Wednesday, December 15, 2021

National Supply-chain disruptions taking toll on US seafood sales Seafood Source by Christine Blank - December 14, 2021 Supply chain problems are causing issues for seafood sales in U.S. grocery stores. Fresh seafood sales dropped 0.3 percent in November 2021 year-over-year, while ambient sales fell 3.5 percent, according to new data from IRI and 210 Analytics. https://www.seafoodsource.com/news/foodservice-retail/supply-chain-disruptions-taking-toll-on-us-seafood-sales International Export Prices for Russian Crabs Almost Doubled This Year as Demand Grows SeafoodNews.com by Eugene Gerden - December 15, 2021 Export prices for Russian crabs almost doubled this year as the demand for them is steadily growing in some key sale markets. According to data of the Russian RBC business paper, in October export prices for Russian crabs grew sharply and reached US$58 per 1 kg. Crabs traditionally rise in price during autumn compared to the summer months, but over the past three years prices have never reached such a high level. In October 2020, 1 kg of crab supplied from Russia cost an average of US$32. The biggest growth of prices is observed in cases of frozen crabs. In October their average price was US$67 per 1 kg, while in October 2020 it was only US$36. Currently about 63% of all crab exports from Russia accounted for frozen crabs. For 10 months of the current year exports amounted to about US$1.2 billion, with the remaining crabs being exported from Russia mainly in live and chilled form. According to data of the Russian Federal Customs Service, from January-October 2021, among the major sale markets for Russian frozen crab were the Netherlands and South Korea (US$677 million and US$498 million, respectively). At the same time, most of live and chilled crab were supplied to China (US$430 million). As Aleksey Buglak, President of the Russian Pollock Association, said in an interview with RBC, both Netherlands and South Korea act primarily as logistics hubs: crabs produced in the Northern Basin and the Far East are loaded into containers there and sent to other countries without customs clearance. For Russian fishermen, crabs are the most profitable resource in comparison with other types fish and seafood, according to Alexander Fomin, vice-president of the Association of Trade and Industrial Enterprises of the Fish Market. Crabs now account for about 42% of the total export earnings of Russian fishing industry, while these figures are steadily growing. Back in 2018, this share was only 25%. Traditionally the bulk of crab catch in Russia is exported to abroad. In the first half of 2021, 70% of the total production was sent for exports. The average crab catch is estimated at 90,000 tonnes, being conducted both in the Far East and Northern Basin. https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1214584/Export-Prices-for-Russian-Crabs-Almost-Doubled-This-Year-as-Demand-Grows Environment/Science New Approach to Evaluate Fish Stock Productivity under Changing Climate Conditions Scientists see an overall decline in Pacific cod and pollock productivity in the Gulf of Alaska as compared to recent decades. NOAA Fisheries - December 14, 2021 NOAA Fisheries scientists have developed a new modeling approach to evaluate changing fish population productivity in light of warming ocean temperatures. Fish stock productivity is determined by estimating the number of fish that survive from eggs and larvae to become adults annually. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/new-approach-evaluate-fish-stock-productivity-under-changing-climate-conditions Federal Register Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; North Pacific Observer Program Standard Ex-Vessel Prices A Notice by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 12/15/2021 NMFS publishes standard ex-vessel prices for groundfish and halibut for the calculation of the observer fee under the North Pacific Observer Program (Observer Program). This notice is intended to provide information to vessel owners, processors, registered buyers, and other Observer Program participants about the standard ex-vessel prices that will be used to calculate the observer fee for landings of groundfish and halibut made in 2022. NMFS will send invoices to processors and registered buyers subject to the fee by January 15, 2023. Fees are due to NMFS on or before February 15, 2023. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/12/15/2021-27103/fisheries-of-the-exclusive-economic-zone-off-alaska-north-pacific-observer-program-standard

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