Saving Seafood

Christmas season driving US scallop prices higher

December 27, 2021 — The Christmas season demand for fresh seafood is giving another jolt to Atlantic sea scallop prices.

The holiday peak comes on top of a year with tight supplies, as the U.S. East Coast scallop fleet and fishery managers wound down pressure on the resource. With the bounteous 2012-2013 class of scallops fading away, supplies will remain tight after the New England Fishery Management Council issued its specifications for the 2022 fishing year.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

Growing in popularity, local seafood movement picks up US government support

December 22, 2021 — From Alaska to California to New York to Maine, hyper-local seafood purveyors throughout the United States have seen a boom in interest the COVID-19 pandemic – and federal, state, and local governments are taking notice.

As the result COVID’s drastic impact on seafood supply chains and the U.S. consumer market for seafood, the local seafood trend has thrived in the pandemic, from direct-to-consumer seafood subscription services, to community supported fisheries (CSFs), to fishermen banding together to form sales cooperatives such as Real Good Fish and Get Hooked Seafood in California, Local Catch Network in New England, and Louisiana Direct Seafood.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

China’s seafood production, consumption continue to grow

December 9, 2021 — China’s seafood production will total 65.7 million metric tons (MT) in 2021, and will increase to 66.1 million MT in 2022, according to a Chinese research consultancy.

China’s overall seafood output rose from 64.5 million MT in 2017 to 65.4 million MT in 2020, according to Zhong Shang Chan Ye Research Agency, which also trades as China Commerce and Industry Research and Ask CI Consulting.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

Researchers aim to turn seafood byproducts into source of nutrition

November 30, 2021 –A research project led by Oregon State University has the potential to reduce food waste by utilizing seafood byproducts as a cheap, high-quality source of protein.

Oregon State has received a $333,777 grant from the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research to study whether protein from byproducts such as fish heads, bones and skin left over after processing can be recovered and used as an ingredient in food or dietary supplements.

The seafood industry uses just 30% to 40% of what it harvests for human consumption, while the rest is either made into fishmeal or discarded in landfills.

“This research exemplifies a ‘no stone unturned’ approach to increasing global food and nutritional security through limiting food waste,” said Lucyna Kurtyka, the senior scientific program director with the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research.

Read the full story at the Daily Astorian

 

Higher seafood prices could impact Thanksgiving spending

November 23, 2021 — A new survey shows that inflation that is sending seafood prices higher may discourage Americans from indulging during the Thanksgiving holiday.

The price of meats, poultry, fish, and eggs increased 11.9 percent in October, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index. As a result, 78 percent of consumers say rising prices will impact their Thanksgiving grocery shopping, and 37 percent expect higher costs to have a significant impact on their food spending, according to new survey data from Numerator. Fourteen percent of shoppers said they will not purchase turkey for Thanksgiving this year, while 16 percent said they will omit meat and seafood. And 21 percent said they will reduce the size of their Thanksgiving gathering this year due to rising prices.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

Shrimp, finfish aquaculture recovering from COVID-19 impacts

November 23, 2021 — Both shrimp and finfish aquaculture continued to grow globally in 2021, but might experience flattening or slower growth in 2022, according to production surveys conducted by the Global Seafood Alliance.

In a presentation at the final day of the organization’s Global Outlook for Aquaculture Leadership (GOAL) conference on 17 November, Rabobank Senior Analyst Gorjan Nikolik said globally, the aquaculture sector’s production is slowly normalizing after disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

Researchers look at direct seafood sales

November 15, 2021 — A team of researchers is looking to learn about the direct seafood market across the country in order to strengthen local food systems and coastal communities.

“Currently, there is a gap in national-level data on the domestic seafood system,” said Joshua Stoll, a marine policy professor at the University of Maine and one of the lead investigators for the project.

The collaboration between the school, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will help better understand how fishermen in the U.S. market their catch.

The agriculture sector has collected this kind of data for decades but the scale of the direct market, where fish is sold from fishermen directly to customers, isn’t clear.

Read the full story at the Ellsworth American

Governor Mills announces $10M Maine Jobs & Recovery Initiative to support and strengthen Maine’s seafood industry

November 11, 2021 — Governor Janet Mills today announced that her Administration is investing $10 million in federal funds through her Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan to allow Maine seafood dealers and processors to upgrade their infrastructure.

The new Seafood Infrastructure Investment Program will launch early next year and will be administered through the Maine Department of Marine Resources. It will provide grants to Maine seafood dealers and processors to upgrade buildings, equipment, and utilities. These grants will help seafood dealers and processors increase the supply of Maine-harvested seafood; strengthen their ability to deliver to markets in Maine, across the United States, and around the world; and create and sustain jobs throughout Maine’s iconic seafood industry.

“Maine’s seafood industry – from our fishermen and lobstermen to our processors and our dealers – is a cornerstone of our economy, employing thousands of people up and down the coast and generating about two billion dollars every year,” said Governor Mills. “They work hard every day, and they have adapted with characteristic Maine grit and ingenuity to meet the challenges of the pandemic, but it hasn’t been easy by any means. Helping our dealers and processors upgrade their infrastructure will ensure the strength and vitality of this industry for years to come, will keep Maine people working in our waters and waterfronts, and will keep delivering Maine’s world-class seafood across the globe.”

Read the full story at the Boothbay Register

Report finds China becoming more secretive about its fishing subsidies

October 29, 2021 — A new study prepared for campaign group Oceana suggests 85 percent of China’s subsidies to its fleet are harming the sustainability of fish stocks.

The report, “China’s Fisheries Subsidies Propel Distant-Water Fleet,” found that while China has reduced its fuel subsidies to the distant-water fleet, it is becoming more secretive about releasing data on direct and indirect subsidies to fishing firms.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource