seafood – Fishermens News

Congressional Group Urges USDA to Purchase Seafood Products

8Mar

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Congressional Group Urges USDA to Purchase Seafood Products

Four U.S. senators and six U.S. House of Representatives members from Washington, Oregon and California have asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to continue purchases of West Coast seafood products for the economic benefit of the industry and coastal communities. Pacific Northwest and West Coast seafood products are currently being produced in large volumes, easily accessible and easily transportable for immediate distribution to food assistance program, they told Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack in a letter, noting economic challenges the seafood industry has been facing, from the COVID-19 pandemic to the war in Ukraine. The purchases are being made under Section 32 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1935, which authorizes USDA to support prices of commodities in surplu...

Bad Storm Inspires Plan for Environmentally Sustainable Processing Vessel

7Dec

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Bad Storm Inspires Plan for Environmentally Sustainable Processing Vessel

A seafood processor stung by an autumn storm in 2020 that grounded and destroyed its processing barge may be back in Bristol Bay for the 2024 salmon fishery with a new vertically integrated vessel that could produce higher quality fillets to sell year-round in an environmentally superior facility. “We developed the Hannah to produce higher quality fish through a more efficient process that benefits both fishermen and customers,” Ben Blakey, an industry veteran and chief executive officer of Northline Seafoods, with offices in Bellingham, Wash. and Sitka, Alaska said. “This project is a continuation of Northline’s commitment to innovation and environmental sustainability in the fishing industry.” Blakey said he hopes this one-of-a-kind vertically integrated vessel inspires others. “The...

FDA to Require Additional Seafood Traceability

23Nov

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FDA to Require Additional Seafood Traceability

New regulations published in the Federal Register by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) require traceability of high-risk foods, including seafood, in the latest effort to halt seafood fraud and protect consumers from food safety risks. The final rule, a key component of FDA’s New Era of Smarter Food Safety Blueprint, implements Section 204(d) of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). These new requirements will allow for faster identification and rapid removal of potentially contaminated food from the market, resulting in fewer foodborne illnesses and/or deaths, the FDA said. At the core of the rule is a requirement that those subject to the rule who manufacture, process, pack or hold foods on the food traceability list, maintain records containing key data elements associa...

Kroger-Albertsons Merger Expected to Impact Seafood Product Sourcing

19Oct

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Kroger-Albertsons Merger Expected to Impact Seafood Product Sourcing

Two major national retail supermarket chains, Cincinnati-based Kroger and Albertsons, which is headquartered in Boise, Idaho, have entered into an agreement to merge their organizations. In an announcement this past week the two companies said that they plan to expand customer reach to delivery fresh, affordable food to some 85 million households. The online publication SeafoodSource said the acquisition is likely to impact how the retailer sources its seafood products. Kroger operates over 2,700 stores compared to nearly 2,300 owned by Albertsons. Insider Intelligence Senior Analyst Blake Droesch said in a statement provided to SeafoodSource that seafood suppliers are likely to be negatively impacted, as the two mammoth retailers – given an expanded base of 85 million households an...

28Sep

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Rallying Cry Issued for National Seafood Month

The Seafood Nutrition Partnership (SNP), National Seafood Council Task Force and Seafood4Health Action Coalition have launched a pilot program, Celebrate Seafood, in advance of the upcoming October National Seafood Month. The collaborative effort calls for reinforcing the increasing interest of consumers in eating seafood and its health benefits, based on retail sales throughout 2020 and 2021. In a message posted Tuesday, Sept. 27, they cited the opportunity for the seafood community to work together around a common message that seafood is good for public health and the health of the planet. SNP offered links to resources for the industry, including Celebrate Seafood Toolkit and Logos/Graphics, plus way to earn prizes, from free seafood to a one-on-one cooking class with celebrit...

