Wednesday, July 2, 2025

Alaska Alaska pollock producers cheer McDonald's latest twist on iconic Filet-O-Fish The menu item debuts on UK menus in July. Intrafish by Rachel Sapin - June 30, 2025 For the first time in 50 years, McDonald’s UK is revamping its flagship fish burger, a strategic move that potentially presents new opportunities and implications for suppliers. https://www.intrafish.com/whitefish/alaska-pollock-producers-cheer-mcdonalds-latest-twist-on-iconic-filet-o-fish/2-1-1840126 Bill pending in Senate would make high Alaska energy costs worse, groups warn Alaska Beacon by Yereth Rosen - June 30, 2025 Alaskans pay nearly the highest percentage of their household incomes on energy of any state, and federal policy changes proposed in the budget reconciliation bill currently being debated in the U.S. Senate would make the problem worse, according to a report by the University of Washington’s Center for Environmental Health Equity and three Alaska organizations. https://alaskabeacon.com/briefs/bill-pending-in-senate-would-make-high-alaska-energy-costs-worse-groups-warn/ Russian River Sanctuary opens to sockeye sport fishing KDLL by Hunter Morrison - July 1, 2025 The waters where the Russian and Kenai rivers meet, known as the Russian River Confluence, opened Tuesday to sockeye and coho salmon sport fishing. The area is open through August 20 to fly fishing only. https://www.kdll.org/local-news/2025-07-01/russian-river-sanctuary-opens-to-sockeye-sport-fishing Unalaska formally accepts disaster relief, 3 years after crab crash KUCB by Theo Greenly - July 1, 2025  Crab pots stacked in Unalaska's International Port of Dutch Harbor in April, 2025.Unalaska is finally seeing some financial relief nearly three years after the collapse of Alaska’s snow crab and red king crab fisheries. https://www.kucb.org/industry/2025-07-01/unalaska-formally-accepts-disaster-relief-3-years-after-crab-crash Pacific Seafood Going Big on Alaska Expana by Ryan Doyle - July 1, 2025 Pacific Seafood Group is expanding its reach beyond the West Coast to Alaska through acquisitions and memberships.  In 2024, Pacific purchased Kodiak processing facilities from Trident Seafoods, including the Star of Kodiak, a converted war-time ship that processes a number of species like pollock, salmon, halibut, crab, groundfish and Pacific cod. The purchases contribute to the company’s Mission 31, a strategic initiative aimed at doubling the size of its business by 2031.Now, Pacific has joined the Pacific Seafood Processors Association, a seafood processing trade group founded in 1914. PSPA has 11 members representing major seafood processing companies with operations in Alaska and Washington, including 47 shore-based and three floating facilities in 22 coastal communities in Alaska, a PSPA statement said. The companies purchase fish from thousands of independent commercial fishermen, have billions of dollars invested in shoreside and floating processing facilities to service these fleets, and employ tens of thousands of people to get seafood to consumers around the world."PSPA is excited to welcome Pacific Seafood Group as a new member,” PSPA President Julie Decker said in a press release. “The alignment of Pacific Seafood with our existing membership is excellent; we all value the importance of the seafood processing sector to fishermen, communities and the state, which is why our member companies make long-term investment decisions in the communities in which they operate, and why sustainable fisheries are so important to PSPA members.”Pacific Seafood was founded in 1941 and has grown to employ more than 3,000 team members across 41 facilities in 11 states. Still family-owned, Pacific Seafood manages all aspects of the supply chain, from harvesting to processing and distribution, to provide customers with excellent seafood products, according to the statement.  "We're proud to join the Pacific Seafood Processors Association as we deepen our commitment to Alaska's seafood industry," Ashton Meier, Vice President of Processing at Pacific Seafood, said. "Through our recent Kodiak expansion, we're investing in local communities, supporting sustainable fisheries, and delivering high-quality, wild-caught products. We look forward to working with PSPA and fellow members to advance the value, visibility, and vitality of Alaska seafood." https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1311423/Pacific-Seafood-Going-Big-on-Alaska National US seafood supplier pauses fresh-fish buying operations Company will continue buying crab, salmon roe and geoducks, it said. IntraFish by John Fiorillo - July 1, 2025 US-based seafood supplier Fathom Seafood has informed its suppliers that it is pausing its fresh-fish operations, citing external factors for the decision. https://www.intrafish.com/processing/us-seafood-supplier-pauses-fresh-fish-buying-operations/2-1-1840150 US court sets deadline for NOAA to make ESA decisions on Chinook salmon Seafood Source by Nathan Strout - July 1, 2025 Following a lawsuit filed by a coalition of conservation groups, a U.S. district court has set deadlines for NOAA Fisheries to determine whether some Chinook salmon runs in the Pacific Northwest should be protected by the Endangered Species Act (ESA). https://www.seafoodsource.com/news/environment-sustainability/us-court-sets-deadline-for-noaa-to-make-esa-decisions-on-chinook-salmon

Pacific Seafood Processors Association 1900 W Emerson Place Suite 205, Seattle, WA 98119 Phone: 206.281.1667E-mail: admin@pspafish.net; Website: www.pspafish.net Our office days/hours are Monday-Friday8:00 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.