American Seafoods Group Pauses Sale Process, Aims Focus on Business and Growth Prospects

American Seafoods Group, a global leader in sustainable proteins and one of the world's largest at-sea processors of wild Alaska pollock and wild Pacific hake, announced earlier this week that the company has paused its sale process.

"We have paused our sales process, so we can continue to focus on our business and customers," said Einar Gustafsson, CEO of American Seafoods. "Our business remains strong, and we look forward to revisiting these discussions when the macroeconomic environment improves and when our valuation is consistent with...

Norwegian Snow Crab Experiences “Record-breaking” 6 Months While King Crab Struggles

The Norwegian Seafood Council released export figures for the first half of the year, revealing that the country exported seafood worth NOK 80.6 billion; a slight decrease from this period last year. But while there was no growth in value overall, there were some wins — like with snow crab.

Snow crab can be found in Norway’s top 10 largest species in the first half of the year in terms of value. Within the first six months the country exported 6,302 tonnes worth...

ANALYSIS: U.S. Shrimp Imports Reverse Slightly Higher In May

In data released Wednesday, U.S. shrimp imports edged out a slight gain from multi-year lows last May. Imports for the month totaled 140.587 million pounds, or 2.4 percent above 137.264 million pounds in 2023. This was driven by gains in the top five from India (+2.3%), Ecuador (+15.3%), Vietnam (+8.3%), and Thailand (+3.3%). Indonesia (-14.9%) was the only laggard in the top partners.

Mexico (-26.8%) showed a large decline. Notable gains from other countries were seen from Sri Lanka (+973.3%) to...

Thai Union Just Opened Its First Global Shop In A Very Unique Location

Seafood giant Thai Union can be found throughout stores in North America, Europe and the Asia Pacific with its wide range of products, from Chicken of the Sea, King Oscar and John West, to Sealect and Fisho. But, for the first time, there is now a Thai Union store.

In late June the company opened its first Thai Union Global Shop at the Phenix Food Wholesale Hub in Bangkok. Thai Union described the shop as a “one-stop destination” where consumers can find products from their...

Northline Seafoods’ New Freezer Barge At Reduced Capacity Following Electrical Fire

In late May Northline Seafoods’ new freezer barge, Hannah, departed Bellingham’s Fairhaven Shipyard for its maiden voyage to Bristol Bay. The one-of-a-kind, state-of-the-art vessel was entering the 2024 salmon season in Bristol Bay with the capacity to freeze up to 1 million pounds of salmon per day, with cold storage on board the vessel able to hold over 10 million pounds of frozen fish, and 2.3 million pounds of fresh.

“This is a dream come true,” Northline Seafoods CEO Ben Blakey...

The Retail Rundown: Retail Segment and Temperatures Heat Up Ahead of Holiday

The retail segment is heating up for the July 4^th holiday, as are the temperatures across the country.

Scorching heat along with the holiday falling on a Thursday could dampen this year’s cookouts. Residents in the south-central and West Coast are in the midst of a dangerous and record-breaking heat wave, with blistering temperatures forecast to extend into next week.

Meanwhile, severe weather including flash flooding and strong wind gusts is possible over the next few days across the Plains and Midwest, according to the National...

AquaBounty Enters Into Agreement With Superior Fresh To Sell Indiana Aquaculture Facility

AquaBounty Technologies has found a buyer for its Indiana farm. The aquaculture company filed an 8-K form on Tuesday, revealing in the 31-page document that it has entered into an asset purchase agreement with Superior Fresh, "pursuant to which Superior Fresh will acquire AquaBounty Indiana’s land-based aquaculture facility in Albany, Indiana."

AquaBounty announced its plans to sell off its Indiana farm in February. The Indiana facility, which is 12,000 square feet, can raise 1,200 metric tons of salmon each year. The company said...

USDA Announces Winners Of Section 32 Farm Raised Catfish Solicitation 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced the contract winners for the Section 32 farm raised catfish products solicitation.

The USDA released an invitation in late May for 4,940,000 lbs of unbreaded raw catfish fillets (20/2 lb) for use in the domestic food distribution programs. Bids were due by June 13, and acceptances were announced by the USDA late last week. The USDA awarded contracts for the full solicitation with a purchase total of $22,864,985.48. Deliveries of the product are to be made from...

Gloucester’s Atlantic Fish and Seafood Reaches Settlement With EPA Over Clean Air Act Violations

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) confirmed late last month that it has reached a settlement with NSD Seafood Inc., d/b/a Atlantic Fish and Seafood. According to the EPA, the seafood processor violated the General Duty Clause of Section 112(3) of the Clean Air Act through its handling of anhydrous ammonia at its facility in Gloucester, Massachusetts. 

“EPA’s mission is rooted in safeguarding all communities from pollution, including chemical releases,” commented David W. Cash, the EPA New England Regional Administrator. “This is...

Proximar Triples Biomass at Oyama, Japan Facility and Lauds First Sales Agreement

Bergen-based Proximar Seafood announced its fourth production update of its Oyama, Japan Atlantic salmon facility since it began operating in October 2022. By the end of Q2 2024, Proximar had a standing biomass of 360 metric tonnes, more than tripling its total of 112 metric tonnes at the end of Q1 2024.

"We are very pleased to see the positive development in our biomass continuing through the second quarter of 2024,” said Joachim Nielsen, CEO of Proximar. “The water quality remains good which again is...

Dunleavy Vetoes $10 Million for Alaska Seafood Marketing When Industry Needs it Most

For the second time in two years, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy has vetoed state support for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI), an industry-and federally-funded agency facing severe market conditions in the coming year. 

Last Thursday, June 27, Dunleavy signed the vetoes that cancelled $230 million of a total operating budget of $12.2 billion and a capital budget of $3.5 billion. The signing and transfer of the bills was done on Thursday at a meeting in Anchorage attended by seven...

Japan’s Russian Seafood Imports Fall In Terms of Both Volume and Value in 2023

According to trade statistics from Japan’s Ministry of Finance, the import volume of Russian products in 2023 was 104,022 tons, down 16% from the previous year. The import value was 130.7 billion yen ($811.25 million), also down 16%. Although both have decreased, the proportion of Russian products in total imports has remained relatively high, at 5.6% in quantity (6.4% in 2022) and 7.1% in value (8% in 2022), reported Minato Shimbun.

In terms of import volume of Russian products by item in...

It's Early: Alaska Wild Salmon Landings on Par With ADF&G Forecasts So Far

With 10.6 million wild salmon caught in Alaska this year so far, landings are on par with ADF&G forecasts of 135.7 million salmon rather than last year’s actual landings of 232.4 million salmon, a 41.6% drop that is due to lower projected catches of pink salmon in Southeast and sockeyes in Bristol Bay. It is still too early in the season to make statements on timing: the latest numbers are as of July 1 when the peak of the Bristol Bay Run is still at ...

SeafoodNews Closed on Thursday, July 4

SeafoodNews will not be publishing on Thursday, July 4 in observance of Independence Day. We will return to our normal publishing schedule on Friday, June 5. 

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

You can also watch all the latest SeafoodNews Weekly Videos here or listen to the latest SeafoodNews Podcast episodes here.

Minato Shimbun Counted 104 Branded Salmon Farms in Japan, up 26 from 2022

The number of local salmon brands nationwide in Japan has surpassed 100, a significant milestone. According to a survey by Minato Shimbun, as of early July, there are 104 local salmon brands nationwide, an increase of 26 from the previous survey in 2022. This growth trend indicates a promising future for the local salmon industry.

Each producer grows fish focusing on the breeding environment and feed, differentiating them as domestic salmon with a strong regional flavor. With imported products remaining at a...

Shrimp Is The Star Of The Show This Summer

Summer is the perfect season to enjoy seafood. And while seafood boils and lobster rolls are always popular menu items, it wouldn’t be summer without a sizzling shrimp dish. And based on seasonal promotions it seems that all different types of restaurant chains agree. 

Brazilian Steakhouse Texas de Brazil, which serves all-you-can-eat grilled meat, does not typically offer seafood. However, the restaurant, which has 54 locations, has added two shrimp dishes to their third quarter menu.

For a limited time guests will be able to...

Nissin’s New Seafood Noodle Cup In Japan Targets Thrill Seekers

Japan’s Nissin Foods is well known for its Cup Noodles brand microwavable ramen noodle soup. But while stores in the U.S. stock flavors like shrimp or chicken, the company is launching much more daring new flavors in its home country — like Nissin Raoh Fugu Dashi Salt.

Nissin describes its new product as a “light salt soup.” The base is a seafood and kelp stock that is “accented with the refreshing aroma of yuzu.” The noodle cup comes with a “special pufferfish seasoning oil” that the consumer can...