Article Category: News

Trident Seafoods officials said March 8 that they’re in the final stages of closing deals on the sales of Alaska shoreside plants in Petersburg, Ketchikan and False Pass, with multiple parties interested in a fourth plant. Trident announced in December that it was seeking buyers for all four plants as part of a strategic restructuring initiative. At the same time, the company revealed its plans to reduce the workforce at its Seattle headquarters by 10%. Trident CEO Joe Bundrant said that his company has been intentional about finding buyers “who will take great care of the fleet and employees and who will integrate themselves into the communities.” As of mid-March, the potential buyers for the plants have not been publicly identified. Trident Senior Vice President of Alaska Operation...

Federal government solicitations for canned salmon bids are boosting spirits a bit in Alaska’s commercial fisheries industry, but, overall, gloom prevails due to the selloff of some processing facilities and announced cutbacks on 2024 fishing season processing. Last year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture purchased over $200 million in Alaska seafood and the current solicitation for canned pink and sockeye salmon is expected to help clean up inventory of the sockeyes, Bruce Schactler, food aid program and development director for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, said. “It will pretty much put a big dent in inventory,” he remarked. Meanwhile, three major processors—Trident Seafoods, OBI Seafoods and Peter Pan Seafoods—have announced plans for selling off some facilities, along ...

Wild Alaska pollock dishes are now menu options for a second major sports venue, New York’s UBS Arena, home of the National Hockey League’s New York Islanders, in a partnership negotiated by the Association of Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers (GAPP). The deal was announced on Feb. 14 by GAPP CEO Craig Morris, who said there’s a massive opportunity for seafood at sports and events venues, something the association has been invested in capitalizing on. “The Wild Alaska Pollock menu items at Climate Pledge Arena’s Fork & Fin marketplace (in Seattle) have been incredibly successful, and we have no doubt that wild Alaska pollock will perform just as well in New York at UBS Arena,” Morris said. The partnership, funded by GAPP and Trident Seafoods, is expected to continue for the next se...

Polkadog Alaskan Salmon Chips, handcrafted in Boston, took the grand prize at the 2024 Alaska Symphony of Seafood, along with honors for best packaging and first place in the event’s “Beyond the Plate” competition. Other top honors in the annual Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation (AFDF) event, announced on Feb. 21 in Juneau, included first, second and third place winners in retail, foodservice and the “Around the Plate” and “Beyond the Plate” categories, plus awards for salmon choice, whitefish choice, best packaging, best grab-n-go, Bristol Bay Choice and the Seattle and Juneau People’s Choice, with participants in those areas voting for their favorites. Echo Falls Smoked Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon Nuggets by Ocean Beauty Seafoods took first prize in retail competition, with sec...

An allocation of $20.6 million in federal fishery disaster funds is now earmarked to help California communities impacted by 2023 events in the Sacramento River Fall Chinook and Klamath River Fall Chinook ocean and inland salmon fisheries. Congress provided the funds, which were announced Feb. 1 by Commerce Secretary Gina M. Raimondo, in the 2022 and 2023 Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Acts. A positive determination means the fisheries are eligible for appropriations to improve the long-term economic and environmental sustainability of impacted fisheries. Funds may be used to assist impacted fishing communities, including commercial and recreational harvesters, charter businesses and subsistence users, the Commerce Department said. Activities for which these funds can be ...

The summit marked the conclusion of a 15-month initiative to address forced labor. On Feb. 28, NOAA Fisheries brought together more than 100 officials representing government agencies, labor and environmental advocacy organizations, and the seafood industry to reflect on progress and identify next steps in their efforts to address labor issues within the seafood supply chain. The Seafood Labor Summit was the final step in a 15-month initiative known as the Collaborative Accelerator for Lawful Maritime Conditions in Seafood, or CALM-CS. NOAA developed the initiative to promote legal and safe working conditions throughout the fishing and seafood industry by combating forced labor and advocating for lawful and secure working conditions within the seafood sector. Its goals included ident...

Scientists examine effects of release timing and size at release on survival of hatchery-reared red king crab. A new study found that releasing red king crab as early as possible after they are reared in a hatchery may improve young crab survival and save operational costs. Scientists from the Alaska Fisheries Science Center observed that the best time to release hatchery-reared red king crab is right after they transition from free-swimming planktonic larvae to bottom dwelling juveniles. Red king crab is an important commercial and subsistence fishery species in Alaska. It was commercially important around Kodiak, Alaska in the 1960s and 1970s, but the Kodiak stock crashed in the late 1970s. The causes of the population crash are still not fully understood. It was likely due to a co...

Highland Farms won the “Best New Retail Product” award for its salmon salami dish, and Social Kitchens Professional/SK Foods Brands won the “Best New Foodservice Product” award for its premium shrimp sliders during the annual Seafood Expo North America held March 10-12 in Boston. The 2024 winners were selected March 10 from a group of 11 finalists during live judging by a panel of seafood buyers and industry experts from the retail and foodservice industries. The products were judged based on several criteria, including uniqueness and appropriateness to the market, taste profile, market potential, convenience, nutritional value and originality. This year’s judges included HEB Vice President of Seafood Jason Driskill, Ivar’s Restaurants President Bob Donegan and HF Foods Group Director...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated OBI Seafoods and Peter Pan Seafood Co. as the awardees of contracts for thousands of cans of wild Alaska pink salmon to be delivered to needy recipients nationwide. A March 6 USDA announcement said that the contracts include 713 truckloads of 14.75 -ounce canned pink salmon valued at $53,882,923 from OBI Seafoods and 242 truckloads of 14.75-ounce canned pink salmon valued at $17,240,660 from Peter Pan Seafood. The food is set to be delivered from May 16, 2024 through Feb. 28, 2025. The purchases were made under Section 32 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1935, which authorizes USDA to support prices of commodities in surplus by purchasing them in the marketplace, and also authorizes USDA to distribute commodities domestically. The ...