Saving Seafood

Economic Impact

Offshore aquaculture advocates ask US lawmakers to invest USD 42 million in research and development

May 16, 2025 — Advocates for developing offshore aquaculture in U.S. federal waters are asking lawmakers to invest USD 42 million (EUR 37.7 million) to help grow the nation’s aquaculture output.

Stronger America Through Seafood (SATS), a coalition of industry stakeholders in offshore aquaculture, sent a letter to the leaders of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, highlighting the spending it says is necessary to support sustainable development of the aquaculture sector.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Imports likely to spike amid pause in US-China tariffs; Suez Canal Authority tries to entice shippers back to Red Sea transit

May 16 2025 — Supply chain experts are cautiously optimistic as they track changes in cargo and import levels since the 90-day pause on U.S.-Chinese import tariffs began on 12 May.

As a result of the pause, preliminary information from various cargo and import indexes appears to suggest that an import spike may be coming in the near future.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

US Wind Offers $20 Million to Local Fishermen under New Proposal

May 15, 2025 — Offshore wind developer US Wind has entered memoranda of understanding with Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) in which the company has proposed $20 million in support to local fishermen.

According to a press release from US Wind, the agreements with the states were developed in response to watermen feedback as US Wind continues to pursue a project off Sussex and Worcester Counties. The Trump Administration’s reversal of a Biden-era push for offshore wind has left the future of the project uncertain.

“This proposal — one of the biggest investments in commercial fishing in the region – demonstrates our commitment to the fishing industry and the local community in which we’ll operate,” said Jeffrey Grybowski, US Wind CEO. “The funding will provide direct support to commercial and charter fishermen, grants for local businesses, and support for harbor maintenance and infrastructure. We’re looking forward to continuing our work with local fishermen and the states of Maryland and Delaware to finalize this unprecedented agreement.”

US Wind says $13.5 million of the $20 million proposal would go to the following in Maryland:

-Grants for fishing businesses in the harbor to continue the offloading of catch and ice services;

-30 years of funding for West Ocean City Harbor maintenance, such as dredging requested each year by the community, dock and shore stabilization

-Substantial money for gear development, marketing of local seafood, fishing business development, and incentives for new commercial fishermen.

Read the full article at WBOC

Seafood sales at US retail maintain momentum, soar in April

May 14, 2025 — Seafood sales at U.S. retail stores maintained their momentum from March and surged again in April, largely thanks to continued tariff concerns leading to stockpiling behavior and a late Easter holiday this year.

Frozen seafood sales shot up 11.4 percent by value to USD 673 million (EUR 604 million) in the month, surpassing all other frozen proteins, while sales by volume in the category grew 3.3 percent, according to new Circana data analyzed by Lakeland, Florida, U.S.A.-based research firm 210 Analytics.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

US, China agreement on tariffs encourages some, but others aren’t celebrating yet

May 13, 2025 — The U.S. and China’s recent agreement to reduce tariffs has garnered mixed reactions from the seafood and retail industries.

In a joint statement, both the U.S. and China agreed to modify duties the two countries had placed on goods from the other country on 12 May for 90 days. Effective 14 May, both countries will reduce tariff rates by 115 percent as the two continue discussions about economic and trade relations.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Import levels at US ports expected to experience first monthly decline since 2023

May 13, 2025 — Experts are predicting that the United States’ major container ports will see a decline in import levels for the first time in a monthly period since 2023.

In a recent edition of the Global Port Tracker, produced by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates, industry analysts said that U.S. imports are expected to be down each month from May through September and that the overall volume for the year was also trending downward.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Steen seeing hesitation from US buyers of processing machinery amid tariffs, cost uncertainties

May 13, 2025 — Antwerp, Belgium-based food-processing machinery firm Steen said that recent trade disruptions stemming from U.S. tariffs have caused some of their American buyers to hold off on new deals.

“After the tariffs were announced, some people who [verbally] committed to buying from us said they were, instead, going to hold off and see how things play out,” Steen International Sales Manager Laurenz Seesing told SeafoodSource at the 2025 Seafood Expo Global. “I think we can expect a latency or a delay rather than full cancellations because, eventually, companies will need to buy machinery, and most of the [processing machinery] stuff is produced in Europe.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

US, China agree to 90-day pause on high tariffs

May 12, 2025 — The U.S. and China released a joint statement on 12 May indicating the two countries would suspend most tariffs for 90 days and agree to continue discussions about their economic and trade relations.

In a joint statement, the U.S. agreed to modify its duties on China, effectively reducing tariffs on Chinese goods to 30 percent by 14 May. In return, China will also suspend its tariffs, reducing the tariff rate to 10 percent as of 14 May.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

USDA awards USD 2.3 million in pollock contracts, seeks more bids on pollock, salmon

May 12, 2025 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) awarded USD 2.3 million (EUR 2 million) in contracts for Alaska pollock, while asking for additional bids on contracts to provide millions of dollars’ worth of pollock and salmon.

The USDA awarded two contracts for 1,026,000 pounds of Alaska pollock products, with the largest, worth USD 1.45 million (EUR 1.3 million), going to Braintree, Massachusetts, U.S.A.-based Channel Fish. Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.-based Trident Seafoods was awarded USD 829,996 (EUR 739,000) to supply frozen pollock sticks and nuggets.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Younger consumers demanding more sustainable seafood products, European Commission data finds

May 8, 2025 — Sustainability is an increasingly important factor for consumers considering whether to buy seafood – especially among young people.

“We found in our research that price and convenience remain the main motivation to buy seafood, and sustainability cannot lead them to switch to a less favored species. But, it remains important, and it’s something that grew up in the following generation because we have differences between generations in regards to sustainable preferences,” L’Institut-Agro Associate Professor Sterenn Lucas said during a panel at the 2025 Seafood Expo Global, taking place 6 to 8 May in Barcelona, Spain.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource