Tag: seafood

Peter Pan Seafood CEO Bixler Steps Down
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Peter Pan Seafood CEO Bixler Steps Down

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 Cancels Groundfish ‘A’ Season Processing at King Cove
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Peter Pan Seafood Cancels Groundfish ‘A’ Season Processing at King Cove

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...
Demand For King Crab Rises During Holidays
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Demand For King Crab Rises During Holidays

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. ...
Russian Seafood Imports Loophole Squeezes Shut
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Russian Seafood Imports Loophole Squeezes Shut

In an effort to level the playing field for America’s commercial fishing industry, the Biden administration has issued an executive order that shuts the door on the import of Russian seafood. The action approving a long-sought end to a situation where Russian seafood continued to pour into U.S. domestic markets long after Russia’s 2014 ban of the import of American seafood. The presidential executive order was issued on Dec. 22, setting the clock ticking for 60 days, after which importers who have outstanding contracts must have their purchases imported from Russia. “The United States has been clear: those who are supplying goods or processing transactions that materially support Russia’s military industrial base are complicit in Russia’s brutal violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty...
NOAA Fisheries Seeks Further Review Re: Expanding Seafood Import Monitoring Program
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NOAA Fisheries Seeks Further Review Re: Expanding Seafood Import Monitoring Program

NOAA Fisheries has withdrawn a proposed rule to expand the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP), saying that instead, the agency will review the program to explore ways to enhance and strengthen its overall impact and effectiveness. The decision to withdraw the proposed rule stems from extensive feedback received during the public comment period, said Alexa Cole, director of NOAA Fisheries’ Office of International Affairs, Trade and Commerce, who announced the withdrawal on Nov. 14. “While we do not have a set timeline, NOAA Fisheries will prioritize this important work and aim to complete this review and implement any needed changes as soon as possible,” NOAA Fisheries spokesperson Lauren Gaches said. Meanwhile, SIMP continues operating in its current form, with the list ...
House Members Launch Bipartisan American Seafood Caucus
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House Members Launch Bipartisan American Seafood Caucus

An American Seafood Caucus has been created by three members of the U.S. House of Representatives to provide a forum that ensures domestic seafood doesn’t take a backseat to foreign projects not meeting U.S. quality and sustainability standards or are illegally subsidized by foreign governments. “For generations, from Puget Sound to the Pacific Ocean, seafood has been more than a source of sustenance – it’s been a way of life for folks from our region,” said Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-WA, who announced formation of the caucus on Nov. 8, with Reps. Mary Peltola (D-AK), Garret Graves (R- LA), and Rob Wittman (R-VA). “Today, members of the bipartisan American Seafood Caucus stand united in our commitment to safeguarding this heritage,” Kilmer said. Peltola noted that American and Alask...
ASMI’s Food Aid Program Reaches to Fill Domestic, International Needs
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ASMI’s Food Aid Program Reaches to Fill Domestic, International Needs

Wild Alaska seafood sold by Alaska Seafood Marketing Association (ASMI) through its Global Food Aid Program now feeds millions of beneficiaries of federal and international food aid programs, and ASMI’s Bruce Schactler hopes to feed many more in 2024. “We are dealing with product development, new generations of people eating more seafood, and we are trying to distribute seafood to 30 million to 40 million people who have never eaten seafood before,” Schactler said in his report to ASMI’s All Hands on Deck conference in Anchorage on Nov. 2. Schactler, who leads the Global Food Air Program at ASMI, told the conference that through October the U.S. Department of Agriculture had purchased over $205 million in wild Alaska seafood. “Last year was a record year of purchasing seafood ...
Hanrahan to Succeed Palmer as OBI CEO
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Hanrahan to Succeed Palmer as OBI CEO

Seattle-based OBI Seafoods this week announced a change of command in its executive leadership, with John Hanrahan to become chief executive officer following the December retirement of CEO Mark Palmer, who has been with the company for 40 years. The company also announced that Monica Hollenback was being promoted to chief financial officer, filling the vacancy left with the pending retirement of CFO Tony Ross, also in December. Palmer began his career with Ocean Beauty as a truck driver in Idaho and held numerous positions before becoming CEO in 2007. When Ocean Beauty merged with Icicle Seafoods in 2020 to become OBI, he became CEO of the new firm. OBI board of directors co-chairs Len Stewart and Robin Samuelson said in a Nov. 6 joint statement that OBI was fortunate to have...
Congressmen Call for Action in Human Rights Abuses in Seafood Supply Chain
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Congressmen Call for Action in Human Rights Abuses in Seafood Supply Chain

Two members of the U.S. House of Representatives are calling for federal action in response to investigative reports in The New Yorker magazine documenting human rights abuses in the seafood supply chain in the People’s Republic of China’s fishing fleet and seafood processing centers. Raul M. Grijalva, D-Ariz. and Jared Huffman, D- Calif., voiced their concerns Oct. 20 via letters to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the U.S. Department of Commerce and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Their letters referenced reports in The New Yorker that Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities in the People’s Republic of China are being forced to work throughout the seafood supply chain. They urged Customs and Border Protection officials to use their au...
Alaskan Leader Seafoods Expands Miso Sablefish Into Club, Retail Stores
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Alaskan Leader Seafoods Expands Miso Sablefish Into Club, Retail Stores

Alaskan Leader Seafoods has begun expanding its miso sablefish foodservice product line into club and retail stores. The product marketing expansion was announced Oct. 23. The packaged, portioned and marinated Alaska black cod, paired with Hikari Miso, offers a trifecta of restaurant-quality entrees at home, wild Alaska seafood and an infusion of miso, according to Alaskan Leader. Miso is a fermented soybean paste made by fermenting soybeans with koji, an ingredient made from either fermented rice, barley (or other grains) or soybeans. The combination of Japanese miso with buttery sablefish is a staple white-tablecloth offering on the U.S. West Coast that has been working its way east to fine-dining establishments across the country. “Add this Hikari Miso marinade to our wild ...