Northern Wind acquisition of Atlantic Capes in part due to lower scallop quotas

"With the diminishing quotas and everything else, it just made all the sense in the world."
Northern Wind CEO Ken Melanson at Seafood Expo North America in 2023
Northern Wind CEO Ken Melanson told SeafoodSource diminishing scallop quotas were a big motivator in the deal to purchase Atlantic Capes | Photo by Chris Chase/SeafoodSource
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Northern Wind’s recent acquisition of Atlantic Caped Fisheries was in large part due to diminishing scallop quotas in the U.S. Northeast.

Atlantic Sustainable Catch, which is composed of Northern Wind, Suncoast Seafood, and Raymond O’Neill & Son Fisheries, acquired the business in late December 2024, which will see Northern Wind take over the processing and sales division of the company. Both companies are based in the Northeast U.S. and process a significant portion of the scallop quota in the region.

The scallop market has been grappling with steadily decreasing quotas in recent years, with the most recent quota recommendation representing a 28 percent cut, dropping the total projected landings to 19.75 million pounds – far below the 60-million-pound season the fishery had in 2019.

That drop, Northern Wind CEO Ken Melanson told SeafoodSource, is part of what led to the deal between the two companies. 

“It was scallops; it was the reason why we targeted Atlantic Capes,” he said. “There’s only a handful of people that basically deal with 80 percent of the total quota here domestically in the scallop business … with the diminishing quotas and everything else it just made all the sense in the world – rather than go out there and fight for customers.”

Melanson said Atlantic Capes, being a similar size to Northern Wind, deals with many of the same products and has many of the same processes – creating natural synergies between the two companies. There are a few other product types and offerings that will benefit both companies, but scallops was the main motivator. 

“It’s the reason why we did it, so we can ...


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