May 24, 2022 — The U.S. Senate ended the restaurant industry’s hopes of receiving additional government funding to compensate it for COVID-19-related operational difficulties on 19 May.
The Senate voted against passing the Small Business COVID Relief Act of 2022 (S. 4008), ending any realistic possibility it will replenish the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF).
Read the full story at SeafoodSource
May 24, 2022 — A study on shellfish farmers in the U.S. state of California, conducted by researchers at Oregon State University, found that farmers need additional resources and less red tape in order to overcome current and future environmental challenges.
Farmers from California’s Humboldt Bay, Point Reyes, and the Central Coast were interviewed for the study, which also involved researchers from San Diego State University.
Read the full story at SeafoodSource
May 23, 2022 — Soaring demand for fishery and aquaculture products has positioned seafood as the most globally traded animal protein, with a trade value of USD 164 billion (EUR 155.8 billion) in 2021, increasing by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 2.4 percent in the 10-year period 2011-2021, according to the latest seafood trade map and report compiled by Rabobank.
The “2021 World Seafood Map” found that close to half of last year’s trade flowed to the European Union, the United States, and China, whose combined imports surpassed USD 80 billion (EUR 76 billion). According to the analysis, the seafood trade was roughly 3.6 times the size of beef trade (the second most traded animal protein) in 2021, five times the size of the global pork trade, and eight times that of the poultry trade. It also confirmed that there were more than 55 trade flows each valued over USD 400 million (EUR 380 million) a year, and an additional 19 trade flows valued between USD 200 million and USD 400 million (EUR 190 million and EUR 380 million) each.
Read the full story at SeafoodSource
May 20, 2022 — The closure of a major seafood market in the Chinese capital looks set to disrupt seafood trade as Beijing edges towards an extended lockdown to contain the spread of a COVID-19 outbreak in the Chinese capital.
Beijing’s Jingshen Seafood Market has been closed since 17 May, after workers there were sickened by a COVID-19 strain traced back to seafood imported into the nearby city of Tianjin. The Beijing Municipal Bureau of Commerce and the Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention issued a ban on any activity in the market while also setting stringent testing requirements for truck drivers entering Beijing with food and seafood products.
Read the full story at SeafoodSource
May 19, 2022 — The U.K. government’s intention to introduce new legislation that makes swift changes to the post-Brexit rules surrounding the checking of goods at the Irish border has drawn fire from Scotland’s seafood industry, particularly the farmed salmon sector.
U.K. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss told the House of Commons on 17 May that the Northern Ireland Protocol, introduced in 2021, had caused unforeseen problems, including “unnecessary bureaucracy” for goods moving between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Truss said that a proposed Northern Ireland Protocol Bill would mean that British goods destined for sale in Northern Ireland would only have to meet U.K. standards, and not those of the European Union. She said that while the government’s preference is to reach a negotiated outcome with the E.U. and that months of talks had already taken place, the urgency of the situation meant that the government would be prepared to act without reaching such an agreement.
Read the full story at SeafoodSource
May 17, 2022 — Consumption of seafood per capita among American consumers sunk slightly in 2020 compared to 2019, due in large part to the disruptions wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the National Fisheries Institute’s (NFI) recently-released top 10 list.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) latest Fisheries of the United States report – which NFI uses to compose its routine top species breakdown – found that Americans consumed 19 pounds of seafood per capita in 2020, down from the 19.3-pound average tallied in 2019.
Read the full story at SeafoodSource
May 17, 2022 — There are signs that European exporters are turning away from the Chinese market, according to numerous seafood executives interviewed at the 2022 Seafood Expo Global in Barcelona, Spain in late April.
Difficulties with port backups due to more-stringent food safety checks and the threat of being banned from the Chinese marketplace if traces of COVID-19 are found on their products have scared some suppliers away from shipping to China. Others are simply realizing higher prices in the European market.
Read the full story at SeafoodSource
May 16, 2022 — The U.K.’s restaurant and hospitality industry is asking for financial help as it faces higher taxes and rapidly rising seafood prices due to inflation and impending Russian sanctions.
The U.K. government issued sanctions against Russian goods – including the installation of a 35 percent tariff on whitefish – in March. In April, a government official said the sanctions had been “delayed while we sort some technicalities,” but noted “we are totally committed to them,” per Politico.
Read the full story at SeafoodSource
May 13, 2022 — America’s commercial fishing industry fell 10% in catch volume and 15% in value during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, federal regulators said Thursday.
The 2020 haul of fish was 8.4 billion pounds, while the value of that catch was $4.8 billion, officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said. The early months of the pandemic posed numerous challenges for the U.S. fishing industry, which has remained economically viable despite the difficult year, NOAA officials said.
“It was fishery closures, boats not going out due to COVID, border closings due to COVID, lots of disruption in the flow of goods and services,” said Michael Liddel, NOAA’s commercial fishery statistics branch chief.
NOAA made the announcement as it unveiled its “Status of the Stocks” report, which provides details about the health of the nation’s commercial fishing industry.
The report said there were 51 fish stocks on the federal government’s “overfished list” in 2021. That list includes stocks that have been depleted by excessive fishing and the number was an increase of two from the previous year.
Read the full story from the Associated Press
May 12, 2022 — On the heels of a global pandemic, the overall value earned by harvesters in 2021 jumped by more than $365 million to a new historic value, according to data from Maine Department of Marine Resources.
2021 is now a year of historic value for Maine commercial fishermen. Recently released data from the Maine Department of Marine Resources indicates that the overall value earned by harvesters in 2021 jumped by more than $365 million and exceeded the previous overall record of $733,691,455, set in 2016, by $150 million.
The numbers, which reflect the strength of an historic year for lobster and a rebounding elver fishery, reached an all time high at $890,668,873, according to the report now made available. Maine is considered as one of the most important commercial fishing states in the country, because of its lobster fishing industry.
“The hard work of Maine fishermen, aquaculturists and dealers once again resulted in tremendous economic benefit for our state,” said Maine Governor Janet Mills. “On the heels of a global pandemic that has challenged every link in the supply chain, the men and women who harvest, cultivate, process and sell seafood from Maine continue to ensure that the highest quality products find their way to market.”