Saving Seafood

ASC and SFP lead Aquaculture Action Alliance into new phase

September 15, 2026 — The following was released by the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership:

Utrecht, the Netherlands – Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) and Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) are driving the next phase of the Aquaculture Action Alliance, with the organisations jointly taking on the role of interim secretariat to support the next chapter in the Alliance’s growth.

The Alliance was formerly hosted by IDH – the Sustainable Trade Initiative, as the Aquaculture Working Group. This move marks a new chapter for the coalition, with a stronger focus on coordinated action, broader participation and measurable actions to reduce aquaculture’s environmental footprint.

The Alliance met in advance of the recent Global Shrimp Forum in Utrecht to bring together members to discuss ongoing efforts and progress for credibly measuring and reducing emissions and strengthening the sustainability of aquaculture.

A Call to the Aquaculture Sector

The Alliance is now seeking additional participation from like-minded companies from feed production to retail who share a commitment to drive long-term progress in aquaculture through improvement and sustainability solutions across the supply chain.

Jill Swasey, Director of Impacts, Monitoring & Evaluation at ASC, said, “Aquaculture has tremendous potential to be part of the solution to global food and environmental challenges. The Aquaculture Action Alliance provides an important space for companies to align approaches, share knowledge and identify where collective action can have the greatest impact.”

Braddock Spear, SFP Prospecting and Outreach Director, said, “By working together, leading seafood companies can increase their impact and support for best practices and state-of-the-art solutions. For aquaculture companies looking to compete on reducing carbon footprints, there is no better option than being part of the Aquaculture Action Alliance.”

Established in 2021, the Alliance has developed tools and approaches to help companies measure carbon, water, nitrogen and phosphorus footprints across aquaculture supply chains. In 2026, the focus is shifting from measurement towards coordinated action, supported by three working groups focused on carbon foot printing, priority actions and establishing the Alliance as an independent entity.

Dominique Gautier, Alliance Chair and Director of Sustainability at Seafresh Group, said, “The Alliance achieved a major milestone in 2026. Underpinned by stronger governance and wider ambitions, we are expanding our focus on what actions we, as leading companies, need to take to reduce aquaculture’s carbon footprint.”

Elena Piana, Steering Committee member and Group Sustainability Manager at Regal Springs, said, “Many of the current Alliance members are focused on farmed shrimp and feed supply chains. To clearly establish the aquaculture sector as the leading low-carbon protein provider, we also need more participation from companies producing and trading in other commodities such as salmon and tilapia.”

Feed companies are critical members in the Alliance, given the central role feed plays in the environmental footprint of farmed seafood and its relevance across multiple aquaculture species and supply chains.

Björn Kok, Steering Committee member and Technical Lead Sustainability Metrics at Skretting, said, “Feed companies can play an essential role at improving the sustainability of aquaculture supply chains. The Alliance needs more of these companies at the table to align sustainability metrics and methodology to facilitate implementation of lasting solutions.”

This re-launch of the Alliance is focused on growth and establishing new priorities for turning sustainability commitment into action. ASC and SFP welcome companies across the aquaculture supply chain and interested organisations to join the Alliance and contribute to practical, sector-wide solutions for lower-carbon aquaculture.

For more information or to explore membership of the Aquaculture Action Alliance, contact AquaAlliance@asc-aqua.org for ASC or aquaalliance@sustainablefish.org for SFP.

June shelf-stable sales defy inflationary pressure at US retail; fresh, frozen sales affected

July 16, 2026 — Seafood prices continued their inflationary trend in June at U.S. retail, rising 4.1 percent in the fresh category, 7.8 percent in shelf-stable, and 12.5 percent in frozen seafood, according to Circana data analyzed by 210 Analytics.

Depending on the species, inflation was even more dramatic. For instance, frozen shrimp prices rose 18.5 percent year over year in June, while frozen crab prices increased 13.5 percent. In the fresh category, tilapia prices rose 8.3 percent, and trout rose 5.8 percent.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Report finds perceived health benefits driving higher tilapia consumption

February 18, 2021 — An increasing global demand for alternative sources of animal protein and a growing appreciation of the nutritional value of seafood are the two key factors likely to drive higher tilapia consumption globally, according to a report by market analyst Fact.MR.

