Saving Seafood

Global marine feed ingredient shortage looming on horizon, with few solutions available for shrimp industry

September 3, 2026 — The demand on marine ingredients for fishmeal and fish oil is continuing to grow, and signs already point to a looming tonnage gap that has few solutions available for the shrimp aquaculture industry.

Dsm-firmenich Head of Business Intelligence Adolfo Fontes, speaking during the Global Shrimp forum in Utrecht, the Netherlands, estimated that by 2028, there will be a gap of 400,000 metric tons (MT) between demand on marine ingredients and the supply available to feed producers. In 2026, that gap will start being felt as sources like the Peruvian anchovy fishery are impacted by the strong El Nino.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

IFFO reports weak fishmeal and fish oil output as El Niño impacts fisheries

August 20, 2026 — IFFO – the Marine Ingredients Organization is reporting continued weak output of fishmeal and fish oil as a coastal El Niño weather pattern impacts raw material availability.

Scientists warned in July that a “Super” El Niño was likely to develop in 2026, causing a wave of different impacts on multiple global fisheries. Fisheries were already anticipating the phenomenon before it started to gain strength but, ultimately, could do little but react to warming water.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Climate-driven disruption, constrained supply adding volatility to aquaculture markets in the back half of 2026

August 7, 2026 — Global aquaculture firms and the wider value chain entered the second half of 2026 facing a difficult combination of constrained supply, rising feed costs, climate uncertainty, and uneven consumer demand, according to Rabobank’s latest Global Aquaculture Update.

After weathering several major disruptions over the past decade, the industry has now entered a phase in which climate change, tightening feed ingredient supplies, and geopolitical uncertainty are reshaping global seafood markets, Rabobank Seafood Analyst Novel Sharma told SeafoodSource, explaining the industry should plan for continual uncertainty rather than treat each challenge as an isolated disruption.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

El Niño is here, and it’s already scrambling fisheries throughout the Pacific

July 8, 2026 — We’re not even one month into “super” El Niño, the natural Pacific weather pattern characterized by warmer than average sea surface temperatures, and fisheries around the world are already getting scrambled.

In Peru, government officials have effectively canceled the fishing season for anchovies, one of the country’s most important exports and a leading source of fish oil and animal feed globally. The Indian government is preparing for a season of smaller, less plentiful Indian mackerel. Meanwhile, in Southern California, recreational and commercial fishers have reported some of the most successful months of tuna fishing they’ve ever seen.

Read the full article at Grist

Cooke to purchase Copeinca, Peru’s largest anchoveta-fishing firm

November 8, 2024 — New Brunswick, Canada-based aquaculture firm Cooke Inc. has announced it will purchase Peruvian fishmeal and fish oil producer Corporación Pesquera Inca (Copeinca).

Under a binding share purchase agreement, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cooke will indirectly acquire all the outstanding shares of Copeinca, Peru’s largest fishing company and one of the world’s largest fishmeal and fish oil producers.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Cooke Enters Into Agreement for the Acquisition of Copeinca

November 7, 2024 — The following was released by Cooke Inc.:

Cooke Inc. (“Cooke”) and PF Cayman New Holdco Limited have executed a binding share purchase agreement under which a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cooke will indirectly acquire all the outstanding shares of Corporación Pesquera Inca S.A.C. (“Copeinca”) of Peru — one of the world’s largest fishmeal and fish oil producers and exporters.

Copeinca was established in 1994 and has grown to become Peru’s largest fishing company with 2,770 employees, 45 vessels and 8 processing plants that span the north and center coastline of Peru. Copeinca holds the largest anchoveta (Enaraulis ringens) quota in Peru at 15.9% and processes approximately 21% of the country’s total catch for annual production of approximately 200,000 MT of fishmeal and 23,000 MT of fish oil.

Upon completion of the acquisition, Cooke will strengthen its growing marine ingredients business and diversify its geographic and species portfolio.

“There is tremendous compatibility between Cooke and Copeinca, and we’re excited to welcome Copeinca’s dedicated employees to the Cooke family of companies,” said Glenn Cooke, CEO of Cooke. “High quality fishmeal and fish oil are essential animal and human nutritional ingredients. They ensure a safe and wholesome feed supply for the growth and care of animals in several farming groups, including aquaculture. We believe Copeinca will be a major contributor in furthering Cooke’s growth as a leader strengthening global food security.”

Copeinca holds numerous industry certifications that reflect its commitment to food security, health and safety, and environmental sustainability including MarinTrust, Friend of the Sea, ISO 14001, ABE, BASC, GMP+, and HACCP.

