Saving Seafood

Younger consumers demanding more sustainable seafood products, European Commission data finds

May 8, 2025 — Sustainability is an increasingly important factor for consumers considering whether to buy seafood – especially among young people.

“We found in our research that price and convenience remain the main motivation to buy seafood, and sustainability cannot lead them to switch to a less favored species. But, it remains important, and it’s something that grew up in the following generation because we have differences between generations in regards to sustainable preferences,” L’Institut-Agro Associate Professor Sterenn Lucas said during a panel at the 2025 Seafood Expo Global, taking place 6 to 8 May in Barcelona, Spain.

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Seafood companies are scrambling to move production, secure new supply chains in response to tariffs

May 8, 2025 — U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war has sent seafood companies scrambling to move production and secure new trade partners as they desperately seek to avoid the brunt of new tariffs.

“We’re living in a brave new world,” Matthew Latimer, managing director and general counsel of ACT Capital Advisors, said during a panel at Seafood Expo Global, which took place from 6 to 8 May in Barcelona Spain. “The recent round of trade restrictions and tariffs that were announced in the United States have triggered a scramble among seafood suppliers and distributors and wholesalers and retailers to constantly adapt – maybe on a daily basis – to an ever-changing trade environment. Geopolitical conflicts have disrupted supply chains, consumptions trends, and human lives, and then economic and environmental and regulatory changes have put pressure on operators to deliver sustainable, high quality, desirable products, all while navigating increased market complexity.”

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

US restaurants sound alarm on impact of tariffs

May 7, 2025 — U.S. tariffs are putting “enormous pressure” on independent restaurants, food producers, and the entire food supply chain, according to Independent Restaurant Coalition (IRC) Executive Director Erika Polmar.

“Unless something changes, the entire food supply chain – from field to kitchen to table – is at risk,” she said in a recent update to the coalition’s members.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

US retailers tell Chinese suppliers to resume shipments; Albertsons said it must approve any tariff price hikes

April 30, 2025 — In the wake of sweeping tariffs ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump, Walmart and Target told some Chinese suppliers to resume shipments to the U.S. after executives met with U.S. President Donald Trump last week – and major grocery chain Albertsons told suppliers it won’t accept tariff-related price hikes.

Two Chinese factories told CNN that Walmart and Target have resumed shipments, and the costs of the 145 percent import tariffs will be covered by the retailers, according to the South China Morning Post. Trump indicated that he may back off tariffs on China after CEOs from Walmart, Target, and Home Depot expressed their concerns.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

California reaches settlements with seafood companies over elevated levels of toxic metals

April 29, 2025 — The state of California has reached separate settlements with Clearwater Fine Foods, Seaquest Seafood Corporation, and Jayone Foods over allegations that the companies sold seafood products with elevated levels of toxic heavy metals without warning consumers as required by state law.

“No one should have to question whether their food is safe to eat,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in an announcement. “That’s why California law requires businesses to warn our residents about potential harm from significant exposures to toxic contaminants.”

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US restaurants having mixed success in 2025 as negative trends continue

April 28, 2025 — U.S. restaurant sales and traffic slowed in 2024, and for some individual chains, those negative trends have continued into 2025.

Sales among the nation’s 500 largest restaurant chains increased 3.1 percent in 2024, but that was the lowest annual increase in 10 years – excluding the Covid-19-related slowdown in 2020 – according to Technomic’s 2025 Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

Aquaculture projects face years of permitting despite Trump’s efforts

April 27, 2025 — Permitting is a costly regulatory hurdle among many U.S. industries with money, time, opportunity and business are all lost to the cumbersome grind of securing the government’s approval.

Consider the seafood industry, which President Donald Trump just threw a life-jacket.

Despite the United States controlling over four million square miles of prime fishing grounds, nearly 90% of seafood consumed domestically is imported, contributing to a trade deficit exceeding $20 billion, according to the executive order.

At the POWERS Summit and Expo hosted by the American Association of Port Authorities, U.S. Maritime Administrator Ann Phillips addressed the financial and operational challenges posed by inconsistent federal permitting processes for aquaculture facilities.

She highlighted that varying enforcement practices by the National Marine Fisheries Service under the Endangered Species Act have led to unpredictability and increased costs for aquaculture operators.

Read the full story at The Center Square

Responsible Fishery Management standard evolves into new global seafood certification program

April 27, 2025 — The Responsible Fisheries Management (RFM) seafood certification standard is being rolled into a new global standard dubbed Certified Seafood International (CSI).

The move marks the latest evolution of the RFM program, which was originally geared toward certifying Alaska’s fisheries as sustainable. Created in 2010, the program was transferred to the nonprofit Certified Seafood Collaborative in 2020 at the same time as it expanded its scope to cover fisheries across North America.

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How major FDA changes – both proposed and implemented – could impact the US seafood industry

April 24, 2025 — Significant proposed regulatory changes within the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), along with large layoffs that have occurred across the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) – which oversees the FDA – could greatly affect seafood importers, processors, and other industry stakeholders in the near future, according to a former FDA seafood specialist.

The recent HHS layoffs, which total nearly 20,000, include personnel with expertise in seafood, traditional foods, and labeling, “leaving the FDA with lack of expertise in these areas,” said Brian Ravitch, a senior regulatory advisor at Washington, D.C., U.S.A.-based law firm Olsson Frank Weeda who also worked at the FDA for 25 years, including time spent as a seafood specialist.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource