Monday, February 28, 2022

Alaska Trident Seafoods subsidiary takes over Captains Bay lease KUCB by Theo Greenly - February 26, 2022 Trident Seafoods is set to expand its reach in Unalaska. The City Council on Tuesday approved the transfer of a tidelands lease in Captains Bay to one of Trident’s subsidiaries, LFS, which already operates a retail shop on the island. https://www.kucb.org/industry/2022-02-26/trident-seafoods-subsidiary-takes-over-captains-bay-lease Norton Sound red king crab fishery GHL set at 27,328 pounds Cordova Times by Margaret Bauman - February 25, 2022 Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologists have set a harvest of 27,328 pounds for the 2022 commercial Norton Sound winter red king crab fishery, for which there were eight permit holders, but no buyers, as of mid-February. https://www.thecordovatimes.com/2022/02/25/norton-sound-red-king-crab-fishery-ghl-set-at-27328-pounds/ Press Release: Grant Roundup: Senator Murkowski Announces Federal Grants to Alaska Over $230 million in federal funds to benefit and strengthen Alaskan communities and economy Senator Lisa Murkowski - February 25, 2022 U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), the senior Senator for Alaska, announced the following grants to organizations, Tribal entities, and communities in Alaska: https://www.murkowski.senate.gov/press/release/02/25/2022/grant-roundup-senator-murkowski-announces-federal-grants-to-alaska International How U.S. Sanctions Against Russia Could Potentially Impact the Seafood Industry Urner Barry by Amanda Buckle - February 25, 2022 On Thursday Russia invaded Ukraine, leading the U.S. Treasury to announce “unprecedented and expansive sanctions against Russia.” The goal of these sanctions is to impose swift and severe economic costs on the Russian economy and financial system—both immediate and in the long-term. “Treasury is taking serious and unprecedented action to deliver swift and severe consequences to the Kremlin and significantly impair their ability to use the Russian economy and financial system to further their malign activity,” said Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen. “Our actions, taken in coordination with partners and allies, will degrade Russia’s ability to project power and threaten the peace and stability of Europe. We are united in our efforts to hold Russia accountable for its further invasion of Ukraine while mitigating impacts to Americans and our partners. If necessary, we are prepared to impose further costs on Russia in response to its egregious actions.” As the U.S. Treasury explained, Russia’s large financial services sector is “heavily dominated by state-owned actors that rely on the U.S. financial system to conduct their business activities both within Russia and internationally.” The sanctions imposed by the U.S. “cut off major parts of the Russian financial system and economy from access to this important financial structure and the U.S. dollar more broadly.” Impacted by these sanctions are Russia's two largest financial institutions— Public Joint Stock Company Sberbank of Russia and VTB Bank Public Joint Stock Company. According to the U.S. Treasury, these financial institutions conduct about $46 billion worth of foreign exchange transactions globally, of which 80% are in U.S. dollars. Cutting off these two banks from processing payments through the U.S. financial system means that they will “no longer benefit” from the reach, efficiency and security of the U.S. financial system. U.S. banks will have 30 days to unwind any accounts payable corresponding links to the major Russian banks. According to SeafoodNews founder John Sackton, this means that a letter of credit for crab today will be honored, but the banks will be unwinding these relationships, so going forward they will not be honored. “This makes it very difficult for a U.S. party to pay for Russian crab in dollars,” explains Sackton. “It will be interesting to see if Russian owned companies try and get around this, i.e. selling to a third party who then tries to sell the product via a series of transactions ending up eventually with a U.S. buyer. I think many importers/distributors will simply not take the risk.” As Sackton noted in his latest The Winding Glass column, the seafood industry has experienced several disruptive sanction regimes over the past eight years. “One recent example was the sacrifice of U.S. lobster exports to China as part of a misguided pressure strategy,” wrote Sackton. “The U.S. had achieved a 50% market share with the Canadians taking the other half. After the sanctions, the U.S. share dropped to 25%; Canadian producers gained customers and flexibility, U.S. producers lost value, and two years later when the sanctions were removed, exports have still not completely bounced back.” In addition to the crab noted above, cod, haddock and salmon from Russia are also an important part of the U.S.’s overall supply. Not being able to purchase supply from Russia means that prices could soar to above their current historical highs. Read John Sackton’s The Winding Glass column to learn more. You can find more information on the sanctions imposed by the U.S. Treasury here. https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1219776/How-US-Sanctions-Against-Russia-Could-Potentially-Impact-the-Seafood-Industry Labeling and Marketing Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute: Monthly Update ASMI - February 2022 See you soon! One of the most valuable aspects of our industry are the relationships built from boat decks to trade show floors. We continue to appreciate the efforts made to ensure everyone's health and safety, which for many partners means a continued focus on virtual collaborations. For those of you choosing to resume in person attendance, we look forward to reconnecting at upcoming industry events. https://mailchi.mp/alaskaseafood/february-marketing-update?e=fd023624e1 3MMI - China Update & 2022 Russian Salmon Forecast TradexFoods - February 28, 2022 It’s been a few weeks now since China has opened back up from Chinese New Year closures. Plants in Qingdao started production back up around February 19th, however, plants in Dalian have been closed since December, and at the time of reporting, they remain closed. For raw materials pricing, Pacific Cod currently stands out from the rest as raw materials for Pacific Cod are still extremely short in China. Our Recommendation continues to be that you purchase whatever you can to fulfill your seafood programs. The 2022 Russia Salmon Forecast and preliminary numbers released were for 264,000 metric tonnes which is the lowest catch expectation in the past 12 years. This number is still only preliminary. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQsyYQFiVu0&t=1s Federal Register North Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting A Notice by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 02/28/2022 The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council)'s Executive Committee will hold a webconference March 14, 2022. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/02/28/2022-04138/north-pacific-fishery-management-council-public-meeting North Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting A Notice by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 02/28/2022 The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) Bering Sea Fishery Ecosystem Plan Climate Change Taskforce will meet March 15, 2022 through March 17, 2022. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/02/28/2022-04136/north-pacific-fishery-management-council-public-meeting Opinion Opinion: Include seafood in the sanctions to squeeze Putin The Hill by Rear Admiral (ret.) Tim Gallaudet, Ph.D., opinion contributor - February 27, 2022 The views expressed by contributors are their own and not the view of The Hill Russian President Vladimir Putin’s brutal attack on Ukraine demands a comprehensive counterpunch from the West that will have an immediate and crippling effect on his country. In addition to a massive reinforcement of lethal arms for the Ukrainian military that destroy the waning morale of Russian forces, the sanctions recently announced by President Biden yesterday must be expanded exponentially. One action that can simultaneously advance the American Blue Economy and create difficulty for Putin is to ban Russian seafood imports. https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/596037-include-seafood-in-the-sanctions-to-squeeze-putin Pacific Seafood Processors Association 1900 W Emerson Place Suite 205, Seattle, WA 98119 Phone: 206.281.1667 E-mail: admin@pspafish.net; Website: www.pspafish.net Our office days/hours are Monday-Friday 8:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M. 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