short season—closing on Thursday, January 17, at 3 p.m., just over two days from when it opened at noon on January 15.

As of January 28, Kodiak’s federal waters of the Southeastern District (GHL: 405,000 lbs) will remain open 24 hours a day rather than the previous ...

UMaine-led Team Develops More Holistic Way to Monitor Lobster Industry

Maine’s lobster fishery — one that supports thousands of jobs statewide — is extensively monitored. Management efforts are informed by biological monitoring surveys observing changes in abundance and distribution of the lobster population, and dealer and harvester reporting from the industry. Yet these statistics don’t tell the whole story of an industry shaken by supply and market disruptions and geopolitical conflict, or the welfare of the people and communities that rely on it. 

Since the annual commercial lobster landings have declined 27% from 2016-2022, the Maine Lobstermen’s Association...

Regal Springs’ Sustainability Alliance with Honduran Government Benefits Local Communities

Honduran tilapia producer Regal Springs Honduras, also known as Aquafinca St. Peter Fish, recently renewed its strategic alliance with the Government of the Republic of Honduras and the national electric company Empresa Nacional de Energia Eletrica (ENEE).

Once again, the entities will work team up to facilitate local sustainability and protect aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems within Honduras.

A major aspect of the partnership is collaborating to strengthen key operations in the country’s hydroelectric dam El Cajón, which is the fifth largest dam in the Americas and situated in Lake El Cajón...

Mowi Acquires Majority Stake in Nova Sea in $656M Deal

Salmon farming giant Mowi has acquired a controlling stake in fellow Norwegian salmon farmer Nova Sea in a NOK 7.4 billion ($656.4 million) agreement.  

Mowi negotiated a deal with Nova Sea's founding family, Vigner Olaisen AS, to acquire its controlling stake in Nova Sea AS. According to a company announcement, Mowi increased its ownership in Nova Sea from 49% to 95%.

“Nova Sea is a frontrunner in the Norwegian aquaculture industry and is known for its excellent biological performance and industry-leading margins...

Amar Seafood Obtains Licenses for Halibut Farm in Trøndelag, Norway

Norwegian-headquartered aquaculture company Amar Seafood was recently granted licenses to farm Atlantic halibut in its facility in Frøya, Trøndelag, Norway.

Currently, Amar Seafood operates five fully licensed aquaculture facilities across Canada, Scotland, and Norway, harvesting head-on-gutted groundfish: the Spotted Wolffish and Atlantic halibut.

The Frøya site will be repurposed for halibut farming, as well as for research and development for Amar, with a focus on testing and improving equipment and operational solutions...

Trump’s Political Appointments: What They Mean for Commodity Markets

On January 20, 2025, Donald Trump was sworn in for this second term as US President. JD Vance also took the oath of office to become the 47th Vice President.

The new President and his political appointments have dotted headlines in the agricultural commodity space and beyond–grabbing the attention of individuals worldwide. More importantly, the people Trump is bringing aboard to lead, regulate, or deregulate the country’s industries will carry with them implications for domestic and international commodity markets...

GSMC 2025: Does Seafood Have an Opportunity in Convenience Stores?  

Convenience stores have evolved. What was once a place to grab a coffee and a snack have become foodservice behemoths featuring ordering kiosks with thousands of items available to order.

So, where does seafood fit in?

That was the question the “Seafood in the C-Store” panel at the Global Seafood Market Conference 2025 attempted to answer.

“There’s a big opportunity around seafood in the c-store,” Harry Milloff, CEO of the Moseley Group, said to open the talk. The Moseley Group...

US Senate Committee Introduces Anti-IUU Fishing Bill for Tuna and Red Snapper Imports

On January 28, 2025, Senator Ted Cruz (Chairman of the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee), Senator Brian Schatz, Senator Katie Britt, and Senator Tommy Tuberville introduced the Illegal Red Snapper and Tuna Enforcement Act.

The bipartisan bill focuses on the development of a field test kit that can accurately test the geographic origin of red snapper and certain tuna species in order to determine if fish were caught in U.S. waters or foreign waters.

Sen. Schatz stated that the bill will help combat the efforts of pirate...

Russia Hits Record Crab Exports to China in 2024 Amid Shift to Asia

In 2024, Russia supplied China with a record-high value of crustaceans, mainly crabs, as part of its strategy to shift exports from the EU and the US to the Asia-Pacific region.

According to data from the Russian research agency Agroexport, crustacean exports from Russia to China reached a historic record of US$1.3 billion, 7% more than in 2023.

As president of the All-Russian Association of Fishery Producers (VARPE), German Zverev told Forbes Russia...

Hope and Optimism Apparent in Latest Positively Groundfish Survey

What a difference a year makes! Changes in political leadership, changes in regulations and economic shifts indicate some positivity for West Coast groundfish in the coming years.

Positively Groundfish, a non-profit organization whose mission is to tell the positive story of sustainable, underutilized West Coast Groundfish, started the Economic Outlook Survey for West Coast Groundfish in 2019, to reflect on that year’s record and look forward to what fishermen, processors and direct-to-consumer businesses expected. Then 2020 and the covid-19 pandemic hit and everything went topsy-turvy ...

Russian Surimi Production 50% Increase to 70,000 tons; Exports to China Jump

Russia's pollock surimi production in 2024 is set to reach a record high of 70,800 tons, up 47% from the previous year. In 2023, it was 47,500 tons. Minato Shimbun reported that the Russian Association of Pollock Fishermen (ADM, Vladivostok) announced this on January 21.

According to the association, the world's production of the same type of surimi in 2024 was 905,000 tons, down 4%. The United States' production was down 13% to 175,000 tons, and Southeast Asian countries' production was down 5% to 318,000 tons...

Seafood on the Speedway: Sea Best Returns for NASCAR Sponsorship with Ty Dillon, Kaulig Racing

Seafood will be well represented on the racetrack this season, thanks to a recent partnership between Kaulig Racing and Bever Street Fisheries’ Sea Best brand. 

Sea Best, the flagship brand of major U.S. seafood supplier Beaver Street Fisheries, will return as the primary partner for NASCAR racer Ty Dillon and the No. 10 Chevrolet car for 20 races during the 2025 season.

Sea Best will begin its tour as the main sponsor for Dillon and the No.10 on February 2 with the Cook Out...

European Commission Works to Decarbonize the Fishing Fleet in the Mediterranean and Black Sea

The EU fisheries sector is still highly dependent on fossil fuels. To reach carbon neutrality in the EU by 2050, it is important to find solutions for fishing fleets, to reduce such dependency and move to renewable and low-carbon energy sources as quickly as possible.

The DecarbonyT project, started in December 2023 and financed under the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund, is assessing to what extent the use of optimised trawling gears in the Mediterranean and Black Sea can lead to lower fuel consumption...