Tag Archives: Fish Processors
To be determined: Tariffs threat gone, but NL crab price still a contentious issue
The immediate threat of tariffs has dissipated, but there is no word that the fish processors and harvesters might head back to the negotiating table to hammer out a new price for crab to get the season going. The sides have been caught up in a legal drama since Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture Minister Gerry Byrne approved a delay in the date the parties involved were to have a pricing arrangement in place. The Association of Seafood Producers (ASP), which represents most of the processing companies in Newfoundland and Labrador, took exception to the minister’s decision because it was not a joint request to change the date. Byrne changed the date from April 1 to April 13 due to the extenuating and unforeseen circumstances when FFAW-Unifor, the union that represents most fish harvesters and plant workers, had to change its lead negotiator. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:58
Fisheries Minister Rejects Opposition’s Approach to Processing Controversy, Hints at ‘Significant’ Regulatory Changes
Provincial Fisheries Minister Gerry Bryne is hinting that some “significant changes” could be coming in relation to fish processors who run afoul of the regulatory process. Royal Greenland, which owns Quin-Sea, is currently before the Labour Relations Board after the Association of Seafood Producers filed an urgent application against the company. According to the FFAW, Royal Greenland failed to provide sales data on 5-8 ounce sections of crab delivered to Boston as required for a third-party review of 2024 snow crab sales. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:25
No commercial Togiak sac roe herring fishery this spring, after years of a shrinking market
Fish processors have indicated they will not buy Togiak herring this season, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s outlook released March 20. It’s the first time there hasn’t been a commercial fishery there in decades. That means that this spring, over 57,400 tons of herring will go unharvested. But as the market has declined, so has the price for herring. Tim Sands, said they’ve seen an especially sharp decline in interest since the COVID-19 pandemic began three years ago. The size of the commercial fleet in Togiak has shrunk as well. It used to comprise hundreds of vessels. But last year no gill netters fished, and just eight purse seine vessels participated, hauling in less than a quarter of the available harvest. Togiak herring, meanwhile, are doing just fine. >click to read< 13:50
Crab season to begin Saturday but price talks could delay start
Crabbers are still negotiating with fish processors over the price per pound of crab, and by the first week of January, they might have a deal, said Harrison Ibach, president of the Humboldt Fishermen’s Marketing Association. He added that he could not speculate on what the price would be, but that it would likely not be as high as last season’s $4.75 per pound. “It’s a very soft seafood market at the moment. I guess you could say it’s probably due to economic conditions, the cost of living is extremely high,” Ibach said. “There’s not been a lot of consumption of domestic seafood or seafood in general.” >click to read< 11:26
Jimmy Buchan: energy costs will drive fish processors out of business
Mr Buchan has sent a letter to the two candidates vying to become Prime Minister, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, ahead of their campaigning visits to Scotland tomorrow. In the letter Mr Buchan, the chief executive of the Scottish Seafood Association, warned that on top of Brexit and Covid, escalating fuel costs were having a “devastating impact on our ability to remain viable”. Meanwhile, the body representing the fishing industry has also issued an open letter to the prospective PMs. Elspeth Macdonald, chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, highlighted the need for “fairer decision making” over use of the seas in order to prevent fishing becoming “collateral damage” ahead of the spansion of wind farms. >click to read< 15:21
$230M Class Action Settlement in 2015 Santa Barbara Oil Spill
Plains All American Pipeline has agreed to pay $230 million to fishers, fish processors and shoreline property residents who are members of two classes in a class action lawsuit filed against the company after a corroded pipeline spilled an estimated 15,000 barrels of crude oil into the Pacific Ocean in 2015. Due to failed maintenance and extensive pipeline corrosion, Plains was found criminally liable in 2018 for the oil spill. The spill devastated the fishing industry and polluted coastal properties from Santa Barbara County to Los Angeles County. These class members will now be compensated for their damages. >click to read< 10:14
Copper River Seafoods not buying Cook Inlet salmon amid declining harvests
Another seafood processor is moving out of Kenai this salmon season. Copper River Seafoods is ending its run in the old Snug Harbor Seafood plant, leaving one major salmon processor in the area but promising the addition of a new company soon. Processors like Copper River buy catch from commercial fishermen and bring that catch to market. As commercial fishermen have dealt with declining salmon runs and management changes, processors from Kenai to Homer have left, too, leaving fishermen with fewer options. >click to read< 08:53
Coronavirus is making it difficult for Whatcom’s commercial fishing fleet this season
A new report from the Regional Economic Partnership at the Port of Bellingham indicates the local fishing fleet is dealing with a host of hurdles this summer, particularly for fishing boat captains who want to go to Alaska. Crew safety is proving to be particularly tough to figure out, as shown by the three American Seafoods fishing boats that had more than 100 crew members test positive for the virus after docking at Bellingham Cold Storage in late May and early June. The report surveyed 69 businesses tied to the industry, including 59 commercial fishing boats. >click to read< 09:11
Fraserburgh nets host of honours at annual awards
Fishermen and businesses from Fraserburgh and Macduff were among those recognised in the 2020 Fishing News awards for the UK and Ireland. A presentation ceremony scheduled for May 14 was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the winners were instead announced online. David Milne, skipper of the Fraserburgh-registered Faithlie, was the winner in the demersal fisherman category. The award for fish processor went to Fraserburgh-based Whitelink Seafoods. Established by James and Marie Sutherland in 1974 in the garage at the back of their house, the company has grown over the years into one of the leading processors in north-east Scotland, now employing 180 people. >click to read< 13:40
DOC Secretary Ross Allocates $88 Million in Fishery Disaster Funding for Fishing Communities Affected by 2019 Bonnet Carre Spillway Opening
