Chris Chase

Editor

Chris Chase is the Portland, Maine-based associate editor of SeafoodSource. Previously, he worked covering local issues at the Coastal Journal in Bath, Maine, where he won multiple awards from the Maine Press Association for his news coverage and food reviews. Chris is a graduate of the University of Maine, and got his start in writing by serving as a reporter and later the State Editor of The Maine Campus, an award-winning campus newspaper.


Author Archive

Published on
January 15, 2024

Fish and shrimp processing equipment manufacturer Norbech has been sold after the company declared bankruptcy in December 2023.

Norbech was founded in 1986 as Uni-Food Technic by Bjarne Normann Jensen. The company’s products include bleeding tanks, de-heading machines, de-slimers, de-scalers, and more essential equipment for the fish and shrimp processing industry.

The company transitioned from Uni-Food Technic to Norbech after Kurt Bech

Read More
Published on
January 12, 2024

Operational data from Rosstat shared by the Russian Federal Fisheries Agency – or Rosrybolovstvo – indicates Russia’s output of seafood products was up 9 percent year over year in the first 11 months of 2023.

The data, shared to Rosrybolovstvo’s website, indicates that Russia’s production between January and November 2023 increased to about 4.1 million metric tons (MT) – an increase of 329,000 MT compared to

Read More
Published on
January 11, 2024

An NGO confirmed to SeafoodSource it has formally filed a recommendation to implement Global Magnitsky (GloMag) sanctions against Chinese companies named in the recent Outlaw Ocean report on labor issues in the U.S. seafood supply chain.

The Outlaw Ocean report revealed evidence that seafood processed by Uyghur labor in China has entered the U.S. supply chain – a violation of the U.S.’s Uyghur Forced Labor Protection Act (UFLPA). The

Read More
Published on
January 11, 2024

Aquaculture technology companies GroAqua and Havida have merged to form what they call a strategic alliance that aims to strengthen each company’s position in the global market.

Norway-based Havida is an aquaculture technology company that has developed a range of products like Havida Sense, which integrates technology throughout net pens to optimize and streamline Atlantic salmon production. The company has worked with multiple

Read More
Published on
January 10, 2024

For decades, the rivers and shores surrounding the Chesapeake Bay have slowly been taken over by an invasive species – the blue catfish, otherwise known as Ictalurus furcatus.

The U.S. states of Maryland and Virginia, which border the bay, have had to deal with the species ever since anglers introduced it to Virginia’s waters in the hopes of establishing it as a fun and challenging fish to catch. Unfortunately, for all the other

Read More
Published on
January 10, 2024

Two aquaculture companies in Norway reported fish escapes in late December 2023 and early January 2024, per the Norway Directorate of Fisheries. 

The first escape incident, which took place on 29 December 2023, occurred at Hardanger Seafood’s Langevågen location, which is south of Bømlo, Norway. That escape, the directorate said, occurred at a slaughterhouse and involved farmed salmon between 4 and 5 kilograms in

Read More
Published on
January 9, 2024

American Unagi, a startup eel aquaculture operation in Waldoboro, Maine, U.S.A., has received a new investment from RuralWorks Partners.

RuralWorks Partners Chief Engagement Officer Louisa Schibli told SeafoodSource that it invested USD 1.5 million (EUR 1.37 million) in American Unagi, and the new investment will help the latter company fund its efforts to establish domestic supply to help satisfy part of the 5,000 metric tons of eels the U.S.

Read More
Published on
January 9, 2024

The New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) officially granted a quota increase and established new rules for the upcoming 2024 scallop fishing season in the Northeast U.S. 

The fishery – one of the most valuable in the U.S. – has experienced decreasing quotas for the past four years after a historically high harvest in 2019 saw the fishery land over 60 million pounds. This year, the council predicts the fishery will

Read More
Published on
January 9, 2024

The founders of Icelandic seafood company Samherji have started a new company with the purpose of fostering innovation and entrepreneurship in the Eyjafjördur region of Iceland.

Samherji CEO Thorsteinn Már Baldvinsson and Samherji Managing Director of Ship Operations Kristján Vilhelmsson, who both helped found the company in 1983, recently created Drift EA to help establish new businesses in Akureyri, Iceland. The new company

Read More
Published on
January 8, 2024

In its first operational update of the new year, Norwegian salmon farmer Atlantic Sapphire announced water temperature issues it experienced in 2023 are still impacting its production.

The company said in an update posted to the Oslo Børs that it has seen higher levels of early maturation in fish associated with Q3 2023 temperature issues. During June and July, hot weather in Miami, Florida, U.S.A. – where Atlantic Sapphire’s

Read More