CAPE ELIZABETH, Maine --When it comes to lobster, Kathryn Rolston is all about tails. She finds it easier to wrestle from the shell than claw meat, and more substantial.

 But for Gene Beaudoin, her lunch companion, it's the claws that make the meal. He says any extra effort to get at them is worth it because the meat is sweeter and more tender than tails.

 "Plus there are two claws," he said as they finished their lobster rolls during a recent visit to The Lobster Shack restaurant, which overlooks the cold, lobster-filled waters of Maine's Casco Bay.

 "But I like the texture of the tail meat," she countered light-heartedly.

 The arrival of warm weather in Maine means tourists won't be far behind, scarfing down the state's signature seafood at the numerous lobster joints that dot the coast. And with that comes the perennial debate over lobster part preferences -- claws or tails.

 The North American lobster, Homarus americanus, is regarded as the king of shellfish. Served whole with a side of melted butter is the traditional way to eat it, but chefs also use lobster meat in numerous recipes, from appetizers and stews to salads and pastas.

Much of the lobster is edible, including meat from parts many diners never try -- the body, legs, even the tail flippers. By comparison, the tail and claws offer rich rewards for comparably little effort.

 The tail meat generally is chewier and more fibrous than the claw. That's because lobsters flap them forcefully as a means of locomotion, said Brian Beal, a lobster expert and professor at the University of Maine at Machias.

 The claw muscles are softer, because they aren't used as much or as vigorously as the tail. The crusher claw (the larger of the two, used to crush things) generally is tougher than the pincher claw (used to pull things apart).

 Beal prefers the tail to the claw -- he says it's meatier and more flavorful. The tail and claw have different tastes, he says, much the way that the different parts of other animals have diverse flavors.

 "Why does bacon taste different than ham? It's different muscle tissue, that's all," Beal said.

 Melissa Bouchard, head chef at DiMillo's Floating Restaurant in Portland, is well familiar with the claw vs. tail debate. Year round, DiMillo's goes through 140 lobsters and 70 pounds of lobster meat a day.

 She says claw meat is preferable for lobster rolls and lobster club sandwiches because it's more tender and easier to eat.

 Lobster tails, however, are used for the restaurant's deep-fried lobster tail entree, Bouchard says, because they stand up better than claws to deep-frying.

 And then there is the best of both worlds. A combination of claw, tail and knuckle meat is used in other dishes such as lobster ravioli, seafood scampi and baked lobster pie.

Bouchard thinks people from Maine prefer the claw meat, while people from other parts of the country like the tail.

 "It's the tourists vs. the locals," she said.

 True lobster lovers will tell you they like the entire lobster. But even tails and claws have their downsides.

 The claws can sometimes be puny in soft-shell lobsters. For the tails, people have the vein -- the intestine -- and the roe, or eggs, to contend with. (The vein usually is removed, while the roe is scraped or washed out.)

 A newspaper columnist in Portland once asked readers their lobster preference in an informal survey. The result: a tie between the claw and tail, with knuckles, legs and other parts far behind. – The Boston Globe

Being the big fish allows High Liner Foods Inc. to deal with rising global food costs and a troubled U.S. economy, High Liner president and CEO Henry Demone told shareholders in Halifax.

 Canada, which has been in a bit of "a bubble" sheltered from rising food prices, is likely to see the prices of many foods go up this year, Mr. Demone predicted at a media briefing held before the shareholders meeting.

 Commodity prices for wheat, soy, corn and canola, which High Liner uses in battered fish and other prepared foods, have more than doubled since last year. And a downturn in the U.S. economy has put a damper on sales south of the border.

 Just a few weeks ago, High Liner raised its retail and food prices about three per cent in Canada. Its price increases in the U.S. have been even steeper, but the company says it islikely to feel some financial impact of global market conditions that are expected to continue through 2008. -- TheChronicleHerald.ca, Canada 

The price forecasts come amid reports lobster stocks may be on the decline, raising concern for the stability of the fishery.

 The soaring loonie and fuel costs have sunk the market value for lobster to less than $5 per pound, while the seasonal average hovers at roughly $7, according to early reports from the Maritime Fishermen's Association.

 Retailers, meanwhile, are expected to charge roughly $7.80, said Michel Richard, spokesman for the association, which represents lobster fishermen along the eastern New Brunswick coast.

 The market price for lobster is typically set after the Mother's Day weekend, but Richard said the current low price could set a dangerous precedent for the rest of the season.

 "It's supremely insulting that lobster fishermen know their lobster is going to be sold at an astronomical price," he said. "This is going to cause widespread panic for the fishermen."

The Fundy North Fishermen's Association, which represents fishermen between the United States border and Fundy National Park, quotes a little higher market price of $5.25 per pound.

 Greg Thompson, president of Fundy North, is concerned that as supply ramps up over the next few weeks lobster prices could plunge.

 "This early on, the price indicates that it will weaken more as more lobsters come into the market," he said. "Hopefully the market can absorb them; if not, the price will drop."

 The price projection comes after the provincial fishery suffered from a slow season last fall, when most lobster were sold for $4.25 a pound, which is "too low to make any money," said Thompson.

 The spring of 2007, however, proved to be a healthy season, with the bulk of lobster catches fetching $6 per pound. – Telegraph-Journal, Canada 

The feds aren't protecting consumers from imported seafood wrongly called "organic," so two leading food safety advocacy groups have asked the top law enforcement officers in every state to halt this misleading practice.

 The Center for Food Safety and Food & Water Watch said it is wrong to label imports as "organic," when there are no U.S. organic seafood standards in place.

 They sent letters to the AGs in each state telling them that the USDA and the Federal Trade Commission have failed to prevent consumer deception by enforcing the few existing organic labeling laws and regulations.

 The practice is a violation of the states' consumer deception and misrepresentation laws, the groups said.

 "Allowing importers to label their seafood 'organic' when it does not have to meet any U.S. standards is a disservice to American consumers, who have come to trust and believe in the organic label," said Joseph Mendelson, legal director of the Center for Food Safety.

 "USDA's refusal to stop importers from calling their products organic when many of them use antibiotics, parasiticides, or feed that would not be permitted under U.S. regulations is dishonest," he said.

 Three years ago, California passed a law preventing the labeling of any seafood as "organic" until federal standards are finalized and in place. Only now is the USDA in the process of establishing organic regulations for finfish and shellfish but the process may take up to two years.

 With U.S. sales of organic food dramatically increasing, an increasing amount of foreign seafood imports labeled as "organic" have appeared to take advantage of this emerging market, the organizations said.

 "It is time for other states to follow California's example and stop the abuse of the organic label on imported seafood," said Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch. – Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Tuesday, May 13, 2008P

In 1999, the Long Island Sound lobster population crashed, and it has yet to recover.

Mark Tedesco, director of the Long Island Sound office of the state Department of Environmental Protection, said that as an industry, lobstering in the Sound remains a difficult way to make a living.

 "It takes five to six years for the lobsters to grow to legal size," he said. He added that there may have been a small-scale die-off last fall. However, these reports have not been scientifically analyzed.

 Christopher L. Brown, director of the Milford Laboratory of NOAA's Northeast Fisheries Science Center, said that the lobster population has been foundering for about a decade.

 "It's been in pretty poor shape as far as lobster abundance goes for years," Brown said. "Everyone seems to be saying, 'Things aren't the way they used to be.' "

 Scientists have reported a 70- to 90-percent decline in the Sound's lobster population since the 1999 crash.

 It was then that an insecticide used to combat mosquitoes during the West Nile virus scare was blamed for the die-off. Cheminova Inc., its manufacturer, settled out-of-court with the lobstermen for $12.5 million, meaning that each Sound lobsterman received between $20,000 and about $50,000, according to news reports at the time.

 Many have since left the business. According to state DEP licensing records, fewer than 300 are licensed to trap lobsters today, as compared with about 700 in 1986.

 But the Union of Concerned Scientists said that global warming was likely the principal culprit, noting that lobsters are under severe stress when the bottom temperature exceeds 68 degrees.

 Tedesco is inclined to agree. "We undertook an extensive research involving 25 investigators into that die-off, and the conclusion was that there were a number of stressors that caused the die-off, including water temperature," he said. "The concentrations of the pesticide were not sufficient to have this effect, except in a few isolated locations." -- Connecticut Post

SEATTLE -- Alaska Airlines says its first 737 freighter filled with Copper River salmon will arrive Friday at Seattle’s Sea-Tac Airport.

 The plane from Cordova will carry about 10 tons of the fish prized for its flavor.

 The beginning of the Copper River salmon season has become a rite of spring for many restaurants, grocery stores and consumers. – Associated Press

John Mylod pulled his shad nets from the Hudson River late one morning when the tide was low and the water green and glassy. He unsnagged a flopping male with pearly scales, then a larger female with a belly full of BB-sized eggs, called roe.

By evening, the skiff's three-man crew caught about 65 shad. It was a good take, but just an echo of the old days when river fishermen along the East Coast loaded boats with hundreds of fish during springtime "shad runs."

"It's been in steady decline," said Mylod as he worked a quiet run of river east of the Catskill Mountains.

American shad populations on the East Coast are at historic lows, and it's not just fishermen who are concerned. An interstate commission is considering new restrictions on shad fishing from Florida to Maine. In New York, environmental regulators have already set unprecedented limits on a fishery established before Henry Hudson sailed up this river in 1609.

How bad is it? Consider that an annual shad festival on the Hudson will be shad free this year.

"They have been overfished for so long there's not a lot of adults around to replenish the population," said Karin Limburg, a state College of Environmental Science and Forestry professor who has studied shad. "It means you need time to rebuild the stock. How much time? I don't know."

Shad were a signature fish along the East Coast in the late 19th century. Annual takes in North America could top 50 million pounds and fish mongers in coastal cities would signal the season with shouts of "Shad!" Bony but tasty, shad is not as popular today, though the roe still sells.

Shad populations declined in the 20th century amid overfishing and construction of river dams, which blocked spawning runs. As the losses mounted, Maryland in 1980 closed its shad fishery and Virginia followed in 1994, effectively closing the Chesapeake Bay. The Hudson -- dam-free for some 150 miles -- retains a modest commercial shad fishery with a handful of active operators. – New York News Day

Wednesday, May 14, 2008P

There's a war being waged in the oceans of Indonesia with death and destruction to be found along the vast coastline of this country.

 Cyanide and explosives are being used by unscrupulous fisherman to extract sea life for commercial gain.

 Trawlers from Taiwan, China and other foreign parts are stealing the nation's fish. Some of the country's most precious marine life is being threatened with extinction.

 Invaluable mangroves are being ripped out and replaced with shrimp farms. An alarming amount of precious species living in our oceans are endangered. Coral reefs, rich in biodiversity, are being destroyed.

 There can be no doubt that healthy marine life is essential to this country, not only for the sake of the environment. The oceans provide an important source of food, give livelihoods to millions, and bring in much-needed income for the Indonesian economy.

 As the world's largest archipelago comprising nearly 14,000 islands, Indonesia has a readily-available source of protein for domestic consumption in its waters. Fish is the main food staple for the millions of Indonesians living along the coasts and an estimated quarter of the entire population is financially dependent on fishing.

 Sales of fish products to overseas markets contribute around US$2 billion annually.

The Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry, created just five years ago, is taking steps to tackle these problems. But the future of Indonesia's marine biodiversity remains severely threatened.

 While supporting growth in the industry, the government recognizes the need to protect marine life to ensure its long-term sustainability. But it is a huge challenge. Environmental non-governmental organizations have been leading the call for sustainable fishing. They warn that short-term gains threaten the future of Indonesia's fisheries.

Key to their success is targeting the private sector, and particularly the international markets. NGOs have taken their cause overseas, to the United States and Europe where Indonesian fish products are exported.

 High profile campaigns are helping to encourage fish buyers, suppliers and retailers to demand sustainably harvested products. Appeals have been made to powerful retailers like the US giant, Wal-Mart, to ensure that they only buy responsibly-sourced produce.

 The Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) is a new organization that is breaking ground in the world of sustainable seafood and marine and freshwater conservation. It aims to enable leading private-sector stakeholders to be proactive in the management of unsustainable sources of seafood, and help them to buy sustainable products.

 "We need to get the international market to agree not to buy unsustainably produced seafood from Indonesia," says the SFP's Jakarta-based chief operating officer, Sari Surjadi.

 "If the demand is there from the lucrative overseas markets for sustainable products, then the producer has no choice but to supply it," she adds. – Jonathan Wootliff, writing in the Jakarta Post

The sky-high price of fuel could result in Scottish fishermen losing key quotas and catching opportunities to foreign fishing fleets, the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation is warning.

 With Scottish boats unable to put to sea because of soaring fuel costs, the resultant failure of Scotland to fully catch its share of fish could result in the future reallocation of quotas by the EU to subsidised foreign fleets.

Bertie Armstrong, chief executive, said: "The obvious question is why fishing should be more deserving of support compared with other industry sectors such as road haulage.

"The answer lies in the unique nature of the industry. We are stewards of the sea, harvesting a natural and renewable resource that is allocated to the UK. If we fail to take our share because Scottish boats can’t afford to put to sea or are put out of business, then someone else will take our fish."

An EU proposal is currently on the table advocating any unused quota from one member state to be allocated to other member states, raising the real fear of Scotland losing valuable catching opportunity if it is unable to take its allocation. – FishSite, UK

On May 9, Representative Nick Rahall (D-WV), Chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee, re-confirmed what consumer group Food & Water Watch and others have been advocating for years -- that more research is needed on the potential environmental and socio-economic threats associated with fish farming.

 His statement came in response to a report released by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on offshore aquaculture, the growing of fish in large cages in open ocean waters. Last February, Chairman Rahall asked the GAO to do a study on offshore aquaculture, citing the need for clear regulatory framework for the industry that should consider ecological and economic sustainability.

In a press release from Rahall’s office, the congressman emphasizes the need to consider the “viability of the fishing industry” and the “health of our oceans” in the development of offshore aquaculture. – Press release

SAN FRANCISCO-- Kona Kampachi, a Hawaiian yellowtail grown in the open ocean off the coast of Kona, Hawaii by Kona Blue Water Farms, has become the first ocean net pen aquaculture marine fish to be rated as a “Good Alternative” by Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program.

 Kona Blue, the only domestic producer of yellowtail, has worked closely with the Seafood Watch program to meet stringent criteria on environmental impacts and feed efficiencies.

 The ranking is not the aquarium’s highest: “Best Choice.” – Press release

Thursday, May 15, 2008P

Let's talk about fish. Or more specifically, aquaculture, which is the farming of fish and shellfish.

 There are fish farms all across the country. Small mom and pop operations raising catfish in backyard ponds and streams can be found in at least 19 states. Idaho is home to about 60 seafood operations including an alligator breeder and the nation's largest rainbow and golden trout farms.

 According to federal investigators, the salmon aquaculture industry in the United States is concentrated in Maine and Washington, with at least eight Atlantic salmon farms floating in Puget Sound alone. Just a bit north, there are another 120 salmon ranches along the inlets, bays and straits of British Columbia.

 The big business "farmers" want permission to build sprawling complexes of floating pens, nets and cages in deep water miles offshore. This is the United States' Exclusive Economic Zone, which covers three to 200 nautical miles from shore. Thus, opening shop for anything