Saving Seafood

Economic Impact

Canned seafood moves beyond tuna sandwiches in a pandemic trend that stuck

November 20, 2023 — The country’s canned seafood industry is moving well beyond tuna sandwiches, a pandemic-era trend that began with Americans in lockdown demanding more of their cupboard staples.

Since then, the U.S. market has only expanded, fueled by social media influencers touting the benefits of the high-powered protein food in brightly colored metal containers. On the TikTok channel Tinned — Fishionado, Kris Wilson posts recipes for quick meals, including one mixing leftover rice, soy sauce, avocado and a runny egg with a tin of smoked mussels from the Danish company Fangst.

Tinned fish, as it’s called in Europe, is now a regular offering on menus at wine bars from San Francisco to Houston to New York, where patrons scoop the contents straight out of the can. There are even tinned fish clubs that mimic wine clubs by sending members monthly shipments of various seafood packed in various combinations of spices, oils and sauces. Videos on tinned fish, from tastings to how-to tips on cleaning the fishy smell from cans, have generated more than 30 million views on TikTok.

U.S. canned seafood industry sales have grown from $2.3 billion in 2018 to more than $2.7 billion so far this year, according to market research firm Circana.

Read the full article at the Associated Press

Finite supply fuels US market for king and snow crab, defying seafood category dip

November 15, 2023 — Limited availability of king crab and snow crab has boosted U.S. buyer interest, in defiance of a downward sales trend across the seafood category.

On 15 October, the red king crab fishery in Alaska’s Bristol Bay officially opened with a 2.2-million-pound quota, following a two-year closure. As recently as 2016, the total allowable harvest was set at 8.47 million pounds; in 1980, it was 130 million pounds.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Seafood alternatives industry group formed; Conxemar accuses plant-based labels of deceit

November 13, 2023 — SeafoodSource is closely following the plant-based and cell-based seafood alternatives market by compiling a regular round-up of updates from the sector.

-Future Oceans Foods (FOF), a global association designed to support and accelerate growth of the seafood alternatives industry,  announced its formation on 13 November.

The Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada-based coalition currently consists of 35 companies within the seafood analog sector across 14 countries.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

US has already imported most of its holiday-season goods; Portland, Maine gets funding for port upgrades

November 10, 2023 — SeafoodSource is closely following the international shipping sector by compiling a regular round-up of updates about shipping port updates.

The flow of imports to the U.S. expected to slow through the remainder of 2023, despite the expectation the holiday sales season will be record-setting.

According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), most merchandise and goods has already arrived in the U.S. in advance of the holidays, resulting in an expected lull for the shipping sector.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

C&P Trawlers to buy Blue Harvest vessels, permits for $12 million

November 9, 2023 — A judge Wednesday approved a new venture’s $12 million offer to buy eight vessels and 48 federal and state fishing permits from bankrupt Blue Harvest Fisheries.

C&P Trawlers, a Massachusetts limited liability corporation by Cassie Canastra of New Bedford, Mass. and Charles “Butch” Payne of Montauk, N.Y., won approval of the deal from federal District Court Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein who is overseeing Blue Harvests’ Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings in Delaware, according to a statement from C&P Trawlers.

Canastra, now manager of C&P Trawlers, has been director of operations at the Whaling City auction Buyers and Sellers Exchange (BASE) which her family has operated for 29 years. Payne owns vessels based in Montauk that fish for New England species including squid and whiting.

Blue Harvest’s sudden declaration of bankruptcy shook the groundfish industry and New Bedford, where Blue Harvest had acquired many local vessels and promised a revitalization of the groundfish business. Local business and political leaders have long feared a loss of vessels and permits from the port.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

C&P Trawlers statement on acquisition of Blue Harvest vessels and permits

November 9, 2023 — The following statement was released by C&P Trawlers:

C&P Trawlers LLC is a Domestic Limited Liability Company (LLC) formed by Ms. Cassie Canastra and Mr. Charles “Butch” Payne, and incorporated in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Earlier today, Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein, the federal judge in Delaware who is overseeing Blue Harvest Fisheries’ Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings, approved a $12 million offer by C&P Trawlers for Blue Harvest’s eight vessels and 48 federal and state fishing permits.

