Saving Seafood

Mass. Seafood Collaborative calls for sanctions on Russian fish imports

March 8, 2022 — The Boston-based Massachusetts Seafood Collaborative, which has several Gloucester members, is calling for sanctions to take a bite out of Russian fish imports because of the war in Ukraine.

The collaborative, which counts the Gloucester Fishermen’s Wives Association as a member, said that in 2021, the U.S. imported $4 billion worth of Russian fish for processing, leading directly to jobs and paychecks for Massachusetts residents.

“Though Russia blocks imports of American fish,” the collaborative said, “our commitment to free trade and open markets allowed this one-sided relationship to bear fruit. The invasion of Ukraine by Russia has forced our industry — and our nation — to decide between our ideals and our wallets.”

The collaborative called on elected officials to immediately sanction Russian fish exports into the U.S.

It was unclear what this would mean for Gloucester.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

Despite Ukraine invasion, the U.S. and Russia are still working together to solve salmon mysteries

March 3, 2022 — Tensions continue to simmer between Moscow and Washington in the wake of Russia’s invasion of  Ukraine.

In many respects, the divide between East and West is deepening: Oil companies are canceling partnerships with Russian firms. State legislators are calling for the state’s sovereign wealth fund to dump Russian investments. President Joe Biden announced Tuesday the U.S. would close its airspace to Russian aircraft.

But the United States and Russia are continuing to work together on at least one issue: salmon.

There’s a map scattered with orange, green, blue and red dots spanning most of the North Pacific above 46 degrees latitude.

Read the full story at KRBD

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