Ocean Beauty Sells Shuttered Seafood Cannery in Petersburg

Ocean Beauty’s 66,000 square foot seafood processing plant has been sold to an undisclosed buyer, the company's Chief Financial Officer Tony Ross told KSFK’s Joe Viechnicki yesterday.

The plant, which operated last as a canning operation in 2016 and closed permanently last year, was on the market for just over a year. The asking price for the processing plant and the bunkhouse, which housed the plant’s  work force of 200 people, was initailly $3,390,000. That was reduced this fall to $2,495,000 for both.

The bunkhouse was not sold as part...

Marine Eco-Label Japan Scheme Recognized by GSSI 

The Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI) confirmed on Thursday that they recognize the Marine Eco-Label Japan (MEL) V2 scheme for Aquaculture and Fisheries. This means that both the Aquaculture Management Standard, as well as the Fisheries Management Standard, are both in alignment with all applicable Essential Components of the GSSI Global Benchmark Tool.

"This recognition demonstrates how the Global Benchmark Tool supports schemes and promotes improvement, and will continue to do so through our Monitoring of Continued Alignment (MOCA) process which will...

Russian Fishermen Call for Additional Subsidies to Cover Ever-Growing Energy Costs

Leading Russian fisherman have called on the government to provide additional subsidies to cover their ever growing costs for electricity and other energy resources, according to recent statements from producers and some Russian media reports.

Since 2016-2017, prices for energy for Russian fishermen have substantially increased, some to the extent of posing a threat of bankruptcies to many small- and medium-sized local fish producers.

So far, the Union of Fishing Collective Farms, a public association that unites some Russian fish producers, has already...

VIDEO: Gulf of Alaska Cod Fishery Closed for 2020; Dungeness Crab Season to Open; and More

Join SeafoodNews Weekly Video co-hosts Lorin Castiglione and Amanda Buckle as they talk about the latest news surrounding the Alaska cod fishery; the sentencing of Seven Seas Fish Co.; and the opening of the Dungeness crab season in California.

This episode was brought to you by COMTELL, which will be receiving a complete redesign in 2020. Subscribers who utilize COMTELL to track market quotations, analyze trends and stay on top of key industry news will see a host of new features...

Team Working to Remove Fishing Vessel That Ran Aground Off North Carolina 

Earlier this week the F/V Sea Angels, an 88-foot fishing vessel in Browns Inlet, North Carolina, ran aground. Now, a Unified Command – made up of the U.S. Coast Guard, Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, the State of North Carolina, Onslow County Emergency Management, and the owner of the vessel – has been established to oversee the safe removal of the Sea Angels.

Crewmembers aboard the F/V Sea Angels sent a distress call at 8:12 a.m. on Monday, December 9 after the...

Seafood Veteran Ron Harrison Passes Away After Battle With ALS

Seafood industry veteran Ron Harrison passed away on Monday, December 9 after battling ALS. He was 70 years old.

Ron had a lengthy career in the seafood industry, holding the title of President at Florida Fish Distributors until joining the Sysco Foods team as a seafood specialist in 1998. In April 2014 he joined Central Seafood in Orlando as their Director of Intercompany Sales, which required him to coordinate fresh and frozen seafood sales between Central Seafood and the five Sysco houses in Florida...

Ravn Air Delays Unalaska Community Meeting to Prepare for BSAI ‘A’ Season Travel Needs

The city of Unalaska has announced that Ravn Air “decided not to host a Community Meeting in Unalaska or participate in further public forums due to “recent comments made in the news and newspapers about our accident and air service to Unalaska.”

After a fatal PenAir’s Saab 2000 crash at Unalaska in October and a week of no air service to the remote community and nearby Dutch Harbor, parent company Ravn Air began flying DHC 8-100s in on a regular schedule...

Dillingham Wants Input From Fishermen on New Harbor Plans

City planners in Dillingham are hoping fishermen who don’t live in the area but fish Bristol Bay every summer will read the plan for Dillingham’s waterfront property at the harbor and send their comments to the city.

The McDowell Group, along with PND Engineers, put together the Draft Dillingham Waterfront Strategic Plan and encourage all stakeholders to review it.

On Monday, McDowell and PND presented data the companies had gathered during their first visit to Dillingham last July, reported KDLG’s Tyler Thompson yesterday...

ADFG Introduces Rockfish Playing Cards as Education Tools

This is Alaska Fish Radio. I’m Laine Welch –

Learning about rockfish is literally getting into people’s hands in the form of playing cards.

“We came to the conclusion that a lot of people like playing cards, when you go on boats or travel, there’s typically a deck of cards on board to keep people busy. It’s really a way to bridge the gap between sport and commercial fishing regulations.” 

Andrew Olson is the Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game groundfish and shellfish coordinator for the Southeast region...

Whale Entanglement Risk Low in Central California; Dungeness Season to Open Dec. 15

At least some Dungeness crab will be available for the Christmas and New Year's holidays in California this year. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced Wednesday the Central California season will proceed as planned in mid-December.

CDFW Director Charlton Bonham on Nov. 22 announced a delay to Dec. 15 for the area south of the Mendocino/Sonoma county line, including San Francisco, citing an independent aerial survey showing humpback whales in the area. The decision was made despite a California Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear...

Farmed Sockeye Salmon Landed in Nemuro, Hokkaido

Experimental farming of sockeye salmon in seawater began for the first time in this fiscal year. It is in response to the salmon driftnet ban instituted in the Russian EEZ in 2016, which restricted the activities of the Japanese salmon fleet in the high seas of Russia. The municipal government of Nemuro and four fishery coops in the city formed the Nemuro Sockeye Salmon Farming Conference, which managed the experimental farm with a circular cage in three-meter diameter and three-meter depth in the port of Nemuro. In July, the farm...

World’s First Sustainable Sea Cucumber Fishery is MSC Certified in Western Australia

Western Australia’s sea cucumber fishery has become the world’s first sustainably certified sea cucumber fishery through the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). Tasmanian Seafoods, based in Smithton, Tasmania, will harvest, process, and ship the sea cucumbers now with the familiar blue checkmark logo to Singapore, the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong SAR and Taiwan Province.

Market demand for the world’s sea cucumber, prized by Chinese and Southeast Asian consumers, is growing worlwide, triggering concern about the sustainability of the fisheries. 

“There’s a growing concern amongst consumers with sustainability and the...

Maine Scallop Fishery Enters Emergency Closure in Moosabec Reach

The Commissioner of the Department of Marine Resources in Maine established a scallop conservation closure in Moosabec Reach within the Chandler Bay/Head Harbor Island Rotational Area in Zone 2.

The Department noted concerns over the impact that continued harvesting could have on the future of the scallops in the region. If harvesting were to continue through the rest of the 2019-2020 season, it could reduce scallop broodstock further, as well as jeopardize sub-legal scallop abundance.

The abundance was observed in the 2019 Spring Scallop survey, which is...

Seaspan Shipyards Delivers Second Offshore Fisheries Science Vessel to Canadian Coast Guard

Seaspan Shipyards, behind the work of 2,700 employees, officially delivered the CCGS Capt. Jacques Cartier, the Canadian Coast Guard’s newest state-of-the-art Offshore Fisheries Science Vessel (OFSV).

This is the second OFSV delivered by Seaspan. This milestone took five months and two days after the first ship, the CCGS Sir John Franklin was given to the Coast Guard.

"We are incredibly proud to deliver the CCGS Capt. Jacques Cartier, our second Offshore Fisheries and Science Vessel, to support the critical..."

Imported Seafood Flooding China's Expanding Market Ahead of Chinese New Year

With Chinese New Year around the corner, local distributors are occupied with buying large quantities of seafood to satisfy enthusiastic consumers, who prefer these healthy options in holiday feasts. According to Shun, one buyer attending a Qingdao fisheries expo, seafood has become an everyday dish for many Chinese households.

Statistics show that Chinese aquatic output has skyrocketed by 144 times to 64.58 million tons in 2018 compared with that of 1949. But the country is still increasing imports to meet domestic demand, which not only impresses...

Protesters Gather in Dublin to End Overfishing in Ireland

Approximately 50 demonstrators gathered outside Leinster House in Dublin, Ireland, to voice their concerns about overfishing in Ireland's waters. The protest, which was organized by Extinction Rebellion Ireland and the Irish Wildlife Trust, called on Agriculture Minister Michael Creed to adhere to the European Union's fishery policy and eliminate overfishing. Based on the European Council's Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), EU Member States like Ireland must eliminate overfishing by the start of next year.

"The European Council's CFP was revised in 2013 to include a law to force member states to...

Norway Royal Salmon's Largest Stakeholder Will Change

Sea Shepherd Launching Web Series to Document Efforts to Save Endangered Vaquita

Sea Shepherd, the international non-profit marine wildlife conservation organization, is launching a web series to document their fight to save the critically endangered vaquita.

The organization's web series is based on their Operation Milagro (Operation Miracle) campaign, which focuses on conservation efforts for the vaquita porpoise who inhabit the upper Gulf of California. According to reports, it's believed that fewer than 30 vaquita porpoises remain worldwide, and the species could potentially be extinct as early as 2021...

FoodHero App Tries to Solve Food Waste Problem

According to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), over 40% of food produced is never consumed. Fortunately, one start-up company has a plan to change that.

FoodHero is an app founded by entrepreneur Jonathan Defoy to connect food merchants to consumers to sell surplus fresh food, like vegetables, dairy, and even meat and seafood. The app lets users shop for a wide variety of unsold products that are fresh and "perfectly good to eat," but that may be nearing their expiration date, or are not "pretty" enough for shelves...

Shrimp Import Antidumping Duties Increase Over FY2018

The Gulf of Mexico and Southeast shrimp industry will see a slight increase in an annual distribution of antidumping duties collected in 2019.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection recently published information regarding the annual distribution under the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act for fiscal year 2019. In total, CBP reports that $135,836.19 in antidumping duties collected on shrimp imports was made available for distribution this year. It's a slight increase from the $126,136.22 in antidumping duties collected FY2018 that ...

Impact of Tariffs Named One of the Top 10 Food News Stories of 2019

With the new year quickly approaching, consumer marketing communications firm HUNTER is taking a look back at the top food news stories of 2019. And according to the company, "The Impact of Tariffs on Food Items" is ranked as the sixth top food news story for the year.

"In 2019, escalated trade war disputes drove the Trump administration to impose retaliatory tariffs on a range of goods imported from both China and the European Union, including food and beverage staples," the report from HUNTER reads...

Former Bumble Bee VP Victor Phan Joins Garden Fresh Restaurants' Executive Team

Victor Phan, the former Vice President of Supply Chain Operations for Bumble Bee Foods, will be taking his talents to Garden Fresh Restaurants. The restaurant group, which is the parent of the Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes brands has named Phan their first Vice President of Supply Chain Operations and Development.

"Victor's immense expertise in large-scale supply chain management will be vital to the stewardship of our strategic initiatives and coordinating our existing leadership across key supply chain support functions such as procurement, distribution, food safety and...

Alaska Seafood Industry Snapshot

Alaska’s seafood industry is driven by over 9,000 fishing vessels including about 100 large catcher processors and 100 large shoreside plants.

Alaska is home to six of the nation’s top ten ports by value and the industry generates more than $150 million in public revenue annually.  Seafood accounts for the largest manufacturing sector in the state.

That’s according to an end of year industry update compiled by the McDowell Group. Other findings:

Alaska’s seafood industry puts 58,700 people to work and generate $2.1 billion in wages and $5.6 billion in economic output...

Tri Marine Group Names Juan Corrales as New CEO; Renato Curto Stepping Down After 35 Years

Juan Corrales, a veteran in global tuna marketing, was named head of Tri Marine Group, a global leader in fishing, processing and distributing high-quality tuna products. Corrales will take over as Chief Executive Officer on January 1, 2020. He succeeds Renato Curto who is stepping down after 35 years as CEO. 

Corrales is from Bermeo, Spain where his family founded the Garavilla Group in 1887. Garavilla owns several fishing, canning and branding operations worldwide and, like Tri Marine, is part of the...

Seafood Nutrition Partnership Board Welcomes 2 New Members; Jim Motos Appointed Vice Chair of Board

The Seafood Nutrition Partnership (SNP) is welcoming some new faces.  The organization announced on Tuesday that Paul Doremus of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Christine Garvey of Trident Seafoods Corporation will be joining the SNP Board of Directors.

"I have been a long-time supporter of SNP and believe strongly in the mission to educate Americans about the importance of sustainable seafood for human health as well as environmental health," said Doremus, who serves as the Deputy Assistant Administrator for Operations...

Ecuador Introducing Satellites to Combat IUU Fishing

This past October the European Commission issued Ecuador a "yellow card" warning, saying that the country had "shortcomings" in fighting illegal fishing. Now, Ecuador is stepping up their actions to combat IUU fishing – and satellites are set to play a big role.

According to Ecuador's Ministry of Production, the country will be using the Satellite Monitoring Centre (CMS) to control fishing and keep an eye on illegal activity. The satellites will allow Ecuador officials to collect, record and analyze maritime traffic of industrial vessels, as well as issue...

The Winding Glass: Lack of Cod Killing Alaskan Communities, as State and Council Punt on any Relief

The rubber has hit the road as far as global warming in Alaska is concerned. Cod, one of the state’s major and iconic fisheries, has collapsed to such an extent that directed fishing is banned in the Gulf of Alaska.

Think of no salmon returns to Bristol Bay. Or a shutdown of pollock for the A season in the Bering sea.  This is the kind of seismic impact the changes in climate have wrought with cod...

Sunken Fishing Vessel Found 140 Feet Below Surface off Martha’s Vineyard

The fishing vessel that sunk with four crewmembers aboard off Martha’s Vineyard on November 24 was found 140 feet below the reported sinking on Sunday, the Massachusetts Environmental Police told South Coast Today.

The vessel Leonardo departed New Bedford on November 24 and sank about 25 miles off the southwest coast of Martha’s Vineyard. One crewmember, Ernie Garcia was rescued, but the other three, Capt. Gerald Bretal, Mark Cormier and Xavier Vega are considered lost at sea.

The Cape Cod Times reported that the body of a man was found...

Scottish Sea Farms’ £55m Hatchery Sends First Smolts to Sea Pens

Scottish Sea Farms’ new hatchery sent its first smolts to sea pens, a critical milestone of the company’s £55m Barcaldine hatchery.

The smolts arrived as eggs at Barcaldine in January 2019. They were hatched and reared using a recirculating aquaculture system (RAS). The smolts had an average weight of 160 grams, which marked a significant increase compared to smolts grown by Scottish Sea Farms using traditional hatchery methods

“This is a major milestone for all of the team, not just at Barcaldine but across the company,” Scottish...

Alaska's Halibut, Sablefish, Crab Values for Cost Recovery

Fewer Alaska fishermen are going after halibut and sablefish, based on the declining number of bills being sent out to those holding quota shares of the catch.

Eighteen hundred invoices went out to fishermen this month, down 30 from last year, and down from nearly 2,000 in 2015. 

The bills, paid since the year 2000, are a fee for fisheries monitoring and enforcement based on dock prices and averaged across the state. This year the fee was 3% and yielded $4.5 million in recovery costs...