Saving Seafood

Maine lobsters head for distant new market

December 12, 2019 — The changing climate and a seemingly unending round of trade wars are putting the squeeze on Maine’s lobster industry.

As the Gulf of Maine warms at a rapid pace, the lobster population seems to be shifting its location. At the same time, increased Chinese tariffs on lobster, imposed in retaliation for U.S. tariffs on an array of imports from China, have cut Maine exports into that lucrative market sharply.

Demand for lobster hasn’t disappeared in China, but most of it is now being filled by Canadian dealers, frequently shipping lobsters imported from Maine.

To help fishermen combat these pressures and diversify the New England seafood industry, Food Export USA–Northeast recently organized a three-day trade mission to Dubai for several Maine lobster dealers.

Traveling to the city, one of the United Arab Emirates on the shore of the Persian Gulf, said Tim Hamilton, executive director, Food Export USA-Northeast, were representatives from Greenhead Lobster Co. in Stonington, Maine Coast Lobster in York and Ready Seafood in Portland.

Also on the trip were representatives of Island Creek Oysters, a Massachusetts-based oyster grower.

“One way to counter what’s happening in the world today is to diversify export markets for all Northeast U.S. seafood products,” Hamilton said. “Our programs, services and promotional activities around the world can help suppliers do that.”

Dubai and countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) represent a potentially rich export market opportunity for Northeast U.S. seafood suppliers. In 2018, U.S. seafood exports to six GCC countries (the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia) amounted to $14.4 million, while total U.S. food and agricultural exports to that market comprised $3.3 billion, so U.S. seafood exports are only about a half a percent of total U.S. food exports.

Read the full story at The Ellsworth American

China’s tilapia exporters holding onto US sales with price cuts

December 2, 2019 — Exporters in China’s key tilapia producing region of Hainan have been able to hold onto their sales to the United States despite ramped-up tariffs now reaching upwards of 25 percent, according to Alno Wu, head of overseas sales at Hainan Sky-Blue Ocean Foods Co (SBO).

Wu said firms like his, a vertically integrated firm processing tilapia in Hainan Province, are doing so thanks to lower prices, which they have been able to offer due to a surge in production across the province. Projections of stricter enforcement of environmental regulations leading to lower production have not come to pass, as thus far, Hainan has gotten greater leeway in implementation than other regions, according to Wu.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

In the face of harsh tariffs, the Maine lobster industry fights to save the export business, and innovate to find new U.S. Markets

November 15, 2019 — Lobster from Stonington, Maine’s biggest lobster harbor, used to travel around the world. Now, because of issues with tariffs in both Europe and China, much of the catch stays closer to home. So far, fishermen haven’t felt the loss of export business in their paychecks, but many know that Maine’s signature seafood needs the most comprehensive market possible to make the most money.

Longtime fisherman Mike Billings watched the dock crew unload his day’s catch, and said exports are needed.

“My grandfather, I fished with him when I was a kid, and he said if we could just get the lobsters out to the rest of the world, not just this country, we could get a decent price for them. “

Maine has had an export market for many years, but that business started growing significantly as lobster dealers were able to open up the market to China. According to figures from the Maine International Trade Center, exports of live lobster to China grew from 26 million pounds in 2014 to a high of 56 million in 2017. Dealers like Hugh Reynolds of Greenhead Lobster say the business was heading for more growth, primarily the live lobster market. 

Read the full story at News Center Maine

Five countries account for 90 percent of distant-water fleet effort

November 15, 2019 — The global distant-water fishing industry benefits just a handful of fishing countries, while capturing the bounty of coastal nations that often have poor governance and limited resources.

A new report published by the Stimson Center identifies the top distant-water fishing fleets in the world, where they operate, and their connection to illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. The report argues that the current distant-water fishing industry is unsustainable, and makes concrete recommendations for how to increase transparency and accountability.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Spoilage rate for China seafood in transit at 10 percent

November 8, 2019 — Ten percent of China’s seafood is spoiled during transit from producer to consumer, according to new research by a Chinese business consultancy.

Spoilage rates at 10 percent is higher than the equivalent rate for meat – eight percent – but lower than the figure for vegetables, at 20 percent, according to the research by Shenzhen-based Qian Zhan Industry Research Institute.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Sustainability gaining ground in Chinese market

November 6, 2019 — Among the sea of Chinese companies exhibiting a huge variety of species and equipment at the China Seafood Expo in Qingdao, China, one thing was in greater abundance in 2019 than ever before: Displays showcasing products certified to a sustainability scheme.

Certifications – like that of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) or the Global Aquaculture Alliance’s Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification – have been catching on in the world’s most populous country, with multiple China-based companies now holding a certification of some kind. The number of products, too, showcasing certifications has increased rapidly.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

World Exporters Innovate to Feed China’s Growing Appetite for Seafood

November 4, 2019 — SEAFOOD NEWS — From Ecuadorian shrimp to Russian king crab, getting a taste of the ocean has never been easier these days for many Chinese. But for exporters trying to tap into this fast-growing seafood market, they need more than just quality products.

