Saving Seafood

Wriggling gold: Fishermen who catch baby eels for $2,000 a pound hope for many years of fishing

March 14, 2024 — They’re wriggly, they’re gross and they’re worth more than $2,000 a pound. And soon, fishermen might be able to catch thousands of pounds of them for years to come.

Baby eels, also called elvers, are likely the most valuable fish in the United States on a per-pound basis – worth orders of magnitude more money at the docks than lobsters, scallops or salmon. That’s because they’re vitally important to the worldwide supply chain for Japanese food.

The tiny fish, which weigh only a few grams, are harvested by fishermen using nets in rivers and streams. The only state in the country with a significant elver catch is Maine, where fishermen have voiced concerns in recent months about the possibility of a cut to the fishery’s strict quota system.

Read the full article at ABC News

Red Sea turmoil continues to impact marine traffic; US container ship attacked

January 17, 2024 — Tokyo, Japan-based maritime shipping operator Nippon Yusen (NYK) has suspended sailing through the Red Sea and is considering route changes in the near future.

The announcement, made on 16 January, according to Reuters, follows Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd’s decisions to reroute earlier this month. In December 2023, a Maersk vessel was attacked in the Red Sea by the Yemen-based Houthi militia, who claim to be carrying out these attacks in response to Israel’s retaliation against Hamas following the latter group’s offensive into Israel on 7 October.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

The US is buying up the Japanese seafood exports that China banned—but for how long?

October 31, 2023 — The US military is helping Tokyo curb the economic fallout from China’s ban on seafood products from Japan.

Right after Japan started releasing treated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant in late August, China halted seafood exports from the country. It cited food safety fears from damage to the environment and marine life—a concern dismissed by regulators after thorough investigation. (Never mind that Chinese vessels kept fishing in the same waters.)

The US military stationed in Japan has started bulk-buying Japanese seafood to feed soldiers in messes and aboard vessels, and to sell in shops and restaurants on bases, Rahm Emanuel, US ambassador to the country, told Reuters in an interview yesterday (Oct. 30). It’s the first time the US armed forces have bought Japanese fish.

A “long-term contract” has been established between the US military and fisheries and co-ops in Japan, Emanuel said. Washington’s strategy to “wear out China’s economic coercion is [to] come to the aid and assistance of the targeted country or industry,” he added, harking back to his September speech in which he called economic coercion “the most persistent and pernicious tool” in China’s economic toolbox.

This may be a clever diplomatic move, but it’s unclear how sustainable it is. The total release of all the wastewater from Fukushima could take up to 40 years. Would China really keep a ban in place for four decades? And would the US keep coming to Japan’s aid for all that time?

Read the full article at Quartz

 

Proximar nets JPY 8.8 billion loan for RAS salmon farm in Japan

February 13, 2023 — Bergen, Norway-based Proximar Seafood has secured JPY 8.8 billion (USD 66 million, EUR 61 million) in financing via a loan offer from a syndicate that includes two Japanese banks for the land-based salmon farm it’s building near Tokyo, Japan.

The offer consisted of a highly confident letter along with a term sheet – which the company said should be “considered a strong statement of comfort from the banks” on providing the financing the company needs for its salmon recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) facility, currently under construction in in Shizuoka Prefecture. The names of the banks were not released by Proximar. Proximar signed a contract with RAS specialist AquaMaof in early 2020 for a design and build of a facility with a 5,300 MT annual production capacity of gutted salmon in its first phase.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Price of Japan’s top tuna highlights country’s recovery from Covid-19

January 13, 2023 — The top bluefin tuna sold during the first auction of the year at Tokyo’s Central Wholesale Market in Toyosu reached JPY 36,040,000 (USD 274,120, EUR 256,785), carrying on a tradition started at the market’s former location in Tsukiji and signaling some recovery from the pandemic.

The high price has nothing to do with the actual value of tuna, nor with its relative scarcity. As in years past, it’s a PR stunt and a reasonably inexpensive way for the purchaser to get worldwide name recognition.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Above-average herring season winds down in Alaska

May 27, 2022 — The 2022 herring season in the U.S. state of Alaska has concluded successfully, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

In recent years, the fishery’s value has been estimated at around USD 5 million (EUR 4.7 million), down from the record of USD 55 million (EUR 51.3 million) in 1988, with most of the fish sold to Japan. Herring roe, or kazunoko in Japanese, is commonly eaten during Oseibo, the Japanese Christmas season. 

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

Japan, Russia settle salmon quota amid tensions over Ukraine

April 23, 2022 — Japan and Russia have reached an agreement over Tokyo’s annual catch quota for Russian-born salmon and trout, the Japanese Fisheries Agency said Saturday, despite delays and chilled relations between the two sides amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The agreement on Japan’s quota for the popular fish in waters near disputed islands north of Hokkaido is a relief for Japanese fishermen who were worried about the prospects amid worsening ties between the two governments.

Japan and Russia concluded talks Friday, setting a catch quota of 2,050 tons for salmon and trout this year in Japan’s 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone, the fisheries agency said in a statement. The quota is unchanged from last year, and Japan will pay 200-300 million yen ($1.56-2.34 million) in fees — depending on the actual catch — to Russia.

Read the full story at the Associated Press

 

Maine baby eels reach near-record prices as season ends early

April 18, 2022 — While their appearance is glass-like and puny, Maine elvers come with a price tag that’s a shock to many.

One pound of elvers, also known as baby glass eels, sells for more than $2,000, beating out a pandemic slump of just over $500 per pound, according to the Maine Department of Marine Resources.

These eels are on the rebound, as many close to the industry said this is the best season they’ve had in recent history. This season was so productive. In fact, the limits will be reached before May, more than a month before their expected end date.

But why so expensive? These elvers may be two inches now but can grow up to five feet long.

These eels will also be shipped across the world to China and Japan, where they will be farmed for their meat.

Read the full story at News Center Maine

Japan investigating fishmeal substitutes for aquaculture feed

April 15, 2022 — Researchers in Japan are investigating alternative sources for aquaculture feed as the country’s growing aquaculture sector hits the limits of the country’s traditional supply of aquafeed.

The main materials for aquaculture feed – fishmeal and fish oil – remain a limited resource. Despite increased substitution of other ingredients in feed, like soy proteins, poultry byproducts, and fish-processing waste, aquaculture feed prices are increasing, in part due to Russia’s  invasion of Ukraine, which has dampened the global supply of wheat and other ingredients used in fishmeal production.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource