Monday, February 23, 2026
- Feb 23
- 4 min read
Alaska
Kodiak noted as prime location for aquaculture growth
Kodiak Daily Mirror by Steve Williams - February 20, 2026
More than you can imagine you wanted to know about aquaculture in Alaska is the subject of a new NOAA report released Thursday.
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Weather-related Delays Impact Opening and Closing of Southeast Alaska’s Tanner Crab Fishery
SeafoodNews by Peggy Parker - February 23, 2026
A severe winter storm delayed the opening of the 2025/2026 Southeast Alaska commercial Tanner and golden king crab fishery for 24 hours last week, and yesterday, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) delayed the closure in certain areas for tanner crab for a further twelve hours due to weather.
On February 16, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) meteorologists forecasted winds of 35 knots or higher and freezing spray for most of the Southeast Alaska region over the next 48 hours. That prompted the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) to start the fishery at 10:00 a.m., Wednesday, February 18, 2026, rather than February 17.
The rules state that if gale-force wind warnings continue regionwide after the initial delay, the season opening for the fishery may be delayed an additional 24 hours and may continue on a rolling 24-hour basis. The Tanner crab fishery opens areas that are designated “core”, “non-core”, “inside exploratory”, and “outside exploratory” areas at the same time, but closes them in a stuttered fashion.
“At the current estimated mature male biomass and effort level of 4,460 registered pots, the harvest strategy provides one additional day of season length in the 'core', 'non-core', and 'inside exploratory' areas,” ADF&G explained in their February 18 announcement.
After six fishing days, on Tuesday, February 24, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. the season will close in “core” fishing areas. But the “non-core”, “inside exploratory” areas, and “outside exploratory” areas will remain open for an additional five days; after the “non-core” areas close to fishing on Sunday, March 1, 2026, at 10:00 a.m., the “inside exploratory” areas and “outside exploratory” areas will remain open for an additional fourteen days; following the closure of “inside exploratory” areas on Sunday, March 15, 2026, at 10:00 a.m., the “outside exploratory” areas will remain open through Tuesday, March 31, 2026, at 11:59 p.m.
But yesterday, ADF&G issued a second delay announcement, also weather-related, this time to a closure date. “Due to severe weather impacting the Southeast Alaska commercial Tanner crab fishery, the department has extended the core area closure time from February 24, 2026, at 10:00 a.m., to February 24, 2026, at 11:59 p.m.,” noted the agency.
"No changes will be made for the noncore, inside exploratory, or outside exploratory closures.” At 2:03 p.m. yesterday, NOAA’s weather service issued a Special Weather Statement, calling for periods of accumulating snow Tuesday through Thursday, from Yakutat to Sitka.
“A pattern change begins Tuesday as clear and cold conditions give way to accumulating snow for the panhandle by the middle of the week as a system moves in from the northern Gulf. Current expectation is snow will be slow to accumulate, with this event proving to be longer in duration with forecast accumulations around 4 to 8 inches of snow starting Tuesday through Thursday,” NOAA’s Weather Service warned.
“Highest snowfall totals will be for areas north of Sumner Strait, though a brief period of warming conditions late Tuesday will see some areas of the central panhandle change over to rain briefly, before cooler air returns through Wednesday. Thursday will see snow showers become increasingly predominant, with highly variable snow accumulations expected as the low moves south.”
International
EU import data shows pollock fillets from China recorded as Russian
Tens of thousands of metric tons of pollock fillets shipped from China to Europe have begun appearing in EU trade statistics as Russian, Undercurrent can confirm
Undercurrent News by Louis Harkell - February 23, 2026
Tens of thousands of metric tons of pollock fillets shipped from China to Europe have begun appearing in EU trade statistics as Russian, Undercurrent can confirm [...]
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UPDATES: Trump raises global import tariffs to 15%
While an initial US Supreme Court ruling against President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs marked a win for the global seafood industry, the tariff fight certainly isn't over as Trump ensured a day after the ruling with a new round of import tariffs. Read the latest reactions from the industry.
IntraFish by staff - February 20, 2026
The seafood sector cautiously welcomed a seismic legal shift after the Supreme Court on Feb. 20 struck down US President Donald Trump’s sweeping emergency tariffs — a decision that instantly reverberated across the industry.
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Labeling and Marketing
3MMI - Pacific Cod & Pollock Tighten: Alaska Ahead, Russia Steady, China Reopens to Higher Prices
Tradex Foods - February 23, 2026
As Chinese processing plants gradually reopen following Lunar New Year, Pacific Cod and Pollock markets remain tight. Alaska’s A-season is running ahead of last year’s pace with over 30,000 MT of cod and 160,000 MT of pollock already landed, while Russia tracks steady year-over-year.
Federal Register
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Pacific Cod Trawl Cooperative Program
A Notice by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 02/23/2026
The Department of Commerce will submit the following information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, on or after the date of publication of this notice.
FYI’s
A must for your fish library
Deckboss by Wesley Loy - February 21, 2026
Don Giles, the former CEO of Icicle Seafoods, has published a memoir of his career in the fish business.
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