Tag Archives: Oregon Department of Justice

Pacific Seafood Controls the Dungeness Crab Market, but Small Fishermen Are Fighting Back

After a blockbuster 2022 crabbing season that saw an on-time, December 1 start date and record prices for fishermen, this year’s crab season didn’t kick off until mid-January after three regulatory delays. When the season did begin, crabbers were offered as little as $2 per pound for their catch, a price that left many struggling to pay staff and buy fuel and bait. Those conditions have squeezed the small businesses that make up the West Coast crabbing industry and act as the backbone for small towns up and down the shoreline. But this year appears to have brought boom times for one company in particular—Pacific Seafood. >click to read< 07:40

Oregon: Attorney General gives green light to Pacific Seafood to buy Trident, with a few strings attached

From Pacific Seafood: Thanks to quick action by Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, Newport’s surimi processing plant, the last such plant on the West Coast, will remain in Newport and open in time for the 2017 Whiting season, which starts on Monday. The Oregon Department of Justice (DOJ) reviewed a proposal by Pacific Seafood to keep the plant open and word came today that it’s a green light. Governor Kate Brown and the Legislature’s Coastal Caucus, including Senator Arnie Roblan, Senator Betsy Johnson, and Representative David Gomberg, were instrumental in facilitating review in time for the season start. “We very much appreciate the Governor and Attorney General’s leadership in addressing this extraordinary situation,” said Dan Occhipinti, a spokesman for Pacific Seafood. “They moved quickly to reach a solution that saves 147 traded-sector jobs, retains the market for Newport’s commercial fishing fleet, and preserves Oregon’s access to a major export market.” click here to read the story 09:27