Illegal Red Snapper and Tuna Enforcement Act Clears Senate, Heads to President's Desk

The Senate unanimously passed S. 283, the Illegal Red Snapper and Tuna Enforcement Act, on September 24, sending the bill to President Trump's desk for signature after the House cleared it earlier this month, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas) announced. Expana reported on the House's passage of the bill on September 17.

Cruz introduced the bill alongside Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.). "While Texas fishermen are hard at work...

ICE Operation in New Bedford Targets Fish House Workers, at Least Eight Arrested

At least eight people were arrested Monday as US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents launched a major operation centered on New Bedford, Massachusetts — one of the country's largest fishing ports by landed value — according to reporting by the New Bedford Light. At least four of those arrested worked in local fish houses, according to Adrian Ventura, executive director of the Centro Comunitario de Trabajadores, an organization that hosted a meeting to connect affected families with resources.

The Light reported that a reporter witnessed an arrest near the...

FDA Classifies Trinity Seafood Tuna Recall as Class II Over Scombrotoxin Contamination

The US Food and Drug Administration has classified a recall of fresh tuna distributed by Buckhead Meat Company, doing business as Trinity Seafood, as a Class II recall, the agency's second-highest risk designation, following the detection of elevated levels of scombrotoxin in the product.

The classification, issued September 16, formalizes a recall that Trinity Seafood, based in Lakewood, New Jersey, had already initiated voluntarily on July 24 after the New Jersey Department of Health notified the company that two samples of its tuna tested positive for high...

Southern Shrimp Alliance Urges NMFS to Reject Weaker Marine Mammal Import Rules for Foreign Fleets

Foodservice Heads Into Fall With Expansion, Stronger Earnings and Seasonal Promotions

Foodservice operators are heading into fall with expansion plans, solid financial performance, and a renewed push to convert everyday visits into repeat occasions. This biweekly roundup highlights the latest earnings and growth updates, industry data shaping consumer behavior, and seasonal promotions designed to drive traffic, loyalty participation, and digital engagement.

Market Expansions and Financial Results

Chipotle is expanding its Apprentice program to deepen its management pipeline as it prepares to open 350 to 370 new restaurants in 2026 and works toward a...

Darden Posts First-Quarter Sales Growth, Reaffirms Fiscal 2027 Outlook

Darden Restaurants opened fiscal 2027 with higher sales and earnings in the first quarter, helped by positive same-restaurant sales across all of its business segments.

For the quarter ended Aug. 30, 2026, total sales increased 5.1% to $3.2 billion. Blended same-restaurant sales rose 3.1% on a fiscal calendar basis and 3.2% on a comparable calendar basis.

Reported diluted net earnings per share from continuing operations were $2.05, up 4.1% from last year’s adjusted diluted net earnings per share from continuing operations. The company...

Norway Launches Seafood Network to Reverse Domestic Consumption Decline

Norway's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries has convened a new "seafood network" aimed at reversing a long-running decline in domestic fish consumption, even as the country remains one of the world's largest seafood exporting nations, according to a September 23 press release.

Fisheries and Ocean Minister Marianne Sivertsen Næss brought together representatives from the seafood industry, grocery sector and research community for the network's first meeting. "It's strange, when everyone knows fish is healthy and good. Not least, it's quick to prepare...

Five Fined $19,000 for Illegal Shellfish Harvest in Campbell River, B.C.

Five recreational shellfish harvesters were fined a combined $19,000 after being convicted of illegal fishing activities in Campbell River, British Columbia, Fisheries and Oceans Canada said.

The convictions were handed down July 14 in Campbell River Provincial Court following a June 25, 2025, low-tide patrol by DFO fishery officers. Officers found the group harvesting shellfish along the Campbell River waterfront, an area closed under the Canadian Shellfish Sanitation Program (CSSP) for public health protection.

Jucy Canupin was fined $5,000 for harvesting...

ANALYSIS: US Shrimp Retail Prices Cool, But Trade Policy Risk Remains Unresolved

Discounted shrimp prices at retail have declined meaningfully, with feature and ad pricing running at levels not seen in some time. Estimated pounds moved reached 13.6 million in a single week, the strongest weekly print in years and a marked shift from what had been the weakest seasonal stretch since 2020...

Handy Seafood Bets on "Crab Wings" Trend With New Panko-Breaded Soft Crab Portions

Handy Seafood is targeting the growing "crab wings" trend with a new labor-saving product line to help foodservice operators capture the social media momentum behind the sauced, shareable seafood dish.

The Salisbury, Maryland-based company's new Panko Breaded Soft Crab Portions are designed specifically for wing-style applications, shipped frozen, pre-cut, and pre-breaded, so operators can move them from freezer to deep fryer in three to four minutes. The company said the format reduces back-of-house prep labor while ensuring consistent portion...

Expana's Weekly Top 10

This week’s Top 10 stories highlight the global forces shaping food, agriculture, and trade markets, from rising tariff tensions and geopolitical risk to supply chain disruptions, fertilizer supply moves, and shifting protein demand. Together, these developments underscore how policy, weather, logistics, and consumer trends continue to influence market conditions across the food and commodity landscape.

Trade & Policy

10. Trade tensions are back in focus ahead of the Sept. 24 Trump-Xi summit, with a possible new Section 301 tariff on China under discussion and the current trade truce extended by two...

Nofima Aquafeed Center Wins Funding for Major Expansion

New research infrastructure will expand Norway’s capacity to develop, process and test feed ingredients and other bio-based raw materials for aquaculture.

Nofima’s Aquafeed Technology Centre is to enter a second phase, with new research infrastructure funding supporting an expansion of the facilities used to develop and evaluate feed ingredients for aquaculture.

The centre is one of 18 research infrastructure projects receiving funding from the Research Council of Norway in an investment totaling NOK 1.24 billion. Nofima leads the Aquafeed Technology Centre in collaboration with the...

Atlantic Sapphire Raises Fifth Bridge Loan Tranche as Refinancing Drags On

Atlantic Sapphire ASA has agreed to raise a fifth tranche of its ongoing bridge loan facility, extending a rescue-financing arrangement that has now stretched across six months and five separate draws, according to a stock exchange notice filed September 24.

The land-based salmon farmer said it has agreed with existing lenders — Condire Management L.P., Nordlaks Holding AS, Strawberry Capital AS, Nokomis Capital Master Fund L.P. and Joh. Johannson Eiendom AS — to raise "Bridge Loan Tranche E" of USD 3 million. The new tranche...

Bendito Mar Becomes First Mexican Farm to Join ASC Improver Program

Bendito Mar, a Mexican cooperative that farms bivalve molluscs in Bahía Magdalena, Baja California Sur, has become the first farm in Mexico to join the Improver Programme by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), the organization announced. The move marks Bendito Mar's entry into an Aquaculture Improvement Project (AIP) designed to strengthen its environmental and social performance and move it toward eventual ASC certification.

Bendito Mar, established in 2018, is a cooperative focused on regenerative cultivation of bivalve mollusks, including oysters, Catarina scallops, chocolate clams and pen shell...

Luke's Lobster Offers $20 Lobster Roll Combo for National Lobster Day

Luke's Lobster is marking National Lobster Day with a two-day promotion on its signature lobster roll, offering a quarter-pound Lobster Roll and Chips combo for $20 at participating shacks nationwide. The deal runs Thursday, September 24 and Friday, September 25 — National Lobster Day — and represents a discount from the combo's usual price of $26 to $28, depending on location.

"I grew up in Maine thinking every day could be a lobster day, so National Lobster Day always feels like something...

I’m Shrimp Farm 5 Achieves Certification to New ASC Farm Standard in Thailand

I’m Shrimp Farm 5 in Phang Nga has achieved certification to the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) Farm Standard, becoming one of the first early adopters of the ASC certification in Thailand.

The certification recognises the farm’s performance across environmental and social impacts, animal health and welfare, legal compliance and farm management, while providing a framework for strengthening existing practices and identifying areas for continued improvement.

Koji Yamamoto, South-East Asia Producer Engagement Lead at ASC said, “Congratulations to I’m Shrimp...

Bristol Bay 2026 Sockeye Harvest Falls Short of Last Year, Ex-Vessel Value Surges on Higher Prices

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game released its 2026 Bristol Bay salmon season summary Tuesday, showing a smaller harvest than last year but a significantly higher fishery value, driven by stronger prices.

In the preliminary summary, ADF&G reported a commercial harvest of 30.1 million sockeye at an average ex-vessel price of $1.72 per pound, for a fishery value of $260.2 million.

That compares with the 2025 season, when fishermen caught 41.2 million sockeye...