September started off strong for the seafood industry with a mixed bag of positive and negative earnings, import bans and Russian "spies."
IntraFish reporters scrambled as China blocked shrimp imports from three Ecuadorian plants belonging to Santa Priscila, Omarsa, and Winrep over fears of white spot contamination. A few days later, China effectively banned imports from 15 Vietnamese seafood companies.
Correspondent John Evans spoke to various Ecuadorian shrimp officials, who are in a bid to reverse the ban on shrimp exports.
As most of the publicly traded salmon companies released their second quarter results throughout the span of the last two weeks, IntraFish reporter Demi Korban analyzed who's making the most money looking EBIT/kg as an indicator.
Everyone wanted to know more about the Russian spy whale Hvaldimir that headed for another visit to Grieg Seafood's operations in Finnmark -- because one visit is never enough.
Mid-week, IntraFish Reporter Rachel Sapin spoke to sources from the fourth-largest lender in the United States, Wells Fargo, about ways the seafood industry could attract more investment.
News broke this week that Alaska's Bristol Bay Native Corportation (BBNC) was cleared to acquire and merge Pacific cod giants Blue North Fisheries and Clipper Seafoods, so IntraFish Editor-in-Chief Drew Cherry wrote on analysis on the possibility of a new influx of capital on its way into seafood in Alaska.
Global Aquaculture Alliance CEO Andrew Mallison agreed that there will be a continuum of forward movement for the seafood sector and a critical role for aquaculture in the future, but only if it could be better organized and focus on raising consumption.
