Top 10 U.S. seafood industry stories of 2014 Another busy year in the world of seafood is nearly in the books. Let’s look back at the top stories that impacted the U.S. seafood market in 2014. 10. Sayonara, SeaFood Business: As per tradition, I’ll start the countdown with a personal (sentimental) choice. If you’re a regular consumer of the seafood trade media, then you’re (hopefully by now) aware that print is on its way out. The magazine I worked nine years for, SeaFood Business, published its last issue in June, and other competitors’ print products have followed suit, opting for a digital format only. It’s a rapidly changing business climate for the media, and news providers are constantly seeking the right formula when it comes to presenting the news to readers. Please check out SeafoodSource for archives of magazine content, as so many of the articles remain relevant today. 9. Nine lives, indeed: The utterly pointless transfer of duties for inspecting catfish imports, from the Food and Drug Administration to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), has reached new lows. Despite being fingered by the U.S. Government Accountability Office as a “fragmentation” and a waste of taxpayer funds (for a seventh time!), the measure mandated by the passage of the 2008 Farm Bill lives on. The controversial program could hamper an Asia-Pacific trade agreement with the United States, as 10 nations in Southeast Asia have complained to U.S. trade representatives that the program violates international law. Will 2015 see the end to this folly? 8. Taking up farms: A new group, the Coalition for U.S. Seafood Producers (CUSP), is pushing for aquaculture expansion in U.S. waters. This community of feed producers, retailers, researchers and aquariums, among others, certainly has its work cut out for it. There is no clear regulatory framework for finfish aquaculture in U.S. waters, which has made investors squeamish. CUSP plans to get legislative and administrative action to solve this problem, in addition to educating the public about the importance of aquaculture and develop scalable concepts that are both economically and environmentally sustainable. “As a group, we’re not doing enough to ask for aquaculture development,” said Steven Hart, the executive director of the Indiana-based Soy Aquaculture Alliance, one of CUSP’s founding organizations. 7. A step back for organic seafood: For the last decade or more, a few dedicated aquaculture specialists have tried to get the USDA’s National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) to issue final recommendations to set parameters for organic seafood. It’s been a long road, filled with disappointments, and 2014 was more of the same. A key meeting in San Antonio, Texas, was derailed by the opposition in April, and one longtime organic seafood proponent (George Lockwood, chairman of the Aquaculture Working Group commissioned by NOSB) said his group’s efforts were “badly smeared.” No real progress has been made for years and it seems that political forces at play are making the proposition of a U.S. market for organic seafood a lost cause. 6. Good year for groundfish: The United States is constantly touting the effectiveness of its fishery management program. It got some support from the NGO community this year as the limited entry groundfish trawl fishery — the most diverse, complex fishery to enter assessment against the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) — was awarded MSC certification (June 4). And a few months later the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program upgraded 21 species of West Coast groundfish from its “avoid” list to rankings of “best choice” or “good alternative.” Catch limits, area closures and better monitoring systems are all netting results. 5. Land, ho! Land-based aquaculture, or recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS), was recognized this year as a solution for the future. In October, Seafood Watch gave three farms (one in Canada, one in the United States, and one in Denmark) a “best choice” for their farmed salmon, perhaps the most crucial species for the industry as it has been a target for environmental activists for years. A feature story we ran in July took an in-depth look at the evolving technology and a market that’s eager for high-quality fish raised on land. 4. We’ll take it: The annual per-capita seafood consumption rate is perhaps the most eagerly anticipated statistic released each year. Unfortunately, it’s been nothing bad news recently, showing gradual drops every year since 2007 when the rate was 16.5 pounds per capita. This year the bleeding appeared to stop, but only slightly, as consumption settled at 14.5 pounds per capita for 2013. Shrimp is still No. 1, but consumption has fallen from a high of 4.4 pounds in 2006 to just 3.6 pounds last year. 3. Trafficking troubles: The U.S. State Department downgraded Thailand to a Tier 3 trafficking nation designation, indicating that the country has not done enough to curb the ongoing human-rights problems in a number of industries, including seafood. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called it “slavery, even in the 21st century. There cannot be impunity for those who traffick in human beings. It must end.” Thailand, for years the top supplier to the U.S. shrimp market, has faced intense criticism since the British newspaper The Guardian published the results of its investigation into abuses, naming huge industry player CP Foods, among others, as offenders. The Thai government has responded, facing questions at industry events like Seafood Expo North America. 2. Red Lobster liberated: The rumors of Darden Restaurants selling off landmark asset Red Lobster were filled with controversy as many investors were unhappy with the Orlando, Fla.-based company’s performance and reported plans. But the deal got done and in May the world’s largest seafood restaurant chain was sold to private equity firm Golden Gate Capital in San Francisco for USD 2.1 billion (EUR 1.59 billion). Kim Lopdrup, CEO of Red Lobster Seafood Co., as it is now called, did an in-depth interview with us about the sale and the experienced team’s turnaround efforts as international expansion continues. 1. Big tuna: Saving the biggest story for the end of the year, Thai Union acquired Bumble BeeFoods a couple of weeks ago. What had been rumored for about six months finally came to fruition in a USD 1.5 billion (EUR 1.1 billion) mega-deal, creating the world’s largest canned tuna company. Much will be said about this deal in the months to come before it officially closes, including how Thai Union chooses to handle its multiple (and valuable) brands, but this is easily the largest seafood industry acquisition, in terms of dollars, in history. Seafoodsource
Posted on: Thu, 22 Jan 2015 08:23:39 +0000
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