Saving Seafood

Trump pauses 25 percent tariffs on Canada, but Chinese tariffs take effect

February 4, 2025 — U.S. President Donald Trump has paused planned 25 percent tariffs on Canadian goods, barring a 10 percent carveout for energy, following a conversation with Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Trump announced on his Truth Social social media platform that Canada has “agreed to ensure we have a secure Northern Border” as part of a CAD 1.3 billion (USD EUR ) border plan. The move came just hours after he also balked at applying 25 percent tariffs to Mexico for a month, based on similar promises that the country would increase security at its border with the U.S.

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Trump nominee vows to keep NOAA intact, stop “communist fish” from entering US

February 3, 2025 — U.S. President Donald Trump’s nominee to head the U.S. Department of Commerce Howard Lutnick told U.S. senators at his confirmation hearing that he would not dismantle NOAA and would work to protect American fishers.

Under questioning from lawmakers, Lutnick said that he looked forward to working with the president in implementing tariffs to gain respect from foreign nations.

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Some in seafood industry see Trump as fishermen’s friend, but tariffs could make for pricier fish

December 13, 2024 — The incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump is likely to bring big changes for one of the oldest sectors of the U.S. economy — seafood — and some in the industry believe the returning president will be more responsive to its needs.

Economic analysts paint a more complicated picture, as they fear Trump’s pending trade hostilities with major trading partners Canada and China could make an already pricy kind of protein more expensive to consumers. Conservationists also fear Trump’s emphasis on government deregulation could jeopardize fish stocks that are already in peril.

Read the full article at WNKY

IUCN report questions China’s fish conservation, management efforts to revive domestic stocks

December 12, 2024 — A new report from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has highlighted China’s weak efforts to revive fish stocks in its own waters, suggesting a need for China to implement more stringent controls on its fleet’s landings and collect better data to effectively measure the impacts of those controls.

Titled “Unselective, unsustainable, and unmonitored trawl fisheries?” the report states that efforts made in the past decade by China to replenish fish stocks in its domestic waters, such as scrapping vessels and instituting annual moratoriums on fishing in the East and South China seas, have not been enforced strongly enough to combat dwindling fish populations.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Potential US tariffs, poor domestic demand have Chinese seafood firms turning toward Southeast Asia

December 2, 2024 — Facing dwindling domestic demand and potential new tariffs in the U.S., some Chinese seafood firms have begun to cast their attention toward Southeast Asia.

Guangdon, China-based Guolian Aquatic and Guangdong Evergreen – a conglomerate which produces and processes fish, shrimp, and aquafeed, – have targeted Indonesia as a location that may be able to offer more consistently lucrative business.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

Trump’s tariff proposal on goods from Canada, Mexico, and China would affect over USD 5.6 billion in seafood

November 27, 2024 — U.S. President-elect Donald Trump proposed big hikes in tariffs on all goods from Canada, Mexico, and China on 25 November in a move that would affect one-fifth of all U.S. seafood imports by value.

Trump, posting on his Truth Social platform, said he would charge tariffs of 25 percent on all products from Mexico and Canada and 10 percent tariffs on goods from China – above any existing tariffs.

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ICCAT adopts swordfish management plan, but Japan and China block efforts to strengthen shark finning ban

November 19, 2024 — The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) has adopted a management procedure for Atlantic swordfish, but another proposal to strengthen the commission’s ban on shark finning was derailed by Japan and China.

ICCAT held its annual meeting from 11 to 18 November and had already completed a management strategy evaluation for North Atlantic swordfish. NGOs like The Pew Charitable Trusts pushed for the ICCAT – a regional fishery management organization (RFMO) – to adopt the strategy to move away from annual quota negotiations toward an automated system that makes management decisions less political and more science-based.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Trump’s policy plans could shift seafood sourcing at US restaurants, retail

November 13 2024 — The recent election of Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency will have myriad effects on the U.S. restaurant and retail sectors, according to professionals in both industries.

According to Jennifer Bushman, co-founder and executive director of the San Francisco, California, U.S.A.-based nonprofit Fed by Blue, which supports the creation of responsible blue food systems, a Trump presidency will likely create a more volatile environment for seafood both at retail and on restaurant menus.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Trade experts predict Trump’s trade strategy will increase barriers for seafood importers

November 12, 2024 — U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s stated plans to raise tariffs on a wide swath of imports has trade experts and seafood trade groups predicting a tumultuous four years for the seafood industry.

Trump has promised to institute a range of trade policies in his coming administration, including adding tariffs as high as 60 percent on goods from China and 20 percent on goods from other countries. Peter Quinter, a U.S. customs and international trade attorney at Florida-based law firm Gunster, told SeafoodSource that any additional import barriers will affect most of the seafood Americans eat.

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Canadian research finds China’s rural areas and smaller cities will drive future growth in seafood demand

November 12, 2024 — Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, a Canadian government agency tasked with promoting food exports, is projecting long-term growth in seafood demand from China driven by improved logistics and the build out of e-commerce capabilities that will make it easier to achieve market penetration in China’s smaller cities and rural areas.

A recent report published by the agency points to the fact that annual per-capita seafood consumption is as low as 10 kilograms per year in some inland regions of China, while as high as 65 kilograms in coastal regions like Fujian and Guangdong.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource