Alaska/Pacific Coast
Chinook salmon run for 2019 forecasted to be same size or smaller than last year More than 76,000 Canadian-origin chinook made the journey up the Yukon River last year Yukon-News by Jackie Hong - April 10, 2019 More than 76,000 chinook salmon of Canadian origin made, or at least attempted, the arduous journey up the Yukon River in 2018, a run slightly larger than the five-year average but still well below historical records. https://www.yukon-news.com/news/chinook-salmon-run-for-2019-forecasted-to-be-same-size-or-smaller-than-last-year/ Southeast Alaska’s golden king crab fishery sees another low harvest KFSK by Angela Denning - April 9, 2019 The Golden King crab commercial fishery in Southeast Alaska is winding down. As expected there has been a low harvest but state biologists hope that the species is just on the down turn of what is a cyclical cycle. KFSK’s Angela Denning reports from Petersburg: https://www.kfsk.org/2019/04/09/104368/ GAPP Board Approves $1 Million to Fund 12 Wild Pollock Promotions for 2019-2020 SeafoodNews.com by Peggy Parker - April 11, 2019 SEATTLE, WA—Under the North America Partnership Program, one million dollars has been approved by the Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers (GAPP) to fund twelve creative campaigns highlighting Wild Alaska Pollock in the next 20 months. Each partnership brings matching investment from companies across the Wild Alaska Pollock (WAP) industry—more than three times the industry’s past investment in promoting WAP—through the program, a new initiative by the recently restructured GAPP. Yesterday’s announcement named six companies and a dozen new proposals that GAPP will support. The North American Partnership Program was conceived by the GAPP Board of Directors to recognize and provide support for companies throughout the WAP industry who are bringing innovative products to market or introducing pollock to food influencers and decision-makers at forums where it hasn’t previously had visibility. GAPPs second round of funding attracted a record number of applications. The Board selected 12 proposals to receive funding. For 2019-2020, GAPP has set aside fully $3 million towards this initiative and has now earmarked nearly $1.3 million to date towards partnerships in these first two rounds of funding. “It’s impossible to overstate the momentum that Wild Alaska Pollock has in the marketplace today,” said Craig Morris, Chief Executive Officer of GAPP. “This unprecedented level of investment by the industry in these projects show just how much confidence the GAPP Board—and broader industry—has in this program, its ability to build excitement and demand for Wild Alaska Pollock, and in the fact that the story and attributes of Wild Alaska Pollock are resonating with today’s consumer like never before.” Several second-round partners including High Liner Foods and True North Seafood will use the partnership dollars to introduce WAP products to the market. Others, like Fishpeople, will use the support to deliver Wild Alaska Pollock to consumers via their popular line of “responsibly-sourced, totally traceable Wildly Delicious Seafood Kits” available in retail and online. Funding will also go to American Seafoods to expand the successful launch of their Perfect Pollock Portions™ to other test markets and to Trident Seafoods so that they can bring their exceedingly popular Protein Noodles made of Wild Alaska Pollock to big boxed stores in the Northeast and the Bay Area of California. Two proposals will be dedicated to raising the profile of Wild Alaska Pollock with new consumers. The first, through American Seafoods, will be a culinary “Top Chef” competition that will encourage chefs and food distributors to devise recipes that utilize the delicious fish. The second, in partnership with Gorton’s Seafood, will be a collaboration with a celebrity food influencer who will work to develop new Wild Alaska Pollock recipes geared towards bringing millennials around the dinner table and using convenient ingredients—a huge driver of millennial food purchases—like Gorton’s classic product offerings in new and exciting ways. Each partner brings equal or greater funds to the table, meaning that for every dollar of GAPP investment, there is at least a one-to-one, and in most cases greater, investment in bringing WAP to new channels and consumers. While exact partner investments will remain confidential, the one million dollar GAPP investment will be more than tripled with matching partner funds. “These proposals run the spectrum from new innovations to new markets to new segments of the consuming public but all have one thing in common: a passion and dedication to elevating Wild Alaska Pollock in epically new and exciting ways,” said Morris. “Creating a recognizable brand for Wild Alaska Pollock is going to take us all, pulling together, investing together and creating together, and we look forward to these new partnerships building on the success of those projects the GAPP Board has already funded under this program earlier this year.” https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1137999/GAPP-Board-Approves-1-Million-to-Fund-12-Wild-Pollock-Promotions-for-2019-2020 International China's Seafood Imports to Increase This Year SeafoodNews.com by Amy Zhong - April 11, 2019 Seafood prices in China usually stay at high levels around festivals. But during this Tomb-Sweeping Day, the balance has been stricken between the country’s shrimp supply and demand, and prices are likely to decline shortly after the festival. The large supply of imported shrimp is one main reason for the situation this year. For example, Ecuador exported 56,956-tons of white shrimps to China and Vietnam this past January and February, most of which are estimated to be eaten by Chinese. This means an increase of around 60% in Ecuador’s export to China from that of last year. Meanwhile, China is also a very important buyer of other seafood in the global market. During this first quarter, the country has risen to become the largest importer of Norway’s frozen cod. And as customs statistics show, seafood imports in China have increased by 43.6% compared to last year to reach US$11.91 billion. Seafood ranks first in the country’s imported food list regarding growth rate. This year the business is expected to further balloon thanks to factors such as lower tariffs, changes to Chinese consumption habits, new sales channels, and transportation routes. Seafood tariff reductions started at the end of 2017, and since the beginning of this year, thanks to free trade agreements, the rates have dropped to zero on many seafood items from countries like New Zealand, Australia, Iceland and Peru. This not only boosts China’s seafood imports, but also helps to maintain stable prices of imported seafood in that huge market. In the meantime, imported seafood has changed from a rare dish to a common one in gatherings due to increase in the country’s household incomes. Imported seafood has even become a must for many families during this Chinese New Year. These imported seafood items are popular among the young and the elderly from China’s first-tier, second-tier and even third-tier cities. The country’s demand is expected to reach 10 million tons by 2020. And new sales channel have also promoted China’s seafood imports. Most seafood used to be distributed to other markets in China from several main wholesale markets. But the situation is different with imported seafood, which are mostly sold through online platforms. This helps cut out the middlemen in sales and also provides consumers with fresher seafood at lower prices. In addition, these items have become increasingly popular in such virtual stores. At the same time, e-commerce giants in China have started to develop new type of retailers where consumers can pick imported seafood they like and have it cooked in the store. In addition, airlines have opened more air routes between China and other countries, and they are believed to further boost the country’s seafood imports. Thanks to factors mentioned above, China’s seafood industry is expected to usher in a new era, in which competition is increasingly tough and prices are in decline. It is still uncertain how that will influence China's domestic seafood companies, but it sure sounds good for foodies there. https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1137979/Chinas-Seafood-Imports-to-Increase-This-Year FYI’s King salmon derby cancelled again KFSK by Joe Viechnicki - April 9, 2019 For the second year in a row, Petersburg won’t have its Memorial Day weekend king salmon sport fishing derby. https://www.kfsk.org/2019/04/09/king-salmon-derby-cancelled-again/
Ann Owens Pacific Seafood Processors Association Office Manager 1900 W Emerson Place Suite 205, Seattle, WA 98119 Phone: 206.281.1667 E-mail: pspafish@gmail.com; Website: www.pspafish.net Our office days/hours are Monday-Friday 8:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. *Inclusion of a news article, report, or other document in this email does not imply PSPA support or endorsement of the information or opinion expressed in the document.