Alaska Sea Grant Offering Strategy Session for New Seafood Harvesters

14Sep

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Alaska Sea Grant Offering Strategy Session for New Seafood Harvesters

Educational institution Alaska Sea Grant is planning a virtual and in-person strategy session on Friday, Sept. 30, for educators and training organizations whose goal is to teach newcomers to the seafood industry how to be successful in harvesting. The strategy session will be a discussion on findings of Sea Grant’s needs assessment and a chance to develop strategies to meet those needs. Attendees are welcome to participate at the Alaska Sea Grant office conference room in Anchorage or online via Zoom. Registration is required for both in-person and online participation. In-person space is limited, so those interested in being there in person are urged to register soon. Those attending via Zoom will receive a meeting link on Wednesday, Sept. 28. Sea Grant officials noted th...

USDA Approves $52M Purchase of Pacific Northwest Seafood Products

10Aug

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USDA Approves $52M Purchase of Pacific Northwest Seafood Products

U.S. Department of Agriculture officials have approved a $52 million purchase of Pacific Northwest seafood products, a deal that Oregon Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden say will provide a boost to the state’s seafood industry after being hard hit by COVID-19 and climate chaos. The deal includes the purchase of $22 million in Pacific whiting fillets, $18 million in Pacific rockfish fillets and $12 million in Pacific pink shrimp. “Not only do our fisheries deliver incredible products all around the world, they have been the lifeblood of communities up and down Oregon’s coast for generations,” Merkley said. “This announcement ensures Oregon’s coastal fishermen and seafood producers receive critical financial assistance needed to continue operating and providing services here in O...

3Aug

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SNP Honors Three for Supporting Seafood for Better Health

Trident Seafoods’ Joe Bundrant, omega-3 researcher Joseph Hibbeln and executive chef Kelly Armetta are being honored by the Seafood Nutrition Partnership (SNP) for their support of the Nutrition Partnership’s mission to raise public awareness about the essential nutritional benefits of eating seafood. SNP said in a Tuesday, Aug. 2 announcement that all three honorees are passionate about improving the lives of Americans through nutrition and have demonstrated an exceptional impact. Bundrant will be awarded the SNP Seafood Industry Visionary Award for collaborating and focusing on public health benefits of SNP’s mission of increasing seafood consumption for the health of all Americans. He was a founding investor in SNP nearly a decade ago, and his efforts have made a lasting impac...

3Aug

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Collaborative Effort to Bring Salmon Relief to Yukon River Villages

A collaborative effort between six seafood processors and the nonprofit SeaShare on Bainbridge Island, Washington is resulting in the donation of about 49,000 pounds of frozen king and chum salmon to Lower Yukon River residents who are banned from fishing this summer on a commercial or subsistence level because of low salmon runs. SeaShare, a strategic partner of food banks nationwide, said that the donation was from Silver Bay Seafoods, Alaska General Seafoods, Leader Creek Fisheries, OBI Seafoods, North Pacific Seafoods and Trident Seafoods. The donations come in the wake of a record-breaking harvest season in Bristol Bay, with harvesters delivering over 59 million fish to processors. The overall statewide catch through Tuesday, Aug. 2, totaled over 110 million salmon, includin...

NOAA Fisheries Initiative Would Improve Seafood Sector Working Conditions

27Jul

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NOAA Fisheries Initiative Would Improve Seafood Sector Working Conditions

A new public-private initiative from NOAA Fisheries aims to promote legal and safe working conditions in order to end forced labor in the commercial fishing and seafood industry. The Collaborative Accelerator for Lawful Maritime Conditions in Seafood, aka CALM-CS, aims to put a halt to illegal and inhumane working conditions, such as forced labor. NOAA Fisheries officials said these conditions contribute to destabilization of maritime security and supply chains, and the degradation of fisheries and broader marine ecosystems, and also undermine U.S. economic competitiveness, national security and fishery sustainability. Senior officials from the Departments of Commerce, State and Labor, the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S Agency for International Development recently met with represe...