Alaska Southeast Alaskans can fish for yelloweye rockfish again KRBD by Jack Darrell - February 8, 2025 Southeast Alaskans will be able to take home yelloweye rockfish again, after the Alaska Board of Fisheries voted to reopen the shuttered sport fishery last Friday. The board is currently wrapping up its 13-day regulatory meeting on Southeast Alaska fisheries in Ketchikan.
Fire at Sand Point Trident plant halts operations, leaves locals without fuel
KUCB by Maggie Nelson - February 8, 2025
The Sand Point Trident facility operates year round with anywhere from 50 to around 100 seasonal employees. They process various kinds of seafood, including pollock, crab, salmon and cod.
Alaska Board of Fisheries approves small king crab fishery in Southeast Alaska
Seafood Source by Nathan Strout - February 10, 2025
Crabbers in Southeast Alaska could soon be able to harvest red king crabs after the Alaska Board of Fisheries approved a proposal enabling regulators to open a small, limited commercial king crab fishery.
Hokkaido Fishery's 2024 Pollock, Cod, and Herring Production Increased Amid Overall Production Dip
SeafoodNews.com by Tom Asakawa - February 10, 2025
In 2024, Hokkaido's fishery production volume was 1.049 million tons, down 8% from the previous year, with the value being 279.8 billion yen, down 4%. Scallops and sardines, which had been strong in recent years, have started to decline, falling below 1.1 million tons for the first time in five years since 2019. The Hokkaido government recently announced preliminary figures.According to the Minato Shimbun report on February 5, scallop production was down 8% in volume, amounting to 390,000 tons, marking a dip below 400,000 tons for the first time in five years. The value was also down 19%, amounting to 84.9 billion yen ($560.74 million), marking a dip below 100 billion yen ($0.66 million) for the first time in three years. Sardine catches continue to be strong, but the volume was down 17%, amounting to 240,000 tons. Due to the fall in the meal market, the value was also down 29%, amounting to 12.9 billion yen ($85.20 million).In addition, salmon (fall chum) continued to suffer from poor catches, with the volume amounting to 47,000 tons, down 20%. The value, however, increased 27%, amounting to 49.3 billion yen ($325,615.93) due to the high unit price. Atka mackerel production was also down 16% in volume, coming in at 26,000 tons, and kelp production was down 30%, coming in at 8,000 tons, the lowest on record.Meanwhile, production for Alaska pollock increased by 5%, amounting to 117,000 tons worth 8.5 billion yen ($56.13 million), unchanged from a year ago. Cod production increased by 5%, amounting to 43,000 tons valued at 10.7 billion yen ($70.66 million), which was up by 5.9%. Pacific saury production increased by 65%, amounting to 25,000 tons, valuing at 11.2 billion yen, nearly double. Finally, herring production increased by 16%, amounting to 21,000 tons, also increasing in value by 17%, amounting to 3.5 billion yen ($23.11 million).Other products included flatfish (up 6% to 19,000 tons), yellowtail (up 18% to 16,000 tons), mackerel (down 50% to 9,000 tons), and Japanese flying squid (down 37% to 2,000 tons).Hokkaido's fisheries production peaked in volume in 1987 at 3,049,500 tons, and in value in 1991 at 406.5 billion yen ($2.68 billion). In 2016 and 2017, the volume fell below 900,000 tons but has remained in the one million ton range in recent years. Although the amount temporarily recovered to the 300 billion yen ($1.98 billion) range in 2022, it is now back in the 200 billion yen ($1.32 billion) range.
Russia Sets 20-Year Record for Pollock Consumption
SeafoodNews.com by Eugene Gerden - February 5, 2025
Russia set a 20-year record for pollock consumption in 2024 thanks to a significant increase in the volume of supplies to the domestic market.According to the Russian Pollock Association (ADM), last year, the per capita consumption amounted to 4 kg per person, ending the existing Soviet image of pollock among Russian customers.Currently, pollock remains one of the main products in the “fish basket” of Russians. According to the Russian RBC business paper, citing ADM, pollock consumption in 2014-2024 grew from 1.8 to 4 kg per person per year, 8-18% of the total consumption of fish products in Russia. According to data from the Russian statistical service Rosstat, in 2023, the overall consumption of fish products in Russia amounted to 22.5 kg per person per year.The new consumption record became possible due to increased fish supplies to the domestic market. This is due to increased demand and an increase in catches. In 2024, Russian fishermen caught 1.99 million tons of pollock - the catch was the largest in at least ten years. In 2023, it was 2% lower, being estimated at 1.96 million tons.According to Rosrybolovstvo, in January-December 2024, the volume of pollock landings in foreign ports decreased by 14.6%, while in Russian ports, it increased by 11.5%.Over the past decade, supplies of domestic pollock products to the Russian market have increased. According to ADM, in 2024, about 30% of all pollock caught in the country, or 584,000 tons, were supplied to the Russian market. The main product is frozen pollock. Its supplies decreased slightly: they amounted to 177,000 tons, which is 7% lower than the 2023 level. However, consumers began to receive more processed products. Supplies of pollock fillets increased by 2.6 times over the year, exceeding 46,000 tons, pollock surimi by 1.9 times, up to 21,000 tons. For pollock mince, the growth was 73%, up to 8,000 tons, compared to 2023.As for producers, the Russian Fishery Company (RRPK), one of Russia’s largest pollock producers, increased supplies to both the domestic and export markets in 2024, its press service reported. Shipments to the domestic market increased by 50% in volume compared to 2023, including deeply processed products - frozen pollock fillets. In addition, RRPK increased supplies of pollock surimi to domestic producers of crab sticks by 48%.In the meantime, according to Alexey Buglak, head of ADM, the consumption growth also became the result of efforts by local businesses to promote pollock products.In 2022–2023, ADM conducted research that showed that one of the main barriers to the growth of pollock consumption is its image. Historically, pollock, according to analysts, was a fish with an “unlucky fate” that remained undervalued in Soviet times, being it was positioned as a secondary commercial fish of the Far Eastern seas. The deep industrial processing of pollock for consumer purposes began in the USSR only in the late 1970s, but it was not on a mass scale. The fish was only caught for processing into flour, while during the 2000s, it was used for caviar extraction.Earlier, the head of the Federal Agency for Fishery, Ilya Shestakov, also said that pollock was unfairly called "catfish" in Soviet times. According to his statements, the government is working hard to ensure that pollock appears more often on Russian tables. In August, the Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian Parliament, also recommended that the government purchase more domestic fish with high added value as part of state orders, for example, for school meals and for military personnel.
Labeling and Marketing
3MMI - Looming Trump Tariffs: Advice to Buyers, Snow Crab Market Watch
Tradex Foods - February 10, 2025
The 30-day tariff pause for Canada and Mexico offers brief relief, but global seafood markets remain uncertain with the EU likely next. U.S. tariffs threaten snow crab supply and delay Canada's fishery, while other key seafood exports face risks. Buyers should brace for price hikes and stock up on essential products. Watch to Find Out More.
Federal Register
North Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting
A Notice by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 02/10/2025The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) Pacific Northwest Crab Industry Advisory Committee (PNCIAC) will meet on February 24, 2025.
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