Chris Chase

Voters in the town of Jonesport, Maine, U.S.A. have approved an extension to the amount of time Kingfish Maine has to start its planned recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) facility. Kingfish filed its first permit applications for a land-based RAS in Jonesport in 2020. The company has been working on plans to build a RAS that could produce 6,000 to 8,000 metric tons (MT) of yellowtail annually upon completion, and first detailed plans of its… Read More

A lawsuit against Cooke Inc., Omega Protein, and Ocean Harvesters has been defeated after the United States Court of Appeals upheld its dismissal in January 2025. Cooke Inc. was facing a lawsuit brought by W. Benson Chiles and Chris Manthey on behalf of the U.S. government, which claimed the company was committing “figurehead fraud” by controlling a fleet of fishing vessels based in the U.S. The lawsuit named a number of companies… Read More

Norway’s seafood industry set a new value record in July 2026 thanks in part to strong salmon demand and better pricing. According to data shared by the Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC), Norway exported NOK 15.6 billion (USD 1.64 billion, EUR 1.42 billion) worth of seafood during July 2026, an increase of NOK 1.8 billion (USD 188.85 million, EUR 163.48 million), or 13 percent, compared to the same period of last year. That total is the best… Read More

The Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) is calling on the seafood industry to participate in a survey about potential offshore wind energy development.  According to VIMS, the “Seafood First Sale Value Added Survey” is intended to better understand the business operations, economic contributions, and value of various parts of the seafood industry in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast U.S. The survey was funded by a grant from the… Read More

U.S. President Donald Trump recently sent a deregulatory wish list to the country’s regional fishery management councils, and the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) now has to grapple with how to address his proposed changes to the scallop fishery.  In early July, White House Senior Counselor for Trade and Manufacturing Peter Navarro held a press conference touting the move by Trump and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick as a… Read More

A coalition of 25 U.S. states have launched lawsuits against the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump over the latest round of tariffs. The Trump administration launched sweeping Section 301 tariffs on 60 economies in July, comprising 59 countries and every country in the European Union. The United States Trade Representative (USTR) launched the tariffs following investigations into all 60 economies, and said the tariffs are related to… Read More

Hudson Valley Fisheries, a steelhead trout producer using a recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) based in Hudson, New York, U.S.A., has abruptly closed its operations. Hudson Valley Fisheries announced on its website that it will be ceasing operations.  The company said in a statement on its Instagram page “multiple factors” contributed to the closure, including inadequate water supplies, higher fuel costs, and tariffs that made it… Read More

Miami, Florida, U.S.A.-based recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) salmon-farming company Atlantic Sapphire has sold a majority stake of the company to Coral HoldCo, also known as Coral Holding. Atlantic Sapphire first announced its plans to go private and de-list from the Oslo Børs in May, using the sale as a means of raising additional financing it will need for the next 12 months. Since that point, the company has sold 62.2 percent of the… Read More

Australia-based Seafarms Group Limited is still awaiting the fate of AUD 1.4 million (USD 980,000, EUR 851,000) in liquidated funds that are being held by a court as it considers a potential asset sale to fund its operations.  Seafarms Group finalized the purchase of the assets of Project Sea Dragon in February 2026 through a subsidiary dubbed Sea Dragon Shrimp. The company first announced the plan in November 2025, and said that it planned to… Read More

Ecuador’s Superintendency of Economic Competition (SCE) has approved Santa Priscila’s bid to acquire assets from Proteinas del Ecuador Ecuaprotein. The transaction will see Santa Priscila, one of the largest shrimp producers in Ecuador, acquire assets that Ecuaprotein used in the production of shrimp and fish hydrolysates. The SCE determined the purchase will maintain sufficient competitive pressure and does not pose a risk to economic… Read More