Saving Seafood

ALASKA: Alaska lawmakers push for continued ban on Russian seafood imports

April 1, 2026 — A legislative resolution urging a continued and better-enforced ban on Russian seafood in the United States is headed to Gov. Mike Dunleavy.

Part of a series of actions by Alaska lawmakers to try to shore up the state’s ailing seafood industry, House Joint Resolution 29 won final passage last week and was transferred to the governor on Monday.

The resolution calls for continuation of the ban on Russian seafood imports imposed in 2022, after that country’s invasion of Ukraine. The ban was expanded in 2023 to cover imports of Russian seafood to the U.S. through a third-party country, usually China, where fish are processed.

The import ban is set to expire later this year. That makes the resolution timely, supporters aid.

Among the supporters is Jeremy Woodrow, executive director of the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute.

Woodrow, in testimony to the Senate Resources Committee on Feb. 27, said a stockpile of Russian fish that was in the U.S. before the ban went into full effect is just now being depleted.

Read the full article at Alaska Public Media

US senators, fishing industry level criticism at MSC for continued presence in Russia

July 10, 2024 — U.S. senators and key figures in the U.S. seafood industry are criticizing the Marine Stewardship Council’s (MSC) decision to continue allowing Russian fisheries – particularly Russian pollock – to keep their certifications in the face of economic sanctions.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the MSC announced it planned to continue to certify Russian pollock so long as it followed through on a plan to conduct more sustainable fishing. Other areas of the Russian pollock industry would go on to gain further MSC certification, but the MSC added at the time that the ongoing war would impact its certification of Russian fisheries, as some assurance providers’ work in the country became difficult.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan Talks ‘Fish’ to Local Fishermen

April 23, 2024 — When you think of “free fish,” you’re likely to remember those generous fishermen who dropped a fresh silver salmon on your doorstep or loaded your freezer with offerings of halibut, cod and crab.

But when Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) uses the term, it’s in the context of “Communist fish,” which he links to Russia (the former Soviet Union) and China.

Appearing at two ComFish events last weekend, Sullivan touted some of the work he and his colleagues have been doing in Washington, D.C., including the passage of legislation that placed an embargo on Russian fish products coming into this country.

“It took too damn long, but we finally got it done,” he said, to applause.

To no avail, Sullivan and his colleagues tried to get the Obama and Trump administrations to put an embargo on imported Russian fish.

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, when the Biden administration was putting together “a big sanctions package, I went to the White House and said, ‘Now is the time to fix this to a level playing field.’ To their credit they did it. It took a war to fix this,” Sullivan said.

Read the full article at Seafoodnews.com

Roman Tkachenko: Ukraine war is “horrible,” but US seafood ban not hurting Russia

January 31, 2024 — Roman Tkachenko, the CEO of Direct Source Seafood, a seafood importer based in Bellevue, Washington, U.S.A., is not thrilled with the U.S. government’s decision to implement and then expand a ban on Russian seafood entering the U.S.

Russian king crab inventories are almost extinguished in the U.S., and it’s impossible to bring more in as cooked frozen legs and claws, even with third-country processing that would change the country of origin. That’s because the only way to achieve a “deep transformation” of king crab to qualify it for the change is to process it into crab meat. Cooking from live king crab it is not enough for U.S. customs authorities, Tkachenko said. And Russia is getting such high prices from Chinese and Asian buyers for whole live and frozen crab, they don’t need to sell to the U.S., he said.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

On the Russian front

January 26, 2024 — Dealing with Russian fisheries as the war in Ukraine drags on, on Jan. 16, Trident Seafoods announced its decision to terminate its longstanding relationship with the National Fisheries Institute (NFI). While acknowledging their history with NFI, Trident stated in its press release that it had reached a crossroads with NFI on two issues: Trident accused NFI of a lack of neutrality and transparency and mentioned it could not support NFI advocating for the presence of Russian seafood in the US market.

“NFI’s decision to advocate for the continued presence of Russian-harvested seafood in the U.S. market runs counter to national and international efforts to restrict Russia’s ability to prosecute its war against Ukraine, ignores the broad and bipartisan support in Congress for the Administration’s actions, favors keeping U.S. consumers in the dark about their seafood choices, and supports importers of Russian-harvested seafood processed in China over a fair and competitive business climate and the long-term health of the U.S. seafood supply chain,” says the Trident press release.

As Trident takes a bold stand on allowing Russian fish into the U.S., Russian politicians and bloggers are advocating a takeover of Alaska. On Jan. 19, the Russian news agency Tass reported that Vladimir Putin had signed a decree that “will allocate funds for an effort to find, register and ensure legal protection of Russia’s property abroad, including property of the Soviet Union and the Russian Empire.”

Read the full article at National Fisherman

Alaska lawmakers want to expand US ban on Russian seafood imports

June 23, 2023 — Alaska’s congressional delegation has introduced legislation to close loopholes in U.S. rules banning Russian seafood imports.

The U.S. ban on Russian seafood was part of a slew of sanctions and prohibitions announced by U.S. President Joe Biden in a March 2022 executive order designed to impose economic punishments on Russia for its ongoing invasion and occupation of Ukraine.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Facing ongoing suspension, Russia threatens permanent withdrawal from ICES

May 16, 2023 — Russia is threatening to leave the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) if its suspension is not lifted.

ICES temporarily banned Russian delegates from participating in the organization’s activities in April 2022 in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. At the time, the organization said it had instructed its scientists and representatives “to either boycott or avoid engagement in activities where representatives of the Russian Federation are present.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

OREGON: Oregon seafood industry feels economic hit from Russia’s continued war against Ukraine

March 1, 2023 —  The economic ripple effects of Russia’s war against Ukraine have been felt for more than a year. This includes Oregon’s seafood industry.

Before Russian forces invaded in February 2022, American exports of Pacific hake — or whiting — to Ukraine came to nearly $95 million worth of fish. But that market’s been gutted in wake of the ongoing hostilities.

“The war in Ukraine — compounded with various trade restrictions that we’ve been dealing with Russia — have just really put into jeopardy our biggest market for Pacific Hake,” said Lori Steele, executive director of the West Coast Seafood Processors Association. “Which is really the bread and butter for a lot of seafood processors here on the West Coast.”

Read the full article at Herald and News

ALASKA: Alaska Legislature sends $300K in salmon donations to Ukraine

March 1, 2023 — More than a year into the war in Ukraine, Alaska’s government is doing its part by sending aid in the form of seafood from the Last Frontier. The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute is handling the state’s food distribution.

Bruce Schactler, the institute’s food aid program and development director, said ASMI doesn’t own any of the seafood but has helped manage the state’s aid programs.

That includes sending over $300,000 worth of Alaskan seafood, or about 3,600 cases of canned pink salmon, to Ukraine.

Read the full article at KTOO