Monterey Bay Discredits Itself With Red Listing of Lobster
One of the key points about Non-Governmental Organizations’ (NGOs) ratings of fisheries is their variability.
Different organizations have different levels of independent governance, transparency and public accountability.
The recent red (avoid) listing of American and Canadian lobster by Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch is an example of how rating organizations can reflect their own organizational biases.
Seafood Watch is not among the nine seafood rating organizations benchmar...
The Greying of the Fleet
Rodney Dangerfield once said “It’s great to have grey hair. Ask anyone who’s bald.”
And one does not have to visit too many commercial fishing wharves and harbours across Atlantic Canada to see plenty of examples of that grey hair peeking out from under ball caps.
According to the federal government, for the first time in Canada’s history, there are now more individuals over the age of 65 than there are children under the age of 15.
In Atlantic Canada, more than one in three ...
Why Has the Shellfish Market Fallen So Hard?
U.S. shellfish, including snow crab, lobster tail, king crab and crabmeat, have all experienced some of their most rapid, and in some cases steepest, market declines in the past eight months.
But shrimp, by far the largest volume shellfish item, has not seen a significant price decline. Urner Barry’s (UB) value-added shrimp index has barely moved, even while the volume of U.S. shrimp imports continue to set records.
What factors made shellfish so vulnerable to a rapid correction, but ...
The Challenges of Making Ends Meet
The late English comedian Les Dawson once said, “The way prices are rising, the good old days are last week.”
It appears Atlantic Canadians’ fixation of talking about weather fluctuations has been overshadowed of late by tales of price fluctuations — fluctuations unfortunately headed in the wrong direction.
The price of practically everything has gone up and the fishing industry is no exception. Just ask any lobster fishermen in the region.
During the summer of 2020, fishermen ...
What Lessons Can Today’s Seafood Marketers Learn From the 2009 Recession?
The last time the seafood industry faced a genuine crisis was during the economic recession that started in 2008–09.
During that time, retailers prospered and foodservice contracted. However, retail prospered by giving customers the opportunity to trade down to less expensive products.
Looking at major seafood items, almost every single commodity lost substantial value between 2008 and 2010–2012, as U.S. consumers changed their buying habits.
This is the situation we are heading ...
Is the Snow Crab Market a Bellwether or a Blip?
In the U.S., snow crab outperformed every other seafood product during the pandemic.
Yet today, the snow crab market is crashing at the fastest pace since the spring of 1995. That year, between May 1995 and May 1996, the price fell 46 per cent.
This year, Urner Barry quotations from last summer until this May are down 33 per cent and the bottom has not been set. This is already the largest percentage decline in price since 1995. Since February, the market has been going down around 50 ...
Herring Fishery in Risk Management Mode
The 2022 Atlantic Canada pelagics fishery is in a tailspin.
The March 30 announcement by Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) Minister Joyce Murray that there will be no directed commercial or bait fishing for southern Gulf spring herring and a complete closure of the Atlantic mackerel commercial and bait fisheries in Atlantic Canada and Québec sent shockwaves through the fishing industry.
Now, the lucrative Bay of Fundy herring industry is doing its best to avoid further quota cut bombshells and ...
The NLGIDC Wants to Know What Happened to the Lumpfish Resource?
What happened to Newfoundland and Labrador lumpfish?
“For years we had a viable fishery for lump roe in this province, then during the past 10 years we have been lucky to produce 500 barrels annually,” says Paul Grant, the executive vice-president of Beothic Fish Processors Ltd., based in Valleyfield, N.L.
For many years the fishery for lump roe provided an economic contribution to inshore harvesters and processors alike in Newfoundland and Labrador. The fishery began in the early ...
2021 Was Fantastic for Seafood as Disruption Played to Our Strengths
The seafood industry is coming off a fantastic year, despite the turmoil and disruption of the pandemic.
First, some numbers. When I went to analyze what happened with the U.S. seafood supply in 2021, I was blown away by our success.
Using the data through October as a proxy for the year, we imported 4.2 billion pounds, six per cent over the volume of 2020 and 11 per cent over the volume of 2019. The value of these imports was up a staggering 24 per cent from their values in 2020.
De...
Focus on Blue Economy Needed in 2022 for COVID-19 Recovery
We’ve come to the end of another year filled with uncertainty, with no sign of predictability on the horizon.
No one is really sure what the new year will bring. Stability has been hard for Canadians to come by and it’s something that decision makers and leaders in both government and industry need to prioritize immediately to incite recovery.
In 2022, decision makers are going to have to start implementing serious COVID-19 recovery measures as the pandemic continues to stretch on. ...
Monterey Bay Discredits Itself With Red Listing of Lobster
One of the key points about Non-Governmental Organizations’ (NGOs) ratings of fisheries is their variability. Different organizations have different levels of independent governance, transparency and public accountability. The recent red (avoid) listing of American and Canadian lobster by Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch is an example of how rating organizations can reflect their own organizational biases. Seafood Watch is not among the nine seafood rating organizations benchmar...