“As is well known, I grew up in a fishing family, and started attending the daily auctions when I was six years old. To be able to return to New Bedford after college and join my family in the seafood industry was the fulfillment of a childhood dream. It was an honor last January, after nine years, to assume the role as leader of all of our seafood corporations on day-to-day basis,” said Cassie Canastra, manager of C&P Trawlers.

“As the manager of C&P Trawlers, I was delighted to learn that C&P submitted the winning bid in the auction to acquire the vessels and permits previously owned by Blue Harvest Fisheries,” she said. “Butch and I look forward to operating those vessels from the Port of New Bedford.”

Members of Ms. Canastra’s family who are participants in other Canastra family businesses are not involved with C&P Trawlers.

Charles “Butch” Payne is a vessel owner from Montauk, New York whose boats fish for southern New England species including squid and whiting. He looks forward to expanding his existing vessel operations from the Port of New Bedford.

Cassie Canastra is the leader of a number of her family’s seafood businesses, including the 29-year-old Whaling City auction, Buyers and Sellers Exchange (BASE). She was named 2018 South Coast Woman of the Year by the New Bedford Standard-Times for her dedication to the region’s fishing industry. She holds a bachelor’s degree in history from the College of the Holy Cross, and a Professional Science Master’s (PSM) from the UMass Dartmouth’s School for Marine Science & Technology (SMAST).

Canastras buy vessels, permits from Blue Harvest bankruptcy

November 8, 2023 — The Canastra family, owners of New Bedford’s seafood auction, closed a deal to buy out groundfish giant Blue Harvest Fisheries from bankruptcy, a move finalized Wednesday with the approval of a federal judge.

After a short bidding war, Cassie Canastra submitted the highest bid of $12 million on Monday, beating out the second-highest bid from O’Hara Corporation, which is a part owner of New Bedford-based Eastern Fisheries, by $750,000.

The sale includes “all the vessels, all the permits” that once belonged to Blue Harvest Fisheries. It includes eight vessels and 48 state and federal fishing permits, representing about 13% of all Northeast groundfish permits or about 250 million pounds of quota for the current fishing year.

The sale marks the final chapter in the saga of Blue Harvest Fisheries, which was founded in 2015 by the Dutch billionaire Brenninkmeijer family, through their Manhattan-based private equity firm. The company quickly expanded to become the single-largest groundfish company on the East Coast before declaring bankruptcy in September and liquidating its assets.

Read the full article at the New Bedford Light

C&P Trawlers submits highest bid for Blue Harvest’s fishing vessels

November 8, 2023 — New Bedford, Massachusetts, U.S.A.-based C&P Trawlers has won the bankruptcy auction for Blue Harvest’s fishing vessels, officially bringing Blue Harvest’s bid to be a dominating force in the region’s groundfish industry to a close.

According to a court transcript, C&P Trawlers, represented by Cassie Canastra – who according to LinkedIn also serves as the director of operations for New Bedford’s Buyers and Sellers Exchange (BASE) auction house – submitted the winning bid of USD 12 million (EUR 11.2 million) for the vessels. C&P Trawlers, a company incorporated on 26 October 2023, beat out multiple other bidders for the property, with the O’Hara Corporation submitting the second-place bid of USD 11.25 million (EUR 10.5 million).

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Fallout as Ørsted unwinds Ocean Wind 1 project

November 7, 2023 — After dropping its flagship U.S. project Ocean Wind, Ørsted is seeking to pull back $300 million in obligations to New Jersey.

Once its board of directors had decided to kill the 1,100-megawatt plan on Oct. 31, the next day Ørsted notified the state Board of Public Utilities that it wants to get back a $100 million guarantee that it would complete the project. The company is also pulling back on $200 million it had planned to invest with steel fabricator EEW for its monopile foundation manufacturing plan in Paulsboro, N.J.

Ørsted and state officials signed off on those promises just weeks before the surprise announcement that Ocean Wind 1 and 2 would not be built – a move that Ørsted CEO Mads Nipper said would address more than 70 percent of the company’s recent $2.3 billion writedown of its assets in the beleaguered U.S. offshore wind market.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman