Report labels major global seafood industry players

More than 10 percent of the world’s annual seafood production is controlled by only 13 companies, according to the findings in a new scientific study.

The study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, found the 13 companies control 11 to 16 percent of the global catch, or an estimated 9 to 13 million metric tons. The study’s authors labeled these companies “Keystone actors” in the seafood industry.

According to the report, “(The companies) dominate all segments of seafood production, operate through an extensive global network of subsidiaries and are profoundly involved in fisheries and aquaculture decision-making.”

The numbers are more stark when one considers specific markets or species. As an example, the report found the keystone companies control 19 to 40 percent of popular species such as Alaska pollock, skipjack and yellowfin tuna.

The researchers chose the companies – Maruha Nichiro, Nippon Suisan Kaisha, Thai Union Frozen Products, Marine Harvest, Skretting, Pescanova, Dongwon, Austevoll, Pacific Andes, Trident Seafoods, Kyokuyo, EWOS, and Charoen Pokphand Foods – from a list of 160 of the world’s largest seafood companies. The researchers winnowed the list down by studying a combination of annual revenues, changes over time, and eliminating companies that were too limited overall in scope, market or species.

The report found that these companies generate a “disproportionate” amount of revenue, meaning a small number of companies collect a majority of revenues for the industry. “The catches of the three Japanese companies alone (including their international subsidiaries) are of the same order of magnitude as the total volume for the entire country of Japan, one of the world’s largest seafood producing countries.”

The report noted that these companies managed to hold onto their position despite financial setbacks. In particular, the report noted Pescanova had declared bankruptcy after a massive financial scandal, but recovered “due to the resilience resulting from its global connectivity and diversification of activities (active in wild capture fisheries worldwide as well as in aquaculture), able to maintain its operations and trading activities despite the bankruptcy.”

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