Chris Chase

The E.U. has reportedly agreed to its 21st sanctions package against Russia but has walked back plans to sanction seafood items.  The E.U. first announced a new sanctions package in June, intended to further impact Russia economically over its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. At the time of the announcement, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the package would include restrictions on a list of seafood goods. She said the bloc… Read More

The Canadian government has renewed the Quebec Fisheries Fund with a budget of CAD 50 million (USD 35.5 million, EUR 31.2 million) over the next five years. Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and Canada Minister of Fisheries Joanne Thompson, along with Quebec Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food Donald Martel, announced the renewal, which they said will help the industry to innovate and reach new markets to ensure it… Read More

The U.S. House has passed the Destruction of Hazardous Imports Act (H.R. 2715), kicking it up to the Senate. The bill was advanced out of a subcommittee in May, passing with a 43-0 vote in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. On 20 July, the bill passed quickly in the U.S. House of Representatives after roughly 40 minutes of debate. The bill would allow the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to destroy any food, drug, medical… Read More

Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) seized 17,834 pounds of halibut worth roughly CAD 170,000 (USD 120,000, EUR 105,000) after a multi-day surveillance effort. In a statement posted to the department’s social media, DFO reported fishery officers spent multiple days off of the coast of Eastern Nova Scotia in early July surveying the offending vessel. The department said officers made multiple attempts to hail the vessel, and it… Read More

New York City, U.S.A.-based seafood importer Mark Foods has acquired Newport, Rhode Island-based Endeavor Seafood. Mark Foods first made an equity investment in Endeavor Seafood in 2021 and said the new transaction is the next step in the partnership that the companies have formed since that purchase. The financial details of the purchase were not disclosed. "We are pleased to welcome the Endeavor Seafood team to Mark Foods. Since our initial… Read More

United States Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer announced new 50 percent tariffs on Canadian goods, continuing a trade dispute even as talks over the United States, Mexico, Canada agreement (USMCA) are ongoing.  Greer announced 50 percent tariffs on three types of goods: motor vehicles, alcohol, and dairy. The tariffs mark a new chapter in the U.S.'s ongoing dispute with Canada, as U.S. President Donald Trump has continuously… Read More

An Alaskan court has found a prior court ruling in the U.S. state of Washington lacked jurisdiction in a decision it made regarding the fate of one of Peter Pan Seafood’s former assets in Alaska. Alaska Superior Court Judge Laura Hartz said in a recent order that a prior Washington ruling to dispose of a Peter Pan facility in Port Moller, Alaska, was outside its authority and that the order is now “void” for lack of jurisdiction. The… Read More

Land-based salmon-farming company Proximar Seafood is planning a private placement to issue new bonds due in 2029 of up to NOK 250 million (USD 25.8 million, EUR 22.6 million).  Proximar Seafood is operating a land-based salmon recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) in Yokohama, Japan. The company harvested its first fish at the facility in October 2024 and, since that time, has reached its biomass target at its facility, with plans to harvest… Read More

Pure Salmon has gained key approval from the Department Council for the Environment, Health, and Technological Risks (CODERST) in Gironde, France, for its salmon recirculating aquaculture system (RAS).  Pure Salmon, a subsidiary of 8F Asset Management, has been working to clear regulatory hurdles to build a salmon RAS in Le Verdon-sur-Mer. The company is targeting 10,000 metric tons (MT) of Atlantic salmon production per year, using a fully… Read More

Three separate Norwegian salmon-farming companies – Sjybol, Kobbvåglaks, and Selsøyvik Havbruk – have agreed to acquire portions of Arctic Seafood Group.  Sjybol, which is also the owner of Lovundlaks, will be the largest owner of the company with a 49 percent stake. Kobbvåglaks and Selsøyvik Havbruk will each own the remaining portion, splitting it evenly with 25.5 percent of ownership each. The acquisition will give the three… Read More