Joanne Friedrick

Even in the controlled environment of shrimp farming, Mother Nature can intercede to cause difficulties that are felt worldwide.

In spring 2011, severe flooding in Thailand washed away nearly 60,000 metric tons of shrimp, representing about 8 to 10 percent of that country’s annual exports. 

Shrimp importer Mazzetta Co. in Highland Park, Ill., has partnerships with shrimp producers in Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia, says Jeff Goldberg,

As a purchaser of about 2 million pounds annually, Culver’s knows cod. The Prairie du Sac, Wis., QSR chain has featured battered and fried cod as a sandwich or a dinner since 1984, when the company transitioned from a supper club format to a frozen custard and burger stand, says Jim Doak, executive chef and director of menu development.

The company aimed to give customers the same Friday night fish fry experience they were used to, he says. In

On any given day at Holiday Market in Royal Oak, Mich., the seafood department will sell about 10 pounds of tilapia. But come Tuesday, those sales triple to about 30 pounds as shoppers take part in “Tantalizing Tilapia Tuesdays” at this specialty grocer.

Started as a promotion to draw in customers on the slower shopping days, Seafood Department Manager Alex Draper says tilapia, which is consistent in both supply and price, was his best choice

Plentiful, value priced and accepted by most consumers for its mild taste and flaky texture, pollock garners few complaints from those who sell, cook and eat it.

Harvested primarily in Alaska and Russia, pollock production has increased in the past two years, according to a McDowell Group data briefing shared by the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute.

In 2010, Russia harvested 1.58 million metric tons, while Alaska fishermen brought in 888,000

Challenges on the international front and high demand for domestic product has pushed sea scallop prices higher — and kept them there.

Prices, which most suppliers say have stayed steady at $10 to $11 a pound (depending upon size), are influenced by a number of factors, says Sean Moriarty, product manager for sea scallops at American Pride Seafoods in New Bedford, Mass.

Prices are up about 40 to 50 percent over historic levels, he says, in part

Known for bringing viewers clips of adorable snoozing kittens, waiting-to-be-discovered singers and dancers and embarrassing stunts and accidents, videos on YouTube and other social media outlets are increasingly being used as a marketing tool by companies and organizations that are trying to tell their story in 15 minutes or less.

Founded just six years ago, YouTube was created by three ex-PayPal employees. Since its inception, hundreds of

Americans love their salmon — placing it behind just shrimp and canned tuna on the most popular seafood list — and import the farmed variety from various countries around the world.

In 2010 the United States imported more than 166 million pounds of whole farmed fish and fillets from Canada, about 47 million pounds of fillets from Chile, almost 20 million pounds from the Faroe Islands, nearly 50 million pounds of fillets from Norway and about

Blue-swimming crab importers are weathering a turbulent year, and the domestic blue-crab market is also experiencing some ups and downs.

After five years of increased supply, 2011 has seen import supplies fall about 12 percent, says Paul McCarthy, executive VP at Chicken of the Sea Frozen Foods in El Segundo, Calif. A shortage is primarily seen in Indonesia, says McCarthy, but red crab from China is also down, which plays into the current

Consolidation, high feed costs and an ongoing recession have dogged U.S. catfish producers over the past several years and those issues were still present as 2011 unfolded.

“It has been a little bit of a wild ride,” says Rob Mayo, president of Carolina Classics Catfish in Ayden, N.C. Supply has never been tighter, he says, and with an industry that continues to shrink “we’re still going to be tight going forward.”

Feed costs have risen

While overfishing has been an issue for some species that find their way to the market, that’s not the case with clams. Harvesting of both the Atlantic surf clam, also called the sea clam, and the ocean quahog have been well within the quotas, according to statistics from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Quota Monitoring Report.

In 2010, approximately 2.1 million bushels of surf clams were harvested, accounting for just 60.9 percent