Saving Seafood

Under new ownership, Peter Pan says it will focus on value added products

January 15, 2021 — Peter Pan, the seafood processing company with an array of plants in Southwest Alaska, had been struggling to keep up with competitors.

So, when its owner, Japanese seafood giant Maruha Nichiro, initially announced its sale of Peter Pan to three buyers, it said it expected a loss of almost $28 million.

The deal means the company is now vertically integrated, so all stages of production and marketing — usually operated separately — are now under one owner. It also places Peter Pan under American ownership.

One of the three buyers is Northwest Fish. Its owner, Rodger May, is the president of “New Peter Pan.” The Na’-nuk Investment Fund, managed by McKinley Capital, a private equity group, is another. The RRG Global Partners Fund is the third buyer.

McKinley Chairman Rob Gillam said the buyers see the deal as an investment in sustainably harvested Alaska seafood. But they agree that Peter Pan needs to up its marketing game.

“The best fish in the world isn’t any good if you can’t get it to people who want to buy it. So, that was really critical,” he said.

Read the full story at KDLG

Alaska’s Peter Pan doubles down on value addition with Northwest Fish merger

January 11, 2021 — Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.-based Northwest Fish and Anchorage, Alaska, U.S.A.-based McKinley Capital Management have beat out Trident Seafoods, Canfisco, and Silver Bay Seafoods to scoop up the assets of Peter Pan Seafood Co. from Japanese conglomerate Maruha Nichiro.

The sale, which was announced by Maruha Nichiro in November 2020, was finalized on 31 December, 2020. Northwest Fish and McKinley collaborated with London, United Kingdom-based RRG Investments on the transaction. Peter Pan Seafood Co. now comprises Peter Pan Seafood’s assets and the value-added sales channels of Northwest Fish Co. The new ownership group is Rodger May of Northwest Fish, the Na’-Nuk Investment Fund (managed by McKinley Capital Management), and the RRG Global Partners Fund (managed by RRG Capital Management).

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Maruha Nichiro sells Peter Pan Seafoods, takes USD 27.9 million loss

November 2, 2020 — Maruha Nichiro has announced it has sold its U.S. subsidiary Peter Pan Seafoods to entrepreneur Rodger May and McKinley Capital management, resulting in a USD 27.9 million (EUR 24 million) loss for the company.

In a notice “regarding the transfer of fixed assets of a consolidated subsidiary of the company,” Maruha Nichiro announced that it reached an agreement for the sale of the Alaska-based processing factory, to be completed on 31 December. The exact price that May paid for the company will not be disclosed.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Japanese seafood giants invest in land-based aquaculture

January 8, 2019 — Two of Japan’s largest seafood companies, Maruha Nichiro and Nippon Suisan Kaisha, or Nissui, soon expect to begin commercial shipments of fish farmed in land-based facilities in Japan, reports Nikkei.

At a land-based salmon farm in the town of Yuza, in the northwestern prefecture of Yamagata, Maruha Nichiro farms a variety of salmon known locally as sakuramasu. Maruha, which developed the system with valve maker Kitz, expects to ship its first batch of sakuramasu soon.

Maruha president Shigeru Ito said he aims to market the fish as a Japanese product in a country that relies on imports for 90% of its salmon consumption.

Meanwhile, Nissui plans to begin inland farming of mackerel next year, according to Nikkei, aiming to become the first company in Japan to sell farmed mackerel commercially. The key goal of the project is to cut costs by teaming up with a business in another industry that has a water treatment technology.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Big seafood companies promise to reduce illegal fishing

December 15, 2016 — Eight of the world’s largest seafood companies have promised for the first time to improve transparency and the traceability of their catches to stop illegal fishing and protect the oceans, they said on Wednesday.

After a meeting organized by the Stockholm Resilience Centre (SRC) between seafood companies’ chief executives and scientists, the CEOs signed an agreement on ocean stewardship.

“The seafood industry cannot thrive on an unsustainable planet, and we will not have a thriving planet with an unsustainable seafood industry,” the eight companies said in a joint statement.

The companies promised to help reduce illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) and seek to ensure that such products and endangered species are not present in their supply chains.

The companies also promised to eliminate any form of modern slavery including forced and child labor in their supply chains, and to reduce the use of antibiotics in aquaculture.

The seafood companies include the two largest by revenues, Maruha Nichiro and Nippon Suisan Kaisha; two of the largest tuna companies, Thai Union and Dongwon Industries; the two largest salmon farmers, Marine Harvest ASA and Cermaq; and the two largest aquafeed companies, Nutreco unit Skretting and Cargill Aqua Nutrition.

Read the full story at Reuters