Court Closes NRDC Lawsuit That Forced MMPA Seafood Import Rules Into Effect

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The federal lawsuit that compelled the US government to implement long-dormant Marine Mammal Protection Act import restrictions on seafood has been formally closed, with a judge ruling that nothing remains to adjudicate.

Judge Gary S. Katzmann of the US Court of International Trade dismissed the case on August 19, denying as moot a motion by the Natural Resources Defense Council, Center for Biological Diversity, and Animal Welfare Institute to enforce an earlier settlement agreement. All parties — including the government and the seafood industry intervenors led by the...

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ANALYSIS: Gulf of Mexico Shrimp Landings Up 30% Through April, but Monthly Momentum Is Fading

Gulf of Mexico shrimp landings through April 2026 totaled 15.48 million pounds — 30% above the 11.91 million pounds recorded in the same period of 2025 and 9% ahead of the prior five-year average. The four-month cumulative figure is notable in context: 2025 was the weakest full year in the 10-year NMFS dataset, at 80.3 million pounds. The 2026 start suggested a recovery from that baseline. The monthly trajectory since January complicates that read...

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Oregon's Commodity Commissions Meet With Gov. Kotek on Chronic Processing Wastewater Issue

Wastewater treatment remains a persistent challenge for seafood processors, as state water quality agencies issue notices—and eventually fines—when new regulations are not met. In earlier eras, hoses cleaned off floors and decks and the tide took care of the rest. Today, wastewater must be treated to remove a long list of pollutants, some of which are already present in the municipal water supplied to the plant. Requiring processors to output water cleaner than the drinking water they receive creates serious problems...

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Court Closes NRDC Lawsuit That Forced MMPA Seafood Import Rules Into Effect

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Peru Declares 120-Day Fishing and Aquaculture Emergency as Coastal El Niño Intensifies

Peru's Ministry of Production (PRODUCE) has declared a state of emergency across its fishing and aquaculture subsectors for 120 calendar days, activating a framework of exceptional measures to protect the livelihoods of fishers, aquaculturists, and workers across the sector's supply chain as Coastal El Niño conditions worsen.

The declaration, announced August 23, comes as Peru's El Niño monitoring body ENFEN maintains its Coastal El Niño Alert and warns that the event is expected to continue through the 2026–2027 period at a magnitude ranging from strong...

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Japan's Salmon Imports Soared 40% for Frozen Chilean Coho, Sockeye Plummeted 80% in June

According to Ministry of Finance trade statistics, June imports of salmon and trout (frozen and fresh) totaled 9,811 metric tons, down 7% year-on-year (YOY), while the value rose 4% to 16.611 billion yen ($104.5 million). Imports of the key product—frozen Chilean coho salmon—increased, according to a report by Minato Shimbun.

Imports of frozen Chilean coho salmon (dressed) rose 42% to 2,596 tons. Prices for the new season's catch hovered just under $7.00/kg during...

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BC Fisheries Fund Puts $106.5M Behind Innovation, Market Growth

Canada and BC are investing $106.5 million over five years in the province’s fish and seafood sector through a renewed British Columbia Fisheries Fund (BCFF). Federal Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson, BC Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship and Minister Responsible for Fisheries Randene Neill, and BC Minister of Agriculture and Food Lana Popham announced the news Aug. 20.

According to the announcement, Canadian fish and seafood industry contribute more than $8 billion to its economy, supporting over 63,000 jobs and exporting...

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Seafarms Group Fires CEO Peter Fraser, Rod Dyer Returns to Lead Company

Australian prawn aquaculture company Seafarms Group (ASX: SFG) has terminated Chief Executive Officer Peter Fraser for cause, effective immediately, the company disclosed in an ASX announcement on August 20, 2026.

Rod Dyer, who had been serving in a limited Managing Director capacity, has been elevated to the combined Managing Director and CEO role, effective the same date. His remuneration has been set at $440 per hour in the new expanded position.

Seafarms did not disclose the specific grounds for the termination...

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NOAA Launches Fall Expeditions to Explore Deep Waters Around American Samoa

NOAA Ocean Exploration and its partners will embark on two expeditions this fall aboard the Okeanos Explorer. The missions will focus on the waters around American Samoa, mapping and characterizing the deep seafloor in a top-priority offshore critical-minerals region.

“The deep waters around American Samoa hold unknown secrets about our ocean, including unmapped habitats and potential mineral resources critical to our national prosperity and security,” said Captain William Mowitt, acting director of NOAA Ocean Exploration. “By exploring these areas in an open...

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ANALYSIS: June EU‑UK Shrimp Import Volumes Dip but Value Holds Steady

According to Eurostat, the EU and the UK together imported 58,378 MT of shrimp in June (wild and farmed, cold‑ and warm‑water species). That volume is 4.6% below last year but 5.7% above the five‑year average. Just under half (47%) of June shipments came from Ecuador, with India supplying 13% and Vietnam 10%.

Cold‑water shrimp from Greenland, Norway, Iceland and Canada made up 9% of June volumes, and 3% for Argentina’s wild red shrimp (Pleoticus muelleri)...

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Scott & Jon’s Goes Chainwide at Food Lion With Four Single-Serve Seafood Meals

Frozen seafood brand Scott & Jon’s has expanded its partnership with Food Lion chainwide, making four of its single-serve meals available in more than 1,000 stores across the grocer’s footprint.

The move comes as Scott & Jon’s continues to outpace the broader frozen meal category. The company cited SPINS data showing its dollar sales grew 15% in Total US MULO for the 52 weeks ending July 12, 2026, while single-serve frozen meal sales fell 1% over the same period...

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Expana's Weekly Top 10

This week’s Top 10 spotlights how supply constraints and regulatory decisions, not so much demand, are steering markets. Tyson is overhauling its beef footprint as cattle supplies tighten, ICCAT-driven rule changes have pushed up Atlantic bluefin quotas, and sugar and dairy moves are being driven more by policy, logistics and weather risk than by volume. Price actions experience volatility as capacity and trade rules set the tone. Read more about these hot topics this week and more, below. This list is in no particular order.

Find archived recaps here.

10. Tyson Foods...

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Suempol Breaks Ground on 50,000-Tonne Salmon Plant That Would More Than Double Capacity

Suempol, Poland's oldest and one of the world's largest producers of smoked salmon, has announced plans to build a new fish processing center in the Pełczyce municipality of West Pomeranian Voivodeship. The facility is expected to become operational in Q4 2027 and will employ approximately 300 people.

The company said the investment is part of its long-term growth strategy, with the new center set to significantly expand Suempol's production capacity. Trade reports indicate the plant could handle up to 50,000 tonnes of salmon annually, more...

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ANALYSIS: The Expana Shrimp Demand Index Returns to Steady Territory — What the Data Shows

When prices fall and more shrimp moves through the market, it can appear that demand is strengthening. The distinction matters: more consumption at a lower price is a price effect. Genuine demand growth requires either more consumption at the same price, or higher prices holding alongside higher volumes. Those are different mechanisms, and they resolve differently. The current environment reflects the former.

The Expana Shrimp Demand Index reached 95.95 in June–July, returning to the Steady band after an extended period in contraction territory...

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86-Year-Old New Brunswick Seafood Co-op Seeks Creditor Protection With Nearly CAD $25M in Debt

Island Fisherman's Co-operative Association Limited, one of the largest snow crab and lobster processors on New Brunswick's Acadian Peninsula, has filed for protection under Canada's Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA). The Lamèque-based co-operative — founded in 1940 — obtained a temporary protection order effective August 12, 2026, granted by a Saint John judge, shielding its assets from creditors for an initial ten-day period while it works to stabilize its finances, CBC News reported...

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Conservation Groups Sue NOAA Over California Longline Permits, Alleging Buried Data on Sea Turtles

Two conservation organizations have filed a federal lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's decision to grant longline fishing permits for California waters, alleging NOAA used a cherry-picked dataset that made the permits look far safer for endangered sea turtles and marine mammals than the agency's own data warranted.

The Center for Biological Diversity and the Turtle Island Restoration Network filed the complaint on August 14 in the US District Court for the Northern District of California (Case No. 3:26-cv-08429)...

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Multi X and BioMar Launch Chile's First Regenerative Agriculture Pilot for Salmon Feed Supply Chain

Chilean salmon producer Multi X and aquaculture feed company BioMar have signed a collaboration agreement to launch Chile's first regenerative agriculture pilot linked to the salmon value chain. The 24-month project, which began in August 2026, will assess regenerative farming practices in wheat and pea crops — two locally sourced raw materials with potential applications in salmon feed — across farms in the Los Ríos and Los Lagos regions...

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Seagrove Alaska Recalls Pacific Oysters Over Wet Storage Water Quality Deviation

Ketchikan, Alaska-based oyster producer Seagrove Alaska (AK-16111-SS) has issued a voluntary recall for two lots of Pacific oysters after elevated total coliform results were detected in its wet storage water.

The affected oysters were held in the company’s Ketchikan System 2 wet storage operation during a period when the water treatment system was not operating according to the facility’s approved wet storage operating plan. Total coliform results exceeded the applicable operational limit or acceptance criteria.

As a precaution...

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