Judge rejects American Seafoods affiliates' attempt to delay Bayside legal battle

US District Court Judge for Alaska Sharon Gleason refused to delay a case to settle a dispute between US Customs and suppliers and shippers of Alaska pollock over alleged Jones Act violations that have resulted in hundreds of millions in fines and a major disruption in the US pollock supply chain.

Last week, attorneys for Kloosterboer International Forwarding (KIF) and Alaska Reefer Management (ARM) -- subsidiaries of pollock heavyweight American Seafoods -- and the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency were back arguing over the next steps in their battle over use of a controversial shipping route known as the Bayside Program.