Thursday, February 3, 2022

Alaska Bering Sea snow crab deemed ‘overfished’ Alaska Journal of Commerce by Elizabeth Earl - February 2, 2022 After a sudden decline in the stock last year, federal managers have officially designated Bering Sea snow crab as overfished and are working on a plan to rebuild the stock. https://www.alaskajournal.com/2022-02-02/bering-sea-snow-crab-deemed-%E2%80%98overfished%E2%80%99 International Pollock could see big price increases as supplies drop amidst high demand Seafood Source by Chris Chase - February 2, 2022 Experts are predicting a sharp rise in the price of pollock in 2022, with expected strong demand hitting up against supply chain complications and a smaller global harvest. https://www.seafoodsource.com/news/supply-trade/pollock-could-see-big-price-increases-as-supplies-drop-amidst-high-demand Alaska lawmakers want congressional delegation to target Russia and China over tariffs and bans Anchorage Daily News by Laine Welch | Fish Factor - February 1, 2022 Seafood is Alaska’s biggest export by far, and state lawmakers are getting tough on trade policies that unfairly trounce global sales. https://www.adn.com/business-economy/2022/02/01/alaska-lawmakers-want-congressional-delegation-to-target-russia-and-china-over-us-seafood-tariffs-and-bans/ Numerous Russian Crab and Seafood Producers on Brink of Bankruptcy SeafoodNews.com by Eugene Gerden - February 3, 2022 Many of Russian crab and seafood producers may declare bankruptcy this year due to the risks, associated with the forthcoming distribution of quotas in Russia, which is scheduled for the next year. This is according to recent statements made by producers and some local media reports. So far, representatives of producers have sent over 30 letters to the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia (FNPR), sparking their fears about the risks of the upcoming quotas’ distribution. According to Russian Vedomosti business paper, citing the fishermen, they refer to the bill of the Russian Ministry of Agriculture, which proposes to distribute 20% of the total allowable catch of pollock and herring in the Far East in exchange for investments in fishing vessels and processing complexes in 2023. Moreover, in the same year, 50% of quotas for crab catch and 100% for the catch of sea urchins, trepangs, trumpeters, and scallops are expected to be put for auctions. The explanatory note to the bill says that the budget revenue from auctions will amount to 200 billion rubles, with at least 300 billion rubles should be invested in the renewal of production assets. Still, according to market participants, in order to distribute quotas, the state will take them from existing producers. According to them, the government already seized 20% of the allowable fish catch for investment purposes in 2017, and 50% of crab in 2019. The rest has so far been distributed on the basis of a historical principle. According to producers, most of them will be unable to participate in the auctions due to the lack of funds. As producers believe, the bill will lead to the monopolization of the market and the destruction of small and medium-sized businesses. The authors of the letters ask the FNPR to bring this issue up for discussion by the Russian tripartite commission for the regulation of social and labor relations. In the meantime, German Zverev, President of the All-Russian Association of Fishermen (VARPE), in an interview with Vedomosti, has confirmed that over 80% of pollock and herring producers in Russia are small and medium-sized businesses. The same situation is observed in case of scallops, trumpeters, sea urchin and trepang. The majority of them will lose a significant part of their income. In the meantime, the Russian Rosrybolovstvo is aware of the fears of business, considering ways for solution of the problem. https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1218080/Numerous-Russian-Crab-and-Seafood-Producers-on-Brink-of-Bankruptcy 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. 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.