ANALYSIS: EU Imports of Homarus Lobster Slightly Progress in Q3

The most recent data from Eurostat shows that the third quarter of EU Homarus lobster imports stood 4.2% higher than 2023, at 6064 MT of lobster traded in, which translates into a +2.2% rise in value. This gives a rather positive indication of the outcome for the whole year. Historically, EU imports of lobster Homarus spike during the third quarter, and on average, in the last five years, the second half of the year represents 69% of yearly imports...

Cooke CEO Urges NL Premier to Withdraw from National Marine Conservation Area Proposal

Canadian seafood company Cooke Inc. urged the government to rethink the creation of a National Marine Conservation Area in Canada’s Newfoundland and Labrador Province.

In a letter to NL’s Office of the Premier, Cooke Inc. CEO Glenn Cooke urged Premier Andrew Furey to withdraw from the Memorandum of Understanding to establish the conservation area in the South Coast Fjords region of the province.

Cooke argued that the conservation area, approximately 911,000 hectares (9,110 square kilometers) of provincial inshore waters, would “eliminate fisheries and...

Soaring Costs Squeeze Japan’s Surimi Producers, Industry Calls for Support

According to a press release on November 27 of the Japan Kamaboko Association, the manufacturing costs of fish surimi products are soaring. The price of surimi, the primary raw material, has risen significantly this year, and the cost of packaging materials, labor, logistics, and energy costs such as electricity and gas have also risen sharply.

In this harsh environment, member companies have been working to reduce costs as much as possible by streamlining and improving production efficiency and reviewing raw materials...

Dermo Detected in Nova Scotia Oysters: Canadian Food Inspection Agency Confirms

As of November 27, 2024, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) confirmed the presence of Dermo (also known as Perkinsosis) in oyster samples collected in Merigomish, Nova Scotia.

The disease, caused by the parasite Perkinsosis marinus, poses a threat to Nova Scotia’s oyster populations, with increased potential for oyster mortality and decreased growth rates among oysters.

This follows the CFIA’s recent detection of Dermo in New Brunswick oysters, which we reported on here, on November 25, 2024.

The detection in Nova Scotia marks the first confirmed case of Dermo...

China Lifts Final Market Bans for Two Australian Beef Plants 

As of December 3rd, 2024, two Australian beef plants (Plant 1620 Australia Country Choice Production Pty Ltd and Plant 243 John Dee Warwick Pty Ltd) were approved for export to China, according to the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China.

The plants were banned from China’s market from 2021 and 2020 amid strained relationships between the two trading partners. 

“This is great news for Australian exporters, producers, and farmers... it’s a win for trade and a win for Australian jobs – something my Government will always back,” said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.  

Tuna Price-Fixing Scandal Winds Down as Court Approves Settlement

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California approved the settlement agreement between tuna companies StarKist, its parent company Dongwon Industries and Lion Capital, the owner of Bumble Bee Foods and consumers.

The agreement, approved by U.S. District Court Judge Dana Sabraw, marks the end of a nearly decade-long antitrust case that alleged massive tuna companies engaged in a price-fixing conspiracy. The case involved massive fines and prison sentences.

The latest settlement agreement will see StarKist pay $130 million in cash to consumers...

Canada and Province of New Brunswick to Fund $38M in Fish and Food Sector Improvements

The Government of Canada and the Province of New Brunswick recently announced the allocation of $38 million in funding for a variety of projects that will enhance New Brunswick’s fishing and seafood sector. Projects will focus on key updates to infrastructure and improvements to productivity and ecologically friendly practices as well as scientific partnerships.

The fisheries in New Brunswick are vital to Atlantic Canada’s economy, with commercial fish landings amounting to $4.289 billion in 2022, inaddition to the economies of the individual...

Russia's Salmon Catch Declines to the Lowest Figures Since 2005

The salmon catch in Russia has declined to the lowest figures since 2005, according to the latest statements of representatives of local industry associations and Russian media reports.

According to data from the All-Russian Association of Fish Producers (VARPE), as of November 19, the salmon catch in Russia had “barely reached” 235.400 tons. The result became the worst in almost 20 years. VARPE recalled that less than a week remains until the end of the season, and active fishing is no longer underway...

Tohoku University Researchers: Ocean Nutrients Have Decreased by 24% in the Past 80 Years

According to a Tohoku University press release, an international research team led by Associate Professor Azumi Kuroyanagi of the Graduate School of Science at Tohoku University analyzed a database of marine plankton from around the world for the past 100 years and found that their population has declined by approximately 24% (24.24±0.11%) in just the past 80 years. As a result of global warming, plankton are shifting 10 kilometers per year to cooler areas, changing their habitats. Still, in the future...

2024 Pollock Harvest Highlights and a Look at 2025 Quotas

The Alaska pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) B season officially finished on Nov 1, 2024.  The total catch for the A and B seasons reached 100% of the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for the Bering Sea and the Aleutian Islands (BSAI), according to the National Marine Fisheries Service’s (NMFS) latest Seasonal Catch Report, including Community Development Quota (CDQ) published on Nov 16, 2024. Meanwhile, the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) harvest has shown a lower percentage due to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)...

Russian Fish Processors Plead for Relief Amid Investment Quota Struggles

Leading Russian fish processors have called on the state to ease the existing requirements of the investment quota program due to their inability to ensure the required output at present. Processors are also eyeing exemption from possible fines that would be levied due to not fulfilling the obligations.

So far, the "Russian Cod," one of Russia’s fish processors and producers, has already contacted the local Federal Agency with a request to ease the existing requirements for participants in the investment quota program and exempt them from fines in the...

Innovasea and Mowi Strengthen Partnership with Renewed Global Agreement

Innovasea and fish farming giant Mowi will continue to work together through a renewed global framework agreement, per a December 3 announcement.

The agreement builds on the collaboration between the two parties and officially makes Innovasea the preferred vendor of environmental monitoring equipment and software at all of Mowi’s farming sites.

Mowi has already implemented Innovasea's environmental monitoring systems at multiple locations and will continue to add new sites as part of their ongoing Mowi 4.0 Smart Farming initiative, Innovasea explained in a press release...

Part of Andfjord Salmon Group’s Kvalnes Build-Out Almost Complete: PLUS Decrease in Q3 2024 Losses

The Andfjord Salmon Group (Andfjord Salmon) continues with a successful build-out of its salmon production facility in Kvalnes, Andøya, Norway, with stage one of the project now 90 percent complete as of November 27, 2024.

Once finished, this will mark the completion of the first stage of the facility’s five-stage build-out plan, which includes phases 1 – 5 over the time period of 2023 – 2032.

The overarching nine-year project at Kvalnes involves 4.4 kilometers of tunnel infrastructure improvements, including construction of...

Captain Fresh Eyeing Profitable Fiscal Year with Looming IPO Push

India-based Captain Fresh is aiming for a profitable end to the fiscal year ahead of its looming IPO push, according to the Financial Express.

The founder of the B2B seafood firm, Utham Gowda, explained to the publication that Captain Fresh had become a “global-to-global firm” at the end of FY2024, and FY2025 would mark the first time the company's global scale would be felt.

The global push has the company eying profitability and revenue growth in the range of $500-550 million...

NOAA Receives $147.5M to Modernize Fisheries Science and Build Climate Resilience

The Biden-Harris Administration and NOAA announced a $147.5 million investment through the Inflation Reduction Act that will focus on NOAA’s capabilities to support “climate-ready fisheries.”

NOAA said the funding will enable it to “modernize its science enterprise, delivering critical information and tools to support decision-making and adaptation strategies for rapidly changing marine ecosystems.”

“This funding, made possible thanks to President Biden’s historic Inflation Reduction Act, will make our nation’s fisheries, protected species and coastal communities more resilient to the impacts of climate change...

Cooke Finalizes Acquisition of Peruvian Fishing Giant Copeinca

Global seafood company Cooke Inc. (“Cooke”) just finalized its acquisition of Corporación Pesquera Inca S.A.C. (“Copeinca”), Peru’s largest fishing company.

This comes after Cooke’s November 7th announcement that Cooke would enter into a binding share purchase agreement with Copeinca Canada Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Cooke, and seller PF Cayman New Holdco Limited, allowing Cooke to indirectly acquire all outstanding shares of Copeinca.

Copeinca, established in Peru in 1994, is one of Peru’s largest anchoveta processors and one of the world’s largest anchoveta fishmeal and fish oil producers and exporters.

Cooke, which entered the marine ingredients...

SeafoodNews Closed on Thursday, November 28 and Friday, November 29

SeafoodNews will not be publishing on Thursday, November 25 and Friday, November 26 in observance of Thanksgiving. We will return to our normal publishing schedule on Monday, November 29.

In the meantime, catch up on our recent major news stories by checking our Featured Stories page. 

From all of us here at SeafoodNews, we wish you and yours a safe and happy holiday...