Tag: seafood

Trident Seafoods CEO Joe Bundrant says his company has suspended trade with a supplier in China after reports of human rights abuses there and has initiated its own independent inquiry regarding issues reported by an independent investigator. While its investigation is ongoing, Trident is cooperating with the Outlaw Ocean Project (OOP), based in Washington D.C., which advocates for a transparent and healthy seafood supply chain, Bundrant wrote in a statement posted on Trident’s website. Trident Seafoods, Canada’s High Liner Foods and Houston-based Sysco are among several U.S. seafood firms that have suspended ties with Chinese processors identified in the latest OOP report documenting their use of North Korean labor, in violation of United Nations sanctions and U.S. law, the onli...

The Seafood Nutrition Partnership (SNP) is partnering with Pacific Seafood, Sitka Seafood Market, FultonFishMarket.com and farmed salmon seafood provider Bakkafrost on a new program to encourage consumers to shop directly with participating companies’ online stores. The stated goal of the campaign, which was announced Feb. 14, is to help consumers eat seafood at least twice a week for improved health and to bring awareness to online seafood companies. According to SNP founder and president Linda Cornish, 90% of Americans are not meeting dietary guideline recommendations to eat seafood at least twice a week and missing out on important health benefits. “We recommend buying from their favorite retailers and restaurants and now we can share a list of companies that ship seafood dire...

Wild Alaska pollock dishes are now menu options of 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 GAPP 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 severa...

Federal government solicitations for canned salmon bids are boosting spirits a bit in Alaska’s commercial fisheries industry, but the overall gloom that has driven the selloff of some processing facilities and announce cutbacks on 2024 fishing season processing prevails. 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 helps clean up inventory of the sockeyes, Bruce Schactler, food aid program and development director for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, said Feb. 19. “It will pretty much put a big dent in inventory,” he remarked. Meanwhile three major processors – Trident Seafoods, OBI Seafoods and Peter Pan Seafoods – had announced plans for selling off some faci...

OBI Seafoods has canceled plans to operate its plant at Larsen Bay on Kodiak Island for the 2024 salmon season, citing a poor pink salmon forecast from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, plus tough global market conditions for salmon products in general. That decision, announced Jan. 31 by OBI CEO John Hanrahan, marked yet another decision by major processors of wild Alaska seafood to deal with challenging economic conditions in global seafood markets. Salmon caught on Kodiak Island by the OBI Seafoods fleet will be processed at its facility in the town of Kodiak. Hanrahan said that capacity should not be an issue, with OBI’s Seward and Cordova facilities able to support Kodiak during the peak of the season in August. “The Kodiak town plant operates year-round and has the...

Pressure from the marine environmental community for greater transparency and traceability in the seafood industry is increasing, with a letter to President Joe Biden urging the federal government to expand the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP). The current program, requiring catch documentation and traceability for some seafood species at risk of illegal fishing, applies to 13 species and species groups, covering less than half of all U.S. seafood imports. The letter, signed by more than 100 chefs nationwide, urges Biden to expand SIMP to include all species of seafood, requiring importers to report additional catch data, and to include labor conditions in reporting requirements. This program would prevent a “bait and switch” in seafood supply chains, they said, as wel...

A massive fire that began on Jan 22. at the Ilwaco Landing seafood processing facility, a hub for Dungeness crab harvests, is under investigation, meanwhile leaving Safe Coast Seafoods as the lone fish-receiving facility in Ilwaco, a small Washington town near the Oregon border. The devastation from the fire leaves a lot on the line for the Dungeness crab fishery, which according to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife was worth some $64.6 million in 2022. Still, the Seattle Times reported, even as smoke rose from remnants of the fire, the community was coming together to help. Fire officials said in a news release that due to the remote location of the fire, a limited water supply hampered effort to fight the blaze. “The situation was further complicated by the pres...

On Jan. 22 Peter Pan Seafood announced that after less than two months on the job, seafood industry veteran Kevin Bixler is leaving the company, but plans to remain CEO until a replacement is found. The company expressed its appreciation for his time and leadership and wished him well in his future endeavors, which were not identified in the announcement. Rodger May, the president and chief growth officer of Peter Pan meanwhile is expected to continue leading the company along with several other managers, the announcement stated. Bixler began his tenure with Peter Pan in November 2022, leaving his post as the global director of group fish procurement at Thailand-based producer of seafood products producer Thai Union. At the time of his appointment at Peter Pan, May said tha...

Peter Pan Seafood has cancelled operations at its King Cove, Alaska facility for the 2024 ‘A’ season, given the tumultuous economic of the global seafood industry, but the company has said that it remains committed to the communities where it does business, and will be open for processing in the ‘B’ season. The vertically integrated seafood firm announced its decision Jan. 12, saying it had not come quickly or easily. The company noted that the seafood industry is facing inflation, interest rates hikes, financing challenges and high fuel costs. “This temporary step, while difficult, is necessary to maintain our long-term commitment to the future of our business in Alaska,” the Bellevue, Wash.-based company said in a statement. “We remain committed to continuing to provide the bes...

Ups and downs of the domestic and global seafood economy aside, the demand for succulent crab, salmon and halibut proved a hot seller during the 2023 holiday season, with king crab in highest demand by far. Fish markets from Seattle to Anchorage said demand was on par with the 2022 holiday season. Pike Place Fish Market was busy shipping out whole Alaska golden king crab to domestic retail customers nationwide in the last week of December 2023 at $349.99 apiece, not including shipping, fishmongers at the Seattle market said. Sales were also brisk at the world-famous seafood market for cooked bairdi snow crab at $59.98 for two pounds; Dungeness crab from Oregon, Washington and Alaska, at $49.99 a pound; and legs and claws of Alaska golden king crab at $139.98 for two pounds. ...