At the China Fisheries and Seafood Expo (CFSE), which runs from Wednesday to Friday in the eastern coastal city of Qingdao, Shandong Province, exporters around the world are bringing out their best to woo increasingly sophisticated Chinese customers.

“Chinese consumers at home may not barbecue or bake fish in the style of Americans or Europeans. Instead, they may put it into hotpot or even in steamed dishes,” said Jeff Welbourn, senior director of new business development of China for Trident Seafoods, a U.S.-based seafood company.

“We should be sensitive to the way people eat fish here and make sure we develop the products that are exciting to Chinese consumers,” he said.

To meet the demand of health-conscious Chinese consumers, the company strives to ensure product quality from source to plate, using supply chain management to win over the rapidly growing and diverse Chinese market, according to Welbourn.

As China’s middle-class population grows, more people now crave a diversified menu on their dining tables, leading to an increasing demand for high-quality seafood.

The rapid development of e-commerce added to seafood’s popularity, with companies such as JD.com and Alibaba promising to deliver fresh seafood to the doorsteps of major city households within hours.

For global exporters, China’s growing appetite for seafood means opportunities. In the first eight months of this year, China’s seafood imports surged 24.8 percent year on year in U.S. dollar terms, official data showed.

“China is such a big market that there is room for everyone,” said Roberto Coronel Kronfle, of Industrial Pesquera Santa Priscila, an Ecuadorian shrimp company.

The firm is expected to see more than 70 percent of its total sales this year coming from China, Coronel said.

Santa Priscila’s booth at the CFSE neighbors several other Ecuadorian shrimp exporters, all of which were often surrounded by importers inquiring about quotations.

To win over the buyers, each firm has developed its own tactics. Jose Luis Salvador, a sales manager for Ecuadorian shrimp exporter Alimesa, said that the company’s competitive advantage lies in quality control as well as a commitment to deliver on time.

“Every client needs a certain date for shipment. That is very important now, so we have to be prepared and pack everything on time according to our selected partners’ needs. We need to comply with what was agreed,” he said.

For some companies, the key to success in China is about focusing on a niche market. Future Cuisine, a producer and exporter of premium New Zealand seafood, is targeting consumers that crave the best with its export of king salmon, a rare species of salmon.

“Now more and more Chinese travel to New Zealand and can get a taste of king salmon that they will never forget. People do taste the difference,” said Sophia Liu, general manager of the company’s China operations.

For others, the trick is about packaging. Vivian Zhang, general manager of KONO Pure NZ Trading (Shanghai), a subsidiary of Kono, a green shell mussels producer and exporter in New Zealand, said the firm designed a smaller packaging of mussels specifically for the Chinese market to cater to the demand of retail customers, who often like to buy online.

“Chinese consumers are becoming increasingly sophisticated. It is an opportunity that we can not afford to miss out on,” she said.

This story was originally published on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

Despite trade war, US seafood companies still see positives in China

October 31, 2019 — Since the start of the trade war between the United States and China over a year ago, certain sectors of the seafood industry have seen sharp drops of trade between the two countries.

The United States and China have taken turns ramping up tariffs on each other’s products, starting at 10 percent tariff rates and escalating to 25 percent duties on most products, including seafood, traded between the two countries.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Calls mount for salmon producers to step up to meet China’s growing appetite

October 29, 2019 — China’s exponentially increasing demand for salmon is likely to put a pinch on global supplies if the salmon-farming sector doesn’t find a way to increase production, according to Miguel Ugarte, the Asia sales director for Multiexport Foods Company, a leading supplier of Chilean salmon in China.

China has become the fastest-growing market for salmon in the world, with numbers indicating it has grown a whopping 166 percent in the last eight years, Urgarte said during the Global Aquaculture Alliance’s annual marketplace forum in Qingdao, China on Monday, 28 October.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

China is Key to Closing Ports to Illegally Caught Fish

October 28, 2019 — The United Nations has a straightforward solution to the illegal fishing that is decimating marine life and pushing some species toward extinction: close the world’s ports to vessels engaged in the US$23 billion black market.

Deprived of safe harbours to offload their illicit cargo, the economic incentive to plunder the seas would begin to evaporate. That’s the idea behind the Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA), which came into effect in June 2016 and requires participating nations to restrict entry of foreign fishing vessels to designated ports.

What is the Port State Measures Agreement?

A UN treaty requiring countries to close their ports to illegal fishing vessels, and to share real-time information to make that possible.

Before allowing them to dock, countries must verify where the ship is registered, conduct inspections and take other actions to ensure they are not transporting illegally caught fish. That information is to be shared in real time among port states, casting an electronic net over pirate ships.

But for this remedy to this tragedy of the aquatic commons to be effective, all coastal countries must join the PSMA and enforce its provisions. Otherwise, rogue vessels would likely still be able to find ports of call to get illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) seafood to market. To date, 61 nations plus the European Union have ratified the PSMA. That leaves 78 coastal nations not signed up, including the world’s fishing superpower – China.

Read the full story at The Maritime Executive