ANALYSIS: US Scallop Import Disconnect as Modest Declines Reveal Deeper Market Pressures

The 2025 scallop import story presents a nuanced picture that demonstrates how monthly volatility can obscure underlying market trends. While year-to-date imports through September totaled 39.7 million lbs, down 3.0% compared to 2024, this modest decline masks significant supply disruptions that have characterized much of the year.

The narrative unfolds in the dramatic monthly swings, where August's sharp month-over-month drop to 1.18 million lbs represented one of the lowest single-month totals in recent years...

Russia Continues Supplies of its Cod and Pollock to EU Despite the Existing Restrictions and Duties

Russia continues the supplies of its cod and pollock to the EU despite the existing restrictions and duties although this does not lead to decline of fish prices in the European market.

In fact, the European Union banned imports of caviar from Russia after the beginning of Russian-Ukranian war, but other fish products, including cod, still remained on the market being not a subject of bans. In 2024, the EU revoked Russian fisherman their tariff exemptions, but purchases of Russian

Whole Foods Market’s Top Food Trends to Watch in 2026

Whole Foods Market has released its annual forecast of the top food and beverage trends expected to shape shopping carts, kitchens, and consumer preferences in 2026. Developed by the retailer’s Trends Council, a group of buyers, culinary experts, and industry scouts, the list reflects emerging patterns in health, convenience, sustainability, and food culture.

One notable shift is the resurgence of beef tallow, a traditional cooking fat prized for its rich flavor and high smoke point. Once a staple of classic kitchens, tallow is being rediscovered by consumers interested in...

ANALYSIS: US Scallop Import Disconnect as Modest Declines Reveal Deeper Market Pressures

The 2025 scallop import story presents a nuanced picture that demonstrates how monthly volatility can obscure underlying market trends. While year-to-date imports through September totaled 39.7 million lbs, down 3.0% compared to 2024, this modest decline masks significant supply disruptions that have characterized much of the year...

ANALYSIS: YTD Canadian Lobster Exports to EU-UK See Double‑Digit Growth

This year, Europe has emerged as a growing destination for live and frozen lobster from Canada. According to Eurostat, year-to-date imports of Homarus americanus from Canada to the EU and the UK rose 18.2% in volume to 8,947 MT (January–October). While Canadian lobster sales to China have declined due to China’s 25% tariff on Canadian seafood, industry contacts reported an increased focus on the EU–UK, which could present an opportunity for the sector...

ANALYSIS: Argentina Sets Early January Start for 2026 Illex Squid Season

According to the Chamber of Argentine Potero Shipowners (CAPA), an early opening of the squid fishing season south of the 44° South parallel has been agreed, following a request from CAPA to the Federal Fisheries Council (CFP).

The CFP has decided to commence the 2026 squid (Illex argentinus) fishing season south of the 44° South Latitude parallel at 00:00 hours on January 9, 2026, for vessels that have not operated south of the 49° South parallel.

Additional staggered opening...

No 2026 Deal as Russia–Japan Fisheries Talks Stall

Russia and Japan have failed to reach an agreement on fisheries for 2026. The two countries hold annual negotiations to set quotas, identify target species, and establish catch conditions. These arrangements have governed operations in the Southern Kuril Islands since 1984.

Japanese Minister Norikazu Suzuki said the prospects for further dialogue remain unclear, with Tokyo seeking a solution that protects national interests.

Contacts between the parties may continue. For Russia, the Japanese market is relatively minor in terms of imports. According to Kommersant, citing industry sources, Japanese seafood...

ANALYSIS: October Marks the Second-Highest Month on Record for EU‑UK Shrimp Imports

October proved the strongest month of the year for EU‑UK shrimp imports, according to Eurostat, with volumes up 9.2% year‑on‑year and 15.9% above the five‑year October average. Purchases totaled 72,381 metric tons, the second‑highest monthly volume on record (behind November 2021 at 72,866 MT). The surge reflects robust summer consumption that prompted substantial replacement buying and strengthened year‑end stocking. Year‑to‑date imports since January are 7.1% higher than a year earlier, confirming a positive trend across the region...

$400K Costco-Bound Lobster Shipment Hijacked in Cargo Theft

A $400,000 shipment of shelled lobster destined for Costco stores in Illinois and Minnesota was hijacked en route, with Rexing Companies claiming the theft was carried out by a driver impersonating a legitimate carrier, in what the company calls a targeted act linked to organized cargo crime rings.

Dylan Rexing, the head of Indiana-based The Rexing Companies, said his company was managing the lobster shipment from a Tauton, Massachusetts facility that was destined for the Costco locations.

“It is pretty safe to say that this...

Winding Glass: Trump Policies of Tariff and Weak Dollar Damaged Seafood in 2025, Likely to Continue 

Tariffs and a weak dollar created artificial seafood supply shortages in the US in 2025. The result: higher prices for consumers, reduced consumption, and a reorientation of global trade flows away from America.

Supply is the ultimate driver of seafood pricing, as any boat captain landing in New Bedford, Gloucester or Maine will tell you. On days with more boats, prices are down.

The same dynamic holds at the stock level. When a population expands or contracts, it changes the...

Midcoast Lobsterman was a Thoughtful and Persuasive Advocate for Industry

Chris McIntire was content. He had made goals — to live on Orr’s Island, to fish for a living, to raise a family — and by working hard, he had achieved them. Maybe more than anything else, he wanted to make sure his children could also have the life that satisfied him so much, if they wanted it.

McIntire, an emerging voice in the community and in Maine’s lobster fishery, died unexpectedly on Nov. 24 at the age of 32.

McIntire followed paths worn in by his parents...

2025: A Pivotal Year Reordering Global Seafood Trade and Policy

The year 2025 marked a watershed in seafood trade and policy with transformative impacts felt across international supply chains, domestic regulations, and industry competitiveness. At the center was President Trump’s sweeping reciprocal tariff regime, reshaping sourcing and pricing dynamics from shrimp to crab, while high-profile regulatory actions, from the FDA's radioactive shrimp recalls to NOAA’s Marine Mammal Protection Act import bans, reverberated through global markets. Domestically, the Trump administration launched bold initiatives, including an executive order to cut regulatory burdens and a strategic roundtable...

Expana to Observe New Year Holiday on January 1, 2026

Expana will be observing the New Year holiday on Thursday, January 1, 2026.

As previously announced, Market Insights and Market Updates were suspended beginning December 22 through January 2 with normal publishing to resume Monday January 5, 2026.

See the publication schedule for the 2025 Holiday Period here. 

Additionally, the Editorial Department will not be publishing news on Thursday, January 1 and will resume normal publishing on Friday, January 2, 2026. 

Happy New Year to all from everyone at Expana.

Cermaq Completes $1 Billion Acquisition of Grieg's Finnmark and Canadian Salmon Farming Operations

Grieg Seafood has finalized the sale of its Finnmark, Norway, and Canadian operations to Cermaq for NOK 10.2 billion (USD 1 billion) on a cash- and debt-free basis, with a normalized working capital assumption.

First announced in July 2025, Mitsubishi Corporation–owned Cermaq said the acquisition will strengthen its competitiveness in salmon farming and drive significant growth. Last week, Expana reported that Cermaq would inject fresh equity into three of its holding companies to finance the purchase...

Long John Silver’s Brings Back $6 Fish & Chicken Basket

Long John Silver’s is bringing back its popular fish baskets, harmonizing flavors from both sea and land while delivering the value customers seek. This revival features the $6 Fish & Chicken Basket for a limited time. 

"Guests have been telling us for years that our chicken is a best-kept secret," said Christopher Caudill, Long John Silver's senior vice president of marketing and innovation. "Our hand-battered chicken strips—known as Chicken Planks—are every bit as crave-worthy as our legendary fish. It's time we let that secret...

Golden King and Tanner Crab Seasons Open in SE AK Mid-Feb. 2026, GHLs Slightly Less than 2025

The six-week season of golden king crab and tanner crab in Southeast Alaska will open on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, with a slightly lower guideline harvest limit for golden king crab and a lower biomass recorded for mature tanners.    

Last summer and fall’s crab survey data produced a biomass estimate of 3.05 million lbs. of mature male Tanner crab, about 250,000 lbs. lower than the 2024 estimate of 3.30 million lbs. This puts the biomass in a conservative position...

2026 Will Be Another Strong Year for Sitka Herring

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) announced last week that the guideline harvest level (GHL) for the 2026 Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery is 35,015 tons with a forecasted weight of 156 grams, averaged across all age classes.  

The forecast is based on an estimated biomass of 233,433 tons of mature herring, a slight (6%) decrease from the year-ago forecast of 247,081 tons. 

Two new management changes were made at the Board of Fisheries meeting in late January and early February 2025 that impacted the GHL...