Saving Seafood

Ban on US purchases of Russian seafood opposed by some national food marketers

March 1, 2022 — Quid pro quo. Tit for tat. An eye for an eye.

“If they don’t buy from us, we shouldn’t buy from them,” Alaska’s seafood industry has grumbled since 2014, when Russia abruptly banned all food imports from the U.S. and several other countries. Then, as now, the faceoff stemmed from Russia’s invasion and subsequent takeover of chunks of Ukraine, which prompted backlash and severe sanctions.

Yet U.S. purchases of Russian seafood through 2021 have totaled over $4.6 billion and counting, according to federal trade data.

Alaska’s congressional delegation has finally taken first steps to end the trade imbalance. On Feb. 9, Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan introduced the United States-Russian Federation Seafood Reciprocity Act of 2022 that would prohibit imports of any Russian seafood products into the U.S. until that country ends its ban on buying U.S. seafoods.

Read the full story at the Anchorage Daily News

Consequences of Russia’s Ukraine invasion rippling through global seafood industry

March 1, 2022 — Russia’s place in the global seafood trading market – and its strategy of growing its exports through value-added processing – have been jeopardized by the country’s  invasion of Ukraine, which has resulted in blowback that is already creating large-scale disruption to Russia’s seafood industry.

The world’s energy and food markets are in turmoil, with a wave of sanctions being levied by the European Union, United States, and other countries against Russia, a major producer of natural gas and wheat. And supply chain bottlenecks created by the COVID-19 pandemic are expected to worsen as a result of the conflict. Glenn Koepke, general manager at supply chain consultancy FourKites, said ocean-shipping rates could grow to USD 30,000 (EUR 26,900) per container, and airfreight costs could rise even higher.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

Maine seafood industry expects indirect hit from Russian invasion

February 28, 2022 — Though the Maine lobster and seafood industries for the most part do not trade directly with Russia, they are anticipating indirect impacts from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Russia had already banned seafood imports from the United States and European Union in 2014 in retaliation for previous sanctions imposed on Russia after its invasion and annexation of Crimea, and that ban remains in effect. Still, the invasion is bound to exacerbate ongoing supply chain issues, inflation and high energy prices, which could hurt the seafood industry indirectly in Maine.

Richard Hall, caviar director at Browne Trading Company in Portland, said he has not imported or exported any products from Russia in over 10 years because of the political situation and on-and-off embargoes.

“I get solicited by caviar farms in the (former) Soviet Union almost weekly,” Hall said. “It’s not like we don’t want to work with Russian farms. We’re always interested in finding what’s great for our customers. And it’s sort of sad – I’ve had to tell them recently, keep me on your list of people, but we’re not going to be doing anything with you right now.”

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine creates turmoil for global seafood market

February 24, 2022 — Russian seafood exports to the United States and European Union are likely to be curtailed as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed Russian forces entered Ukraine on Wednesday, 23 February. In response, U.S. President Joe Biden, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced planned sanctions against Russia after its military forces engaged in a full-scale invasion of the former Soviet territory, which became an independent country in 1991.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

Massachusetts vs. Alaska fish fight over Russian imports

February 24, 2022 — A proposal by Alaska’s two U.S. senators to ban seafood imports from Russia has met resistance in the form of Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass.

On Feb. 9 , Sens. Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski, both R-Alaska, filed S.3614, the U.S.-Russian Federation Seafood Reciprocity Act, which seeks to respond to Russia’s embargo of American fish and other seafood products that was put in place after the U.S. with a reciprocal ban.

Sullivan sought to have the bill approved in the Senate by unanimous consent. However, Markey objected to the bill, saying it could create unintended consequences for U.S. seafood importers.

“I have heard from seafood processors in my home state with concerns about potential sudden effects of a new immediate ban on imports on their workforce, including hundreds of union workers in the seafood processing industry,” said Markey. “And that would be right now.”

Sullivan noted that Massachusetts processors handle a large amount of Russian pollock, and suggested that product could be sourced from Alaska instead.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Alaska’s US senators want ban on Russian seafood imports

February 16, 2022 — Alaska’s U.S. senators have filed a bill that would prohibit the country from accepting seafood imports from Russia.

Republican U.S. Sens. Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski filed S.3614, the U.S.-Russian Federation Seafood Reciprocity Act, on Wednesday, 9 February. The bill seeks to respond to Russia’s embargo of American fish and other seafood products that was put in place after the U.S. and its allies placed a series of sanctions against Russia over its takeover of Crimea in 2014.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

Alaska lawmakers criticize US approach toward Russian seafood imports

February 8, 2022 — Lawmakers from the U.S. state of Alaska are criticizing U.S. trade policies they claim undermine the state’s seafood exports.

Two resolutions, SJR-16 and SJR-17, were advanced in mid-January by the Alaska House Fisheries Committee that address Russia’s U.S. food import ban, which has been in place since 2014, and China’s seafood import tariffs, which were enacted as part of the Sino-U.S. trade war initiated by former U.S. President Donald Trump.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

Landmark Arctic Fisheries Agreement Enters Into Force

August 30, 2021 — In June, the Central Arctic Ocean Fisheries Agreement entered into force, bringing to fruition a diplomatic effort that began more than a decade ago.

The agreement represents an unusual and farsighted effort to address a potentially serious environmental problem before it occurs. Too often, governments find themselves in the unenviable situation of dealing with issues only after they have arisen. This time, acting in advance will prevent unregulated commercial fishing in a wide swath of the Arctic Ocean that could have caused significant harm to the marine environment.

In another first, a formal agreement relating specifically to the Arctic region includes non-Arctic signatories, with parties to the agreement comprising Canada, China, Denmark (in respect of Greenland and the Faroe Islands), the European Union, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Russia, South Korea and the United States.

It demonstrates that nations can find ways to act in their mutual self-interest even in the face of serious geopolitical tensions. There were many sources of friction that might have derailed progress along the way – particularly during the Trump administration. But with key players in the United States, Russia and China signing and ratifying the agreement, the oceans have a new and groundbreaking multilateral instrument.

Read the full story at The Maritime Executive

Russia modernizes its pollock fleet, but struggles to find buyers

June 3, 2021 — Russia’s pollock fishery was faced with an unprecedented season in 2021 as the nation’s products were shut out of Chinese ports – a sudden loss of the destination market for 60 percent of the country’s seafood exports.

The closure forced the fishery to look for new destinations for its products, raising existential questions about the future of Russia’s seafood trade strategy.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Russian fishing industry blasts new limits on vessels of foreign origin

April 15, 2021 — Russian fishing companies are worried a new rules issued by the government banning ships built, purchased, or serviced outside of European Asian Economic Union (EAEU) – Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan – from fishing in Russian waters will cause higher seafood prices at retail and a decline in catch.

Over the past few years, fishing ships built, purchased, or serviced abroad have been banned from landing catch at Russian ports, but were still allowed to obtain quotas and fish in Russia’s exclusive economic zone, provided they received clearance to land their catch from the Russian Customs Service.

Read the full story at Seafood Source