Daily recap: Thai skipjack faces downward pressure from Manta; Warmwater tail imports heat up

Here's a recap of the top daily seafood stories from Wednesday, July 31: 

• Downward pressure on Bangkok skipjack prices with Manta set low

Prices for skipjack tuna raw material for delivery to the Asian processing hub of Bangkok, Thailand, have edged down for August deliveries, with the expectation of a further drop in September, sources told Undercurrent News.

• Warmwater lobster tails trail coldwater on price as US imports heat up

Warmwater lobster tails from the Caribbean and Brazil are already commanding lower prices than North American coldwater tails in the US, and there are about to be a lot more of them in the market.

• Japanese railway firm latest to enter land-based salmon farming

Japan's Shikoku Railway Company, JR Shikoku, is entering the land-based salmon farming sector with an annual sales target of JPY 100 million ($656,000) by 2030, the company announced on Tuesday (July 30).

• Conservation-minded pick for US North Pacific panel nixed in favor of trawl industry reappointment

The top pick for the US state of Washington's seat on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council has been rejected by the president Joe Biden administration in favor of the reappointment of a current council member with ties to the Seattle-based trawl industry.

• Closed containment salmon farms also pose unacceptable risks in BC, First Nations say

The two First Nations groups spearheading a legal challenge against Canada's fisheries minister Diane Lebouthillier say the federal government's strategy to transition ocean-based open-net pen Atlantic salmon farming in the Canadian province of British Columbia into closed containment operations is also problematic.

• Japan's Sojitz targets 210% seafood business profit growth to $27m

Japanese conglomerate Sojitz Corp. has set a net income target of JPY 4 billion in its seafood business for the fiscal year ending March 2027.