Today, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced the allocation of $88 million in fishery disaster funding to Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi, where a catastrophic regional fishery disaster occurred due to extreme freshwater flooding in 2019 associated with the unprecedented opening of the Bonnet Carre Spillway. “The Department of Commerce stands with our U.S. fishing communities, especially in times of hardship,” said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. “These funds will help industries and individuals recover from this disaster, and build resilience for the future.” >click to read< 16:22
Over $21.3 million in federal fishery disaster funds allocated to Mississippi – >click to read<
Trident seafood worker the first positive COVID-19 case in Dillingham
Dillingham has its first case of COVID-19. According to state data, the person is an out-of-state resident who works in the seafood industry. It’s the ninth case of an out-of-state resident testing positive for the disease, and it’s the fourth instance of someone testing positive who works in that industry. The state said in a news release that the individual is a seasonal worker for Trident Seafoods. Trident is arranging for that worker to leave the community today. That person is doing well and does not require hospitalization. Public health nurses have completed a contact investigation and report that no one at that quarantine site had any outside contacts. “They haven’t exposed the community because they haven’t been out in the community,” public health nurse Gina Carpenter said in the state’s news release. >click to read< 18:51
Coronavirus: Fishermen block out-of-province crab shipments heading for N.L. fish plants
It’s the latest development in an argument with the Association for Seafood Producers over whether or not the fishery should be up and running during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Fish, Food and Allied Workers union (FFAW) says its members do not want to go to work on boats or in plants until their safety is assured. “Fish harvesters are mobilizing around the province to block out-of-province crab from landing in Newfoundland and Labrador for processing,” said a statement sent by the FFAW on Sunday night. “Harvesters and plant workers are calling on the provincial government to step in and for companies to respect N.L. workers.” >click to read< 07:40
Fish processors brace for reductions after Board of Fish decisions
Over the past two weeks the Alaska Board of Fisheries has adopted changes to fishing regulations and management plans in Upper Cook Inlet that aim to put more fish into the Kenai River and streams and the MatSu valley. The plans the board passed to increase both sockeye and king salmon escapement goals in the Kenai River came with restrictions for setnet fishermen, and the plan to allow more fish to the MatSu valley took away an area traditionally fished by the drift gillnet fleet. >click to read<
A reminder from Sam Parisi to those interested in creating and implementing a U.S. Fish Bill
Greetings to all commercial fishermen, fish processors, equipment suppliers, politicians, and citizens, that are interested and supportive of creation of the U.S. Fish Bill. It is important that we create an atmosphere of unity and inclusion for all to reach out to their political representation, and inform them of need for a major Bill supporting all segments of the U.S. Fishing industry, and ask that they get involved. I am asking Senator Bruce Tarr, and Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante to attend. The meeting will be held at the Gloucester City Hall November 21 at 7 pm. For developing info, and input of idea’s, please call me! Thank you, and best regards! Sam Parisi, Gloucester Mass. at 978 491 7722 06:45
Fish-o-nomics 101
Alaska leads the nation in unemployment, and fish processors in Bristol Bay are complaining they couldn’t find the workers necessary to head, gut and in some cases further process this year’s unexpectedly large bounty of sockeye salmon. Because of this, commercial fishermen were put on limits to avoid plugging processing plants with too many salmon, which left most of them unhappy. “I personally have driven through and away (from) more fish than I’ve ever seen in my life during a legal fishing opener. And that hurts,” fisherman Larry Christensen told reporter Caitlan Tan at KDLG in Dillingham. The public radio station this year live-covered the Bristol Bay fishing season as if it were some sort of sporting event, and there are some similarities. And while fishermen were unhappy with processors, processors were unhappy with the government which they blamed for making it hard to bring in foreign workers to process fish. click here to read the story 08:48
FFAW, fish processors come together to revitalize groundfishery
As shellfish stocks decline in Newfoundland and Labrador, members of the Fish, Food and Allied Workers union and a number of fish processors are putting aside age-old differences to help rebuild the groundfishery. Harvesting and plant worker representatives from the FFAW and officials from various fish processing companies — including Beothic Fish Processors, Codroy Seafood, Atlantic Ocean Products and Allans Fisheries — announced the formation of the Newfoundland and Labrador Groundfish Industry Development Council on Friday in St. John’s. FFAW president Keith Sullivan said that working together is a necessity for the future. “As the fishery begins another transition period, stakeholders must work together to develop a strategic vision for the future of the groundfish industry,” he said. Read the rest here 07:37
Politicians blast Scottish Fishermen’s Federation
TWO politicians from the North East of Scotland have urged fishermen to voice their opinions on the future of the industry, as they feel that the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF) is failing to engage with key issues, including the Smith Commission. “That is why I am encouraging active fishermen, fish processors, box manufacturers, hauliers and anyone else involved to make their views on the future of the industry known. Read the rest here 14:36
Trident wants in at Adak – And so does another company.
Tillion said the presence of competition has caused Trident to soften its stance some, saying its first offer was rejected. He said the huge Seattle-based processor wanted The Aleut Corporation to eliminate a quota for small fishing boats under 60 feet long, so that Trident’s bigger boats could catch all the fish. “The Aleuts aren’t really too happy about that,” Tillion said, since the corporation wants Adak to provide opportunity for small boats from King Cove and Sand Point.
Icicle decided to close its operation in Adak, citing concerns about the short- and long-term health of the region’s Pacific cod resource and increased regulatory uncertainty, the company’ new top official Amy Humphreys said in a press release in April. Icicle, headquartered in Seattle, is owned by the private equity firm Paine and Partners, with offices in New York, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, and specializes in buying major corporations. The company’ new top official Amy Humphreys, was appointed to the board of the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute this month by Gov. Sean Parnell. more@bristolbaytimes 08:22