“Copeinca and Cooke share a people centric culture focused on building up working waterfronts in rural coastal communities through sustainable fish harvesting and responsible processing. Cooke’s strategic agility and vertically integrated operations will enable Copeinca to remain competitive in an evolving global export market,” said Jose Miguel Tirado, CEO of Copeinca. “Our Peruvian company is thrilled to join the Cooke family of companies. Peru and Canada have a very strong and growing trade and investment relationship thanks to active collaboration between governments under the Canada-Peru Free Trade Agreement.

Cooke entered the marine ingredients sector in 2017 with its acquisition of US-based Omega Protein Corporation, a nutritional product company and a leading integrated provider of specialty oils and specialty protein products.

Peru is the second largest export market for Canada in Central and South America, and Canada is the fourth most important export market for Peru in the world.

The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in November.

Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. acted as lead financial advisor to Copeinca, together with Antarctica Advisors International Corp.

About the Cooke family of companies:
Cooke Aquaculture Inc. was established in 1985 by the Cooke family in New Brunswick, Canada. From humble beginnings of one farm site and 5,000 salmon, Cooke Inc. is the largest private family-owned seafood company in the world employing 13,000 people worldwide. The Cooke family of companies operate global aquaculture and wild fishery divisions in 14 countries providing a sustainable seafood source reaching tables all over the world. Cooke’s core purpose is to ‘cultivate the ocean with care, nourish the world, provide for our families, and build stronger communities.

US Coast Guard opens IUU Fisheries Center covering Indo-Pacific, ups patrols off Peru

November 13, 2023 — The U.S. Coast Guard is taking more aggressive action to police the Pacific Ocean in an effort to curb illegal fishing conducted by China’s distant-water fleet.

The USCG has opened the Illegal Unreported Unregulated Fisheries Center of Expertise (IUUF COE) in Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.A., to serve as the center for U.S. efforts to combat illegal fishing activity in the Indo-Pacific region. It also created a specialized environmental response unit, the Marine Environmental Response Regional Activities Center (MER RAC), to advise partner nations in preventing and countering illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in their home waters. And it recently completed an operation to counter IUU fishing off the coast of Peru.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Peru’s political turmoil has anchoveta industry on edge

December 16, 2022 — On Thursday, 15 December, Peru’s government instituted a national state of emergency, responding to outbursts of violence from protesters unhappy over the 7 December ousting of the country’s left-leaning president, Pedro Castillo, and the swearing in of then-vice president Dina Boluarte as Peru’s new head of state.

Castillo was facing allegations of corruption, with an estimated 50 separate cases pending with Peru’s Public Ministry. In an attempt to avoid impeachment over those allegations, Castillo illegally moved to dissolve congress and rule by decree, and was subsequently arrested and jailed. Peru’s Supreme Court of Preparatory Investigation is evaluating a federal prosecutor’s request for 18 months of preventive detention for Castillo and the former prime minister, Aníbal Torres. Castillo will remain jailed until that request is resolved, according to Reuters. Judge César San Martín said that if Castillo is found guilty of the crime of rebellion and conspiracy against the state, he would face a sentence of no less than 10 years.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

High seas have become ‘safe haven’ for labor abuse, illegal fishing: study

April 6, 2022 — Coastal regions off West Africa, the mid-Atlantic near Portugal and waters off Peru are the riskiest spots for illegal fishing and labor abuse, with most occurring aboard vessels registered to China and other countries with poor anti-corruption oversight, a new study has found.

The study, published in Nature Communications, found that nearly half of more than 750 ports assessed worldwide are linked to either labor abuse or illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.

The high seas have become “a safe haven” for illegal fishing, with millions of tons of such fish caught every year, authors wrote, incorporating an online survey of experts that revealed the pervasive nature of these practices.

Researchers found that vessels that engage is such activity also often have labor abuses on board, including practices such as forced labor, debt bondage and poor conditions.

Read the full story at The Hill

 

MarinTrust allowing remote audits, as Exalmar gains chain of custody certification

February 18, 2022 — Lima, Peru-based fishmeal and fish oil producer Exalmar has become the first company to achieve the MarinTrust chain of custody standard under its version 2.0 standards for further processing and trading activities.

“We are eager to meet the demands of international markets. Our commitment is from the capture of the raw material from responsible sources, processing and certified storage, for its safe and traceable commercialisation. This means assuring our customers the full traceability of all our fishmeal and fish oil,” Exalmar Commercial Manager Judith Vivar said.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource