A jury in Alaska has returned a verdict of “not guilty” in the case of seafood companies accused by fishermen of conspiring to keep prices low.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
Back in 1996, 4,500 fishermen filed a class action lawsuit seeking some US$1bn from a number of seafood processors and importers. The fishermen argued that the processors and packers had conspired to depress the prices they paid them, leading to a sharp drop in the price of salmon.
The accused companies claimed that the plunge in Alaskan salmon prices came about as a result of simple market forces, reported Reuters. Wild salmon from the region once dominated the international market, but cheaper farmed salmon from a number of different areas, including Canada and Norway has undermined Alaska’s position.
Jury foreman Mike Nourse described the evidence as insufficient: “There wasn’t even a smoldering gun. There just wasn’t anything that we could grab onto to say there was a conspiracy, or that there may have been a conspiracy.”
Several defendants had already paid $40m to settle out of court.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalData
