The Winding Glass: We Will All Pay the Price for Tariff Stupidity, Incompetence, and Hubris- Opinion

Trump has no tariff plan. Most tariffs are negotiated on specific commodities, with painstaking analysis of costs of inputs, subsidies, and trade balances. Anyone who remembers the imposition of shrimp tariffs in 2004 knows that even though the process was driven by the politics of domestic shrimpers, the actual process was detailed and company specific. As a result, those companies demonstrating a lack of subsidy and realistic cost inputs avoided significant tariffs. Within a short time, the shrimp market was healthy again...

Alaska Govenor Appoints Olivia Irwin from YRDFA to Board of Fisheries, Starting July 1

Yesterday, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy announced that Olivia Henaayee Irwin of Nenana will replace Stan Zuray on the Board of Fisheries, effective July 1, 2025.

Irwin is the Policy Coordinator for the Yukon River Drainage Fisheries Association and has served as co-chair of the Minto/Nenana Fish and Game Advisory Committee.

According to her YRDFA bio, in 2020, Irwin began working for Alaska Native non-profits supporting the advancement of traditional ways of knowing and providing regulatory and policy analysis. In 2024, Irwin founded...

Conservative Party of Canada Announces Boost to Harbours Program While Criticizing Liberals

On April 1, under the title “Put Canada’s Fisheries First - for a Change,” Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre issued an announcement 1 that he will double funding for the Small Craft Harbours program and grant Harbour Authorities better access to federal commercial financing.

Canada’s Small Craft Harbours program supports 950 wharves across Canada and is a critical component of the nation’s seafood industry.

Poilievre noted, "Liberal governments have chronically neglected and underfunded the Small Craft Harbour program, hurting operations and holding back maintenance...

Glaciar Pesquera Achieves South America’s First FISH Certification

Recently, FISH Standard for Crew Inc. announced that two vessels of the Glaciar Pesquera S.A. fleet had been awarded FISH certification, making it the first Argentinian company to achieve FISH certification and the first company in South America to achieve such certification.

The certified vessels—the B/P Atlantic Surf III and B/P Capesante—both harvest Patagonian scallops in Argentina. Following extensive policy and procedure review, on-site vessel inspections, and in-person interviews with crew members, the two Glaciar Pesquera vessels were granted individual FISH certifications, having met all standard...

Navigating the Trump Tariff Turbulence: A Comprehensive Timeline

Today, the White House Press Conference will air at 4PM where US President Trump will make an announcement regarding immediately-effective reciprocal tariffs on countries who trade with the US.

"Too many foreign countries have their markets closed to [US] exports," said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt when referring to trade deficits and non-monetary trade barriers.

The message that has been consistent: "If you make your product in America, you will pay no tariffs," said Leavitt.

Auto tariffs have been scheduled for April 3, according to an April 1 press...

ANALYSIS: First Fishing Season for Peruvian Anchovy in the Southern Region

The second season of Peruvian anchovy (Engraulis ringens) and white anchovy (Anchoa nasus) in the North-Central Zone of Peru concluded in January 2025, achieving the highest volume in the past three years for indirect human consumption at 4,637,000 metric tons (MT).

The Peruvian government has authorized the first fishing season for Peruvian anchovy and white anchovy in the Southern Zone of Peru for 2025, which...

NOAA Helps Two Alaskan Communities Solve Snow Crab Delivery Problem in Bering Sea

The Alaskan cities of Saint Paul and Unalaska, with an assist from the agency that manages federal fisheries in the national Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), may now process 1.5 million pounds of snow crab caught north of Saint Paul Island, at Unalaska, with tax benefits going to Saint Paul. 

Unalaska, near Dutch Harbor, is located on the Aleutian Chain. Two hundred miles northwest are the Pribilof Islands, the largest of which is Saint Paul, home of Trident Seafood’s large crab processing plant. That plant has been closed... 

Southern Shrimp Alliance: US Shrimp Industry Hails New Tariffs as Crucial Lifeline

Trump Administration Imposes 10-46% Duties on Countries Exporting Shrimp to the U.S.

In a move aimed at protecting American jobs and ensuring food security, the Trump Administration has announced new tariffs on major shrimp-supplying countries, a decision praised by the Southern Shrimp Alliance.

“We’ve watched as multigenerational family businesses tie up their boats, unable to compete with foreign producers who play by a completely different set of rules,” said John Williams, executive director of the Southern Shrimp Alliance. “We are grateful for the Trump Administration’s actions today, which will..."

Lawmakers Introduce New Legislation to Include US Fishing Industry in Federal Farm Credit Program

Yesterday, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME), Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME), U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and U.S. Representative Clay Higgins (R-LA) introduced a bipartisan, bicameral legislation that would extend the Farm Credit System (FCS)—which was founded in 1916 and currently offers support to service providers for farmers, ranchers, and loggers—to fishing communities across the country, thereby allowing fishing businesses to access existing agricultural loan programs.

Currently, the FCS exists as a network of lending institutions, providing credit to the American...

Whales Return to California; CDFW Limits Crabbing to Reduce Entanglement Risks

While there are signs of spring showing up on land, one of the signs of spring in the ocean is the return of whales, particularly humpback whales, to California. And it’s definitely spring. 

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife and Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear Working Group representatives proposed changes to the current crab season based on updated information, as part of the Risk Assessment and Mitigation Program process.  Ultimately, April 15 marks a change for commercial fishermen across California. 

CDFW Director Charlton H. Bonham assessed entanglement risk under...

Murkowski, Kaine Introduce Legislation to Bolster Commercial Fishing Industry

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Tim Kaine (D-VA), introduced legislation vital to the fishing industry, the economy, and the food supply chain. The Save Our Seafood (SOS) Act would exempt fish processors from the H-2B visa caps in order to help the seafood industry meet workforce demands.

"Alaska's seafood industry is a delicate chain - and when processors don't have the workforce to meet demand, the whole industry can fall apart," said Senator Murkowski. "Coastal communities, family-owned fishing boats, and Alaskans who work in...

NFI Sushi Council Launches New Website

On April 1, 2025, the National Fisheries Institute’s (NFI) Sushi Council launched its new website, NFIsushicouncil.com. The Council established the new domain as a one-stop educational source on food safety, product quality, health benefits, and economic updates for all supply chain actors in the sushi industry.

“Having achieved mass popularity, sushi can be found by consumers with ease,” said NFI Sushi Council Chairman Michael McNicholas of Culimer USA. “But for industry, locating the right information on properly sourcing and preparing sushi can be a challenge.” 

The NFI Sushi Council’s website coincides with the group’s core...

ANALYSIS: A Challenging Start of the Year for Argentinian Shrimp

Despite a positive 9.2% growth between 2023 and 2024, Argentinian shrimp exports dropped by 7.9% year-over-year (y-o-y) in January and February, amounting to 20,213 metric tons (MT) for both months. In value, this represents a negative change of 10.8% y-o-y. This slowdown was also observed last year, as volumes declined by 8.4% in the first two months of 2024...

NL Snow Crab Fishery Still Set to Open April 13; FFAW Asks DFO for Biomass Information

In the latest update on Newfoundland and Labrador’s snow crab fishery delays, FFAW Negotiator and Policy Manager Ray Critch appeared in court yesterday morning to represent FFAW against the Association of Seafood Producers’ (ASP) Supreme Court application challenging Minister Gerry Byrne’s decision to move date of the snow crab Price-Setting Panel—initially set for March 29—to April 7.

According to a news release from the Fish, Food & Allied Workers Union’s (FFAW), a ruling will be made next week regarding the eligibility of...

Russian Fishermen Plan to Double Pollock Roe Supplies to China This Year

This year, Russian pollock fishermen plan to double roe supplies to China, with the aim of increasing exports five times over in the next few years.

As part of these plans, Russia will supply up to 1,000 tons of pollock roe to China this year. Meanwhile, in the next two to three years, this figure may increase to 5,000 tons.

In an interview with the Russian business paper Kommersant, an official spokesman of the Russian Pollock Association said that the first big contracts for such supplies could be...

Japan Extends High Tariff on Russian Seafood Products by One Year Until the End of March 2026

At a cabinet meeting on March 28, the Japanese government decided to extend its withdrawal of Russia’s most-favored-nation status for one additional year. The deadline was set to expire at the end of this month, but the Minato Shimbun reported that it has been extended until March 31, 2026. This means that the high tariff will continue.

Regarding the possible conclusion of peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia by March 2026, a Finance Ministry official responded, "Under the system, it is..."

Slight Lifting of US Sanctions Would Allow Russia to Resume Crab Supplies to US Market

Should the U.S. lift even a slight portion of its sanctions against Russia—which is a possibility currently being considered by the U.S. amid ongoing peace talks between the two nations—Russia will be able to resume its crab supplies to the U.S. market.

This has been recently confirmed by some well-known Russian senators, such as Alexander Shenderyuk-Zhidkov, a senator from the Kaliningrad Region.

According to Shenderyuk-Zhidkov and other senior Russian officials, one of the important conditions for entering into an agreement...