SeaFood Business

MAR 2013

SeaFood Business is the global trusted authority for seafood buyers and sellers. We are the seafood industry's leading trade magazine with more than 30 years of experience. Our coverage is based on the "business" of buying and selling seafood.

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U.S. News OAK BROOK, Ill. I���m lovin��� it: McDonald���s rolls out MSC labeling M cDonald���s USA is the ���rst national restaurant chain to adopt the Marine Stewardship Council���s blue oval eco-label on product packaging. McDonald���s, which uses MSC-certi���ed wild Alaska pollock for its Filet-O-Fish sandwich, began displaying the eco-label on packaging, in-restaurant communications and external marketing TAMPA, Fla. last month, coinciding with the launch of Fish McBites, its newest ���sh menu item. In 2011, McDonald���s put the eco-label to its packaging in all U.K. restaurants. More than 14,000 McDonald���s restaurants across the United States have met the MSC chain-of-custody standard for traceability. ���We���re extremely proud of the fact that this decision SANTA MONICA, Calif. Red crab dealers predict tough year U.S. red-swimming crab importers have already been feeling the pinch from a shortage last fall, and when it comes to prices and volume this summer, it���s about to get worse. ���I think there���s going to be a severe shortage of supply,��� says Andy Walton, co-owner of Crystal Harbor Seafood in St. Petersburg, Fla. ���I think the prices are going to go skyhigh.��� Te bulk of the global red-swimming crab supply comes from China, and autumn typically marks the peak of the ���shing season. But in October, reports showed a drop of nearly 50 percent in refrigerated Chinese redswimming crab exports compared to expectations. Alex Malaguti, VP of marketing at Newport International, says one major cause was weather ��� in July and August, tropical storm Saola and Typhoon Haikui hit China���s coast within weeks of each other. ���Catches are o��� by over 50 percent,��� Malaguti says. ���It has been named the worst season of the last 18 years.��� 14 Protein struggles may bode well for seafood Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture���s World Agricultural Supply and Demand reports and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration show that all protein consumption categories are declining. Tis could be a result of an aging U.S. population and reduced portion sizes, as well as possible reaction to price increases across center-of-plate proteins. Duane Lenz, manager of operations and analyst services at Cattle-Fax, presented comparative protein information so attendees of the Global Seafood Market Conference in Santa Monica, Calif., could see how seafood stacks up. Comparisons with cuts of beef like sirloin and ribeye steaks show that seafood is priced competitively. Aquaculture presents several opportunities for increased global seafood supply, and is the world���s fastest-growing food production system, according to James Anderson, ���sheries and aquaculture advisor for the World Bank. When asked whether SeaFood Business March 2013 ensures our customers will continue to enjoy the same great taste and high quality of our ���sh with the additional assurance that the ���sh they are buying can be traced back to a ���shery that meets MSC���s strict sustainability standard,��� says Dan Gorsky, McDonald���s senior VP-U.S. supply chain and sustainability. Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) welcomed the news. ���McDonald���s commitment to source sustainably by improving sources, rather than just switching to ���good��� sources, has transformed the white���sh sector, reversing decades of over���shing, rebuilding ���sh stocks and quotas and paying handsome dividends to all white���sh buyers worldwide,��� says Jim Cannon, the Seattlebased organization���s CEO. In related news, the World Wildlife Fund and the AtSea Processors Association (APA) each submitted objections to MSC over its proposed certi���cation of Russia���s Sea of Okhotsk pollock ���shery, citing issues regarding scoring decisions and the assessment of environmental impacts. APA Public A���airs Director Jim Gilmore says the ���shery ���received the lowest possible scores, so if an objection is accepted, there is no margin of error.��� the word ���aquaculture��� will have any impact on future demand, Anderson rejected the notion. ���Te aquaculture industry could do a better job in messaging and make the case it���s one of the most e���cient forms of agriculture there is,��� says Anderson. them an answer and we���re out of answers.��� In anticipation of the cuts, the Secretary of Commerce issued a disaster declaration in September. PORTSMOUTH, N.H. Cod cuts threaten to ground Northeast Severe quota cuts for cod, New England���s iconic ���sh species, may be the end for many in that region���s ground���sh industry. On Jan. 30 the New England Fishery Management Council voted to cut the catch for Gulf of Maine cod by 77 percent to 1,550 metric tons for the next three years. It also voted to reduce the Georges Bank cod quota by 61 percent for one year, beginning May 1. ���You���re at the end right now, I mean this is what we���re seeing,��� Vito Giacalone of the Northeast Seafood Coalition told the council. ���I do not have a member that can come to our board and say ���How do I get by next year?��� We used to be able to give LEXINGTON, Ky. Survey shows surge in fish feed demand A survey by Alltech, a global animal health and nutrition company, shows an increase in the amount of general livestock feed for both land- and sea-based farming. Te results also show major growth in feed usage by aquaculture operations in 134 di���erent countries: more than 55 percent compared with 2011, the last time the company conducted such a survey. Aidan Connolly, VP-corporate accounts for Alltech, says the results re���ect a worldwide change in attitude toward farmed ���sh, which consumers are seeing as healthier, cheaper and more sustainable than wild ���sh. China is the top feed producer, with 191 million tons at about 10,000 feed mills. Overall, the combined output from Brazil, Russia, India and China has gone up by 26 million tons. For updated NEWS, go to www.SeafoodSource.com

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