Captain Fresh Selects Bankers Amid Prep for 2025 IPO

B2B seafood firm Captain Fresh has tapped Axis Capital and Bank of America as its bankers for its planned initial public offering in 2025, according to Moneycontrol.

The publication said that the company is looking to raise between $350-400 million, with half of that being a fresh issue of shares with the remaining as an offer for sale (OFS) component, according to individuals aware of the situation.

Captain Fresh has been acquiring various firms in the seafood space as it looks to grow its presence in the sector...

Lawmakers Send Letter to Biden Pushing for Investigation into Venezuelan Crabmeat Imports

A number of U.S. Senators and House members wrote a letter to President Biden sharing their concerns over the increase of crabmeat imports from Venezuela.

The Maryland delegation urged President Biden to launch an investigation through the International Trade Commission into the potential harm the imports could have on the Chesapeake Bay seafood economy.

“We write to express our significant concerns with the influx of crabmeat from Venezuela, which has threatened the viability of local fisheries across the Chesapeake Bay...

Russia to Boost Fish Exports to $8.85 Billion by 2030 Amid Declining Stocks and Rising Competition

Russia plans to increase its fish exports to US$8.85 billion by 2030, although declining commercial stocks and the ever-growing competition in world markets could complicate their implementation.

Implementation of these plans will be part of the more significant target set by the Russian government, which is to increase exports of all agricultural products by 1.5 times by 2030.

According to Rosrybolovstvo data, in 2023, fishermen exported fish and seafood worth a total of $5.8...

Channel Fish Processing Expands Team with Strategic Leadership Hires

Massachusetts-based Channel Fish Processing announced multiple new additions to its team including Alex Brodil as Vice President of Finance and Strategy, Aleksandrs Zujevs as Maintenance Manager, Ben Brennan as Controller, Betsi Selset as Director of National Accounts, Victor Guedez as Director of Fresh Sales, Jessica Goodhue as Environmental Health and Safety Manager, and Willie Johnson as Quality Assurance Manager.

“This workforce expansion underscores our commitment to excellence in the seafood industry. Each new hire plays a pivotal role in advancing our strategic objective to provide the highest quality fresh...

Ocean Harvesters and Omega Protein Call for 15-Mile Buffer Zone from Offshore Wind

Ocean Harvesters, owner and operator of nine menhaden purse seine vessels, and Omega Protein, which develops healthy products from menhaden, have called for a 15-mile buffer from offshore wind development on the Central Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf. Responding to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) recently proposed Central Atlantic 2 Call Area (Docket No. BOEM-2024-0040), the two Reedville, Virginia-based companies wrote that their operations are incompatible with wind turbine arrays, and that critical adjustments are needed to protect the menhaden fishing...

New Requirements for Norwegian Businesses Exporting Seafood to Vietnam

The Vietnamese authorities have updated the requirements for Norwegian companies that want to register to be approved for the import of seafood products to Vietnam. 

Who do the requirements apply to? 

Businesses that have already been approved in Vietnam are not covered by the new requirements to retain their approved status. If these companies change something in their registration, e.g. add new products or categories, then the new requirements must be met. 

Companies that have not already been approved in Vietnam must meet the new requirements when registering.

The new registration ...

BioMar Becomes First in UK to Get Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) Feed Certification

BioMar, one of the world’s largest aquaculture feed suppliers, now has two production facilities in the world that are certified by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC). Earlier this week, the company announced that its Grangemouth, Scotland facility, a feed producer for salmon and trout, became the first in the UK to be certified. On October 9, the company announced its Guayaquil, Ecuador facility’s production of high-quality shrimp feed is now ASC certified.

In August, the Norwegian feed producer Polarfeed’s factory in Øksfjord, Finnmark, became the first ...

NEFMC: Request for Nominations for Council Scientific and Statistical Committee

The Council is seeking qualified candidates to serve on its Scientific and Statistical Committee.

- SSC appointments are for three years with a limit of three consecutive terms. The term under this request for nominations will begin in January 2025 and end December 2027.

- SSC members receive a daily stipend for meetings and are reimbursed for travel expenses.

- Nominees must submit:

• A resume or CV, including the length and type of relevant experience...

Scotland's Largest Salmon Producer Faces Massive Fish Die-Off Amid Rising Sea Temperatures

Over one million salmon have died at adjacent Mowi Scotland sites during a year-and-a-half production cycle, according to various media reports.

Mowi told The Guardian that 1.05 million salmon died during the period, which was the combined figure for a pair of sites at Loch Seaforth and Noster. Scotland’s Coastal Communities Network (CCN) and NGO Free Salmon analyzed government data on the Mowi sites, which marked the largest die-off in Scotland in over a decade...

Bumble Bee Seafoods Expands Product Line with 11 New Convenient Seafood Options

Bumble Bee Seafoods added 11 new products to its canned, pouched and kit-based seafood product lines.

"Everything we create is driven by what consumers value most: nutrition, flavor, and convenience that fits into real life," said Jeremy Zavoral, Senior Director of Innovation & Insights, Bumble Bee Seafoods. "Our goal is to make it easier than ever for people to enjoy seafood in ways that are both practical and delicious."

Find a breakdown of all the new items below...

Japan's August Surimi Products Output Keeps Declining for Eight Months

The Food Marketing Research and Information Center announced that the production volume of surimi products in August (preliminary estimate) was 32,800 tons, down 0.6% compared to the same month last year. It has been down for eight consecutive months. The main product, fried surimi, increased by 5.1% to 12,000 tons, but the other surimi product category, which includes crab-flavored products, was down 8% to 9,275 tons, reported Minato Shimbun.

The other surimi product category was down for the first time in two months. It once again fell below...

Costco Recalls Private Label Smoked Salmon Products Produced by Acme Smoked Fish

Acme Smoked Fish has issued a voluntary recall on certain packages of Kirkland Signature Smoked Salmon due to potential contamination with Listeria monocytogenes, according to a recall notice posted to Costco’s website.

The company sent alerts to customers who purchased "#1267000 Kirkland Signature Smoked Salmon between October 9, 2024 to October 13, 2024.”

The affected packages of the smoked salmon product are limited to lot number 8512801270.

“We regret this unfortunate incident and have taken immediate corrective steps to ensure that this issue never happens again,” the...

Mowi: Ole-Eirik Lerøy Steps Down as Chairman of the Board

Salmon farming giant Mowi announced that Ole-Eirik Lerøy had stepped down as Chairman of the Board after spending 15 years with the company.

Mowi said Ørjan Svanevik is the proposed successor.

“It has been an honor to serve Mowi during the era of becoming the world’s largest supplier of farm raised salmon. Today, Mowi is a fully integrated global seafood company, bringing salmon of supreme quality to consumers around the world, and is perfectly positioned to continue the growth journey towards...

DeSantis Announces Investment in Marine Infrastructure to Support Recovery

Today, Governor Ron DeSantis announced the award of $1,000,000 in funding from the Florida Disaster Fund to the Fish and Wildlife Foundation of Florida to support the rebuilding of fishing and aquaculture infrastructure damaged by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. The funding will go toward the rebuilding of boat slips and docks, the repair of fish houses, impacted aquaculture businesses, and other important infrastructure repairs for Florida’s fishing economy across the Big Bend region.

“The Big Bend’s fishing industry took a direct hit from hurricanes Debby and Helene, and...

Fast-Casual California Fish Grill Leverages Epson OmniLink TM-L100 for Liner-Free Labeling Success

As a fast-casual restaurant, California Fish Grill relies on strong technology solutions in each of its locations to best support its customers’ needs and deliver food to tables and out the door as quickly as possible. To better help their on-site kitchen staff, the sustainable and responsibly sourced seafood restaurant relies on the OmniLink™ TM-L100 liner-free compatible (LFC) thermal label printer to support its busy environment...

Bristol Bay Red King Crab Harvest “Very Good” Says Fleet

Unalaska's KUCB Radio reported yesterday that landings of Bristol Bay Red King Crab (BBRKC) have reached about 680,000 lbs as of yesterday afternoon, and average weights and catch rates are up from last year.

“Fishing has been very good for the [Bristol Bay red king crab] fleet this season and the crab delivered so far has been of high quality — new shell, large size, good meat-fill,” Ethan Nichols, Alaska Department of Fish and Game Area Management Biologist, told KUCB reporter Maggie Nelson.

As of Wednesday afternoon, about 29% of ...

WCPO Skipjack and North Pacific Albacore Tuna Fisheries Achieve Major Sustainability Milestones

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) said that two key tuna fisheries, the Western Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO) skipjack and North Pacific albacore, achieved a major milestone by implementing “rigorous harvest strategies that ensure the long-term health of these tuna stocks.”

After the fisheries implemented a harvest strategy in December 2023 and the discussions that followed between Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs) in August, WCPO skipjack, the world’s biggest tuna fishery, has now addressed all associated conditions required for certification to the MSC Fisheries Standard...