The report “Tilapia Market, Forecast, Trend, Analysis and Competition Tracking – Global Market Insights 2021 to 2031,” claims there is a global shift toward fish an optimal protein option due to its benefits for human health, which include “strengthening heart and bone health, improving brain functions, and keeping weight in check.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Industry leaders say transparency is key to global aquaculture sustainability

July 9, 2020 — In a recent webinar hosted by the aquaculture technology investment firm Hatch, an international panel of aquaculture leaders connected virtually to discuss the importance of sustainability in the industry and the space innovation on that front, now and in the future.

“The world now produces more than 155 million tons of seafood every year. Around 55 percent of that comes from aquaculture. As our population is growing, demand continues to rise, and within the next 50 years we will have to grow more seafood than we have ever grown in the entire existence of mankind,” said Moritz Mueller, the head of marketing and communications at HATCH. “At the same time, understanding the limits of our oceans and protecting them, in order to keep our planet healthy is an essential task. This seafood, and the feed for it, will not come from our wild stocks, but it has to come from aquaculture. And only an industry that is sustainable will be able to shoulder such a responsibility.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

JOE GROGAN & PETER NAVARRO: Trump Lifts the Net off American Fishing

May 8, 2020 — With the global food supply chain under stress, President Trump’s executive order Thursday will help reduce pain in the grocery checkout line—and also strengthen U.S. food production against foreign competition.

The order creates an administrative trade task force to find new markets for American seafood products and identify unfair trade barriers. It also supports industry research, removes unnecessary regulations on commercial fishermen, and streamlines the aquaculture permitting process.

These reforms will allow producers to make better use of the country’s ample resources. The U.S. has one of the world’s largest exclusive economic zones, a vast area of ocean in which we have sovereign rights over natural resources. But more than 85% of seafood consumed in the U.S. is imported. U.S. fish farms produce only $1.5 billion a year, compared with $140 billion in China. Much foreign seafood comes from fish farms in countries that often fail to meet international standards on health, labor and the environment. Many of China’s catfish and tilapia swim in shallow pens with low oxygen levels, polluted by their own waste along with improperly used antibiotics and fungicides. Farmed fish in South America routinely suffer from infectious anemia, algae blooms and sea lice due to poor biosecurity protocols.

The Trump administration wants to protect American consumers from those unhealthy practices, and American aquaculture is the gold standard. Consider the sleek, silvery and delicious Kanpachi—raised in the deep blue waters off Hawaii’s Big Island, inside high-tech submerged pens developed through American innovation. Hawaii’s cutting-edge ocean farms are subject to the highest environmental standards: The fish are raised in pens with healthy oxygen levels and fed sustainable feed. If American aquaculture is allowed to grow to its full potential, it can help revive domestic fish processing, halting the long-running trend of plants moving to China.

President Trump’s executive order creates a task force to enact policies that encourage fair and reciprocal trade for America’s seafood industry, and strengthens enforcement of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. The order affirms that the U.S. will continue to hold imported seafood to the same food-safety requirements as domestic products. And it removes many burdensome regulations on commercial fishermen.

Read the full opinion at The Wall Street Journal

Industry experts: Tilapia market has room to grow

January 23, 2020 — Few low-price finfish species have the ubiquitous recognition of tilapia.

The species, primarily farmed in Asia, has long been associated with inexpensive entry-level seafood, based on the low cost of production and the low price-ceiling for both buyers and consumers. A perennial staple for the seafood industry, the species has seen relatively flat pricing coupled with a rising supply in recent years.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

China’s tilapia exporters holding onto US sales with price cuts

December 2, 2019 — Exporters in China’s key tilapia producing region of Hainan have been able to hold onto their sales to the United States despite ramped-up tariffs now reaching upwards of 25 percent, according to Alno Wu, head of overseas sales at Hainan Sky-Blue Ocean Foods Co (SBO).

Wu said firms like his, a vertically integrated firm processing tilapia in Hainan Province, are doing so thanks to lower prices, which they have been able to offer due to a surge in production across the province. Projections of stricter enforcement of environmental regulations leading to lower production have not come to pass, as thus far, Hainan has gotten greater leeway in implementation than other regions, according to Wu.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Groups praise updated US government seafood guidance

July 9, 2019 — U.S. seafood groups are lauding an updated government guidance that encourages pregnant and breastfeeding women and children to eat more seafood.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is updating its 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, released in 2017, which recommends that Americans eat at least eight ounces of seafood per week, based on a 2,000-calorie diet. While FDA did not increase the amount of seafood adults should eat, it is emphasizing the nutritional benefits – particularly to pregnant and breastfeeding women as well as children – of eating at least eight ounces of seafood weekly.

The agency also aims to help consumers who should limit their exposure to mercury choose from the many types of fish that are lower in mercury – “including ones commonly found in grocery stores, such as salmon, shrimp, pollock, canned light tuna, tilapia, catfish and cod,” the FDA said in a press release.

However, “it is important to note that women who might become pregnant, or who are pregnant or breastfeeding – along with young children – should avoid the few types of commercial fish with the highest levels of mercury listed on the chart,” FDA said.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

FDA study finds “forever chemicals” in grocery-store seafood

June 4, 2019 — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has released the results of a wide-scale study investigating the presence of so-called “forever chemicals” in U.S. supermarket food.

The FDA found levels of per- and polyfluoroalykyl (PFAs) and other fluorocarbon resins – which are grease-proofing agents used in non-stick cookware, fast food wrappers, microwave popcorn bags and numerous other foodservice and food retail applications in many foods, including seafood – in market basket sampling done at grocery stores and supermarkets in three undisclosed U.S. cities in the mid-Atlantic region.

The FDA found PFAs at levels ranging from 134 parts per trillion to 865 parts per trillion in tilapia, cod, salmon, shrimp, and catfish, as well as numerous meat products, according to an FDA presentation at the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry in late May, the Associated Press reported.

FDA spokesperson Tara Rabin told the AP that her agency rated PFAs as “not likely to be a human health concern,” but the levels of chemical contamination found in the seafood tested were more than double the FDA’s recommended 70-parts-per-trillion limit for safe drinking water.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

It’s Time to Be Honest about Seafood

May 28, 2019 — Demand for seafood is increasing across the globe, and the United States is no exception. Aquaculture, or aquatic farming, is increasingly meeting this demand and now supplies just over 50 percent of all seafood globally. In fact, it has been one of the world’s fastest growing food sectors for years.

The U.S. is the largest importer of seafood in the world, and some of Americans’ favorites—including shrimp, salmon and tilapia—are predominantly farmed these days. Yet, we contribute less than 1 percent of the world’s total aquaculture production. This means we rely heavily on other countries to satisfy our appetites for seafood.

If the U.S. does not increase its domestic production of farmed shellfish, seaweed and finfish, the divergence between what we consume and what we contribute to the global seafood market will continue to widen. This gap may make it harder for our seafood diets to be sustainable. It also means the U.S. won’t have a hand in shaping the standards or economies that contribute to the seafood sector as a whole in the future.

A brand-new bill that proposes a moratorium on commercial permits for marine finfish aquaculture facilities in U.S. waters could serve to widen this gap, and it represents another divergence: between public wariness about domestic aquaculture operations and the science showing aquaculture’s potential for sustainable growth.

While wild-caught fisheries have hit “peak fish” domestically and globally, with limited potential for additional sustainable growth, there is mounting scientific evidence that the U.S. could dramatically increase domestic aquaculture production and do so sustainably, as we did with our fisheriesbefore they peaked. And this growth does not have to come at the cost of our wild-caught fisheries or other priorities for our oceans, especially under careful management and planning.

Read the full story at Scientific American