Author: Mildred Bell

What transpired in Juneau last week is almost subtly remarkable. The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute announced without much fanfare that it had obtained over $10.7 million in federal funding to promote Alaskan seafood in foreign markets, but the announcement hardly made an impression outside of industry circles. It seems like a lost tale. Two different federal programs provide the funding. The America First Trade Promotion Program, a more recent USDA initiative that hasn’t yet gained much public recognition, provides the larger portion, $6 million. The more well-known Market Access Program, which has long acted as a conduit between American farmers…

A certain type of hunger only becomes apparent after you’ve been moving for some time; it’s not the courteous, planned hunger of someone lounging by a hotel pool, but rather something more specific and animal. It detects scents before the mind does. It draws attention to a hand-painted sign or a smoke-drifting cart before the eyes have had a chance to fully register either. Anyone who has traveled through coastal areas and remained truly active can attest to how this feels. And anyone who has mostly stayed horizontal on a beach towel during those same trips has undoubtedly missed more…

A certain type of restaurant doesn’t make a big announcement. There isn’t a famous chef involved. No dramatic press release. It’s just a sign that says, “Rare is coming,” and it’s taped to a closed door. It turns out that the person who opened the place is reflected in that quiet confidence. Tamara Tattersall and Alex Piatrou have worked in Delaware’s coastal dining scene for years, paying close attention as employees rather than as proprietors. Piatrou entered the country more than sixteen years ago on a J-1 student visa and never really left. He was drawn into the local restaurant…

There’s a particular smell that drifts through the backyard in Marrero, Louisiana on a Saturday afternoon — a thick, rolling cloud of Old Bay, andouille fat, and something harder to name. Refer to it as familiarity. Call it a kind of belonging that outsiders sometimes feel when they walk into someone else’s ritual and somehow recognize it anyway. Larry Thompson Jr. — known across south Louisiana simply as Mr. Shrimp — doesn’t overthink it. The man has spent years hauling colossal shrimp out of bayou harbors further south, supplying them to some of New Orleans’ most respected kitchens, and cooking…

The timing of all of this is subtly telling. The rules of the game are changing once more as the UK seafood industry starts to gain traction, with exports rising 13% annually and the fleet bringing in 716,000 metric tons in 2024 alone. Before a single crate of smoked salmon or filleted cod crosses the Channel, British seafood exporters will have to submit significantly more documentation through the Fish Export Service as of January 8, 2026. The European Union implements its own stricter framework regarding illicit, unreported, and unregulated fishing two days later. The convergence is not coincidental. However, it…

Pick up a bag of frozen shrimp from practically any American grocery store. Turn it over. It probably reads “Product of Vietnam” or “Farmed in Ecuador.” For American fish farmers, that little label symbolizes years of frustration, lost income, and a regulatory framework that appears to be intended to discourage rather than promote domestic production. Most consumers are unaware of this story. One of the world’s most productive ocean territories is where the United States is located. Some of the world’s most nutrient-rich coastal waters, centuries of maritime tradition, and more than four million square miles of excellent fishing grounds.…

Pick up a bag of frozen shrimp from practically any American grocery store. Turn it over. It probably states “Product of Thailand, Ecuador, or India.” It’s not a coincidence. The American shrimp market has been methodically and covertly transferred to foreign aquaculture companies for the last thirty years. These companies produce at a scale and cost that domestic fishermen are unable to match. And for the most part, it didn’t seem to bother anyone in the industry. It is a problem for one New Orleans company. extremely disturbed. For the past four years, Crescent City Shrimp Co., which is still…

The smell of butter, river water, and something frying somewhere in the distance permeates the city. On the first day, it felt almost offensive to walk through the French Quarter, past the po’boy joints and the plastic cups of frozen daiquiris that were perspiring in the June heat. New Orleans doesn’t practice moderation. However, there was a plan, which was straightforward and a little crazy: eat only seafood from the area for seven days, and closely monitor your body’s reactions. Gumbo is not allowed with chicken. No rice and red beans. Obviously, no beignets. As long as it swam there…

Outside the shack is a hand-painted sign. Four items are listed: clams, fish sandwiches, lobster rolls, and chowder. That’s all. There is no tasting menu. No amuse-bouche. There isn’t a sommelier skimming reclaimed hardwood floors and murmuring something about minerality. Just a screen door that slaps shut behind you and an unexplainable scent of butter, salt, old wood, and the sea. Daniel Rourke is the man working behind the counter. He had two Michelin stars at Sable, his renowned restaurant in Boston’s South End, which had a six-month wait list and a prix fixe of more than $300 per person,…

You can see how important seafood is to Russia’s economic identity by strolling through any major port city in eastern Russia, such as Vladivostok, with its chilly grey skies and the subtle scent of brine wafting through the air. Fishing boats come and go, processing facilities run nonstop, and the sector provides food for export markets from China to Western Europe in addition to the local population. For this reason, Russia’s most recent legislative action seems to go beyond simple bureaucratic housekeeping. Russia has now expanded its restrictions on foreign investment to almost every aspect of its seafood industry, including…