Chris Chase

The European Council has revealed its 21st sanctions package on Russia, leaving off any seafood products despite earlier plans. The E.U. reportedly adopted the latest sanctions package on 23 July but took time to publish the details of the package. Its official announcement gave an extensive list of products and 218 entities – including 48 individuals – as it continues to respond to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “With each round of… Read More

Japan-based seafood giant Umios (formerly Maruha Nichiro) has decided to split up its subsidiary Taiyo A&F (TAFCO) and take on the aquaculture and processing portion of the business. The transaction, effective 1 October, was approved by Umios’ board of directors on 28 July. Because TAFCO was already a wholly owned subsidiary of Umios, certain details of the transaction are omitted from public disclosure.  Umios said that TAFCO was already… Read More

Icelandic fishing firm Vinnslustöðin (VSV) announced its subsidiary VSV Portugal has acquired Portugal-based processing company Empresa de Secagem de Bacalhau (ESBAL). ESBAL specializes in the production of dehydrated and frozen salted fish products, as well as dried salted fish products, commonly referred to as bacalhau in Portugal. According to a release from VSV, the latest investment is part of its efforts to develop the company’s… Read More

The U.S. Coast Guard said it responded to the collision of two fishing vessels off the coast of the U.S. state of Washington, and one of the vessels sank after its crew was rescued. Coast Guard stations Gray Harbor and Air Station Astoria responded to the collision, which was roughly 22 miles off the coast of Grays Harbor, Washington. The report came at 6:40 a.m. on 21 July and involved The Tabitha, a 62-foot commercial fishing vessel, and the… Read More

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has launched sweeping tariffs on 59 different countries and the entire E.U. following Section 301 investigations.  The United States Trade Representative (USTR) began 60 investigations in March 2026 related to the “failure of various economies to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor.” In June, the USTR said it was planning to… Read More

Hatch Blue has invested USD 2 million (EUR 1.7 million) in Nernst Electric, a Bray, Ireland-based startup working to develop on-site oxygen generation for fish farms. Hatch Blue said the seed funding comes from its Blue Revolution Fund, a EUR 92 million (USD 104 million) fund intended for investments in sustainable aquaculture. The firm said the on-site oxygen generation being developed by Nernst Electric could address a costly operational… Read More

Nueva Pescanova has decided to withdraw its plans to farm octopus, drawing praise from environmental NGOs that pushed back on the concept.  Nueva Pescanova submitted plans to build the world’s first commercial octopus farm in May 2022, targeting a location in Puerto Las Palmas, located on the island of Gran Canaria in Spain’s Canary Islands. The company said it spent eight years developing a method of farming octopus and managed to… Read More

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