April 13, 2021 — The unprecedented disruption of seafood sales caused by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic a year ago is catching up to year-on-year sales figures.
While fresh seafood sales soared in March thanks to the early Easter holiday, frozen and shelf-stable sales dropped, compared to the huge pandemic stock-up buying spike of 2020, according to data provided to SeafoodSource.
March 25, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
1. Support Sustainable Fisheries
The United States has some of the largest and most sustainable fisheries in the world—both wild-caught and farmed seafood. Any U.S.-harvested seafood in the marketplace is inherently sustainable based on 10 national standards.
2. Support Our Fishermen
U.S. fishermen work hard to follow robust regulations and only catch what they are allowed within sustainability limits. When buying seafood from U.S. fishermen, you’re supporting their families and coastal communities as a whole. U.S. fisheries also make a significant contribution to the economy and the broader seafood supply chain. They provide jobs and recreation, and keep our coastal communities vibrant.
3. Boost Your Health
Seafood provides a variety of benefits to your diet. It is a healthy source of low-fat protein and high in omega 3s which are good for your heart and brain.
4. Strengthen Our Seafood Supply
If done responsibly, as it is in the United States, aquaculture is increasingly recognized as one of the most environmentally sustainable ways to produce food and protein. Marine aquaculture is a resource-efficient method of increasing and diversifying U.S. seafood production. It can expand and stabilize U.S. seafood supply in the face of environmental change.
5. Contribute to a More Sustainable Planet
Purchasing sustainable seafood helps support larger sustainability goals for the globe. It can help end world hunger, and provide clean water and more economic opportunities.
6. Give Your Taste Buds a Treat
Last but not least, seafood is delicious! This summer, take your tastebuds on vacation with seasonal dishes featuring fresh seafood. Try out a new recipe from FishWatch. You can also stock your freezer and use seafood swaps in burgers, tacos, pizzas, pastas, skewers, salads, and more.
March 19, 2021 — The sustainability movement in seafood encompasses a vast network of initiatives and individuals committed to driving lasting change.
Working within the movement can feel “like being in a galaxy,” according to Walton Family Foundation Senior Environmental Program Officer Teresa Ish, in that it inspires awe and, at the same time, a sense of uncertainty about where to turn next.
“It’s hard to see the galaxy when you’re sitting inside it,” Ish said during a Seafood2030 keynote panel at this week’s Seafood Expo North America Reconnect.
Stockholm Resilience Centre Researcher Per Olsson, who joined Ish for the session “Resilience, Innovation, and Transformation: Bouncing Beyond in a Post-COVID World,” agreed navigating sustainability systems is nuanced, expansive work. That’s why he advises seafood industry stakeholders to start out focused on creating a systems-mapping process.
“If you want to start somewhere, I think systems mapping is really important, to get a view of the system that you’re trying to change,” Olsson said. “It’s about mapping components and the interactions between them, but also where in the transformation you are. Are you before a crisis, sort of in the preparation phase? Or has the crisis happened and you’re trying to rebuild?”
Read the full story at Seafood Source
January 25, 2021 — If you could peek inside America’s cupboards and refrigerators, you’d see tableaus that capture changes wrought by the pandemic: Towers of paper goods, loads of comfort food, caches of upmarket coffee. You might also be surprised to see an unusual amount of seafood.
Frozen seafood sales at U.S. supermarkets and other food retailers rose 26% in the four weeks ended Dec. 27 from a year earlier, according to market research company IRI, far stronger than the 6% growth for consumer packaged goods overall. Fresh seafood sales rose 25% in the same period. That strong result wasn’t just a holiday binge: Since the onset of the pandemic, seafood sales growth has tended to outpace that of the grocery store as a whole by a comfortable margin.
The seafood spending surge is an example of the hard-to-foresee ways the pandemic continues to displace and redirect consumer demand. Typically, an outsize share of Americans’ spending on seafood is at restaurants. Consumers spent $69.6 billion in 2017 on seafood at restaurants and other food-service venues, according to a U.S. government report, compared with $32.5 billion spent at stores for home consumption. But with many white-tablecloth dining rooms closed or operating at reduced capacity during the pandemic, shoppers who perhaps rarely cooked seafood before have decided to put seared salmon, shrimp scampi and steamed lobsters on their own kitchen tables.
The trend is apparent everywhere, from big-box retailers to discount chains and traditional supermarkets. Walmart Inc. has had such strong growth in both fresh and frozen seafood at its U.S. business during the pandemic that the giant expanded its fresh shellfish offering in the fall. Lidl said it had a “double-digit” increase in seafood sales in the past year, while Albertsons Cos. executives said on a January earnings call that seafood sales had delivered quarterly comparable sales growth above the company average. Conventional supermarket Stop & Shop said it is carrying a bigger selection of seafood as shoppers have increased purchases, while Whole Foods Market is experiencing “huge growth” in frozen seafood, according to Wesley Rose, the chain’s vice president for seafood. That led the upscale chain to expand its selection to include value packs of halibut, barramundi and arctic char. With fresh offerings such as red snapper also selling well, Whole Foods has added black cod and farm-raised striped bass to fish counters at most of its stores.
January 20, 2021 — Retail sales were higher than expected during the 2020 holiday season – and sales of seafood shone as a particularly bright spot.
Frozen seafood was “one of the strongest performers” in the overall supermarket frozen food department, growing 23 percent in December versus a year ago, 210 Analytics Principal Anne-Marie Roerink told SeafoodSource.
January 13, 2021 — Giant Food is debuting a private label cook-in-bag line of meal solutions that include both meat and seafood entrees.
The Landover, Maryland-based operator of 164 grocery stores joins other grocery chains offering similar solutions, such as Carlisle, Pennsylvania-based The Giant Company and Lakeland, Florida-based Publix.
January 4, 2021 — The new 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA), released last week, encourage Americans to eat more seafood.
Notably, the new guidelines recommend Americans of all ages – particularly young children and pregnant women – eat seafood at least twice a week.
December 29, 2020 — The following was released by the Seafood Nutrition Partnership:
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025 was unveiled today. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) provide science-based advice on what to eat and drink to promote health, reduce risk of chronic disease, and meet nutrient needs. This ninth edition is the first time guidance is given for infants and toddlers under age 2, and the recommendations are that seafood is important for children’s brain development.
“Seafood intake during pregnancy is recommended, as it is associated with favorable measures of cognitive development in young children.” Starting at about 6 months of age, the DGA says to introduce iron- and zinc-rich foods, such as fish and shellfish. Seafood is an important source of “iron, zinc, protein, choline, and long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids … needed for the rapid brain development that occurs through the infant’s first 2 years of life,” states the DGA. “Some types of fish such as salmon and trout are also natural sources of vitamin D.”
This follows the findings from the 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee Scientific Report, released in July 2020, that emphasized the need for women before, during and after pregnancy, and children beginning at 6 months of age to eat more seafood.
For the women and the general public, the seafood consumption recommendations remain the same as from the previous DGA 2015-2020 of 8 to 12 ounces per week, now based on daily caloric intake.
December 17, 2020 — Grocery store sales rose 1.6 percent in November, with total sales getting a boost from more Americans eating at home due to COVID-19 shutdowns.
Sales at grocery stores specifically jumped 1.9 percent to USD 63.5 billion (EUR 52 billion). And, compared to November 2019, grocery sales soared 10.9 percent at food and beverage stores. However, overall retail sales dropped 0.8 percent in November, though sales at food and beverage stores reached USD 71.4 billion (EUR 58 million), according to advance estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.
December 3, 2020 — The 2021 edition of Seafood Expo North America/Seafood Processing North America will take place Sunday, 11 July, to Tuesday, 13 July, organizer Diversified Communications announced on 3 December.
The trade show, which brings together seafood suppliers and buyers and which also features an educational conference, will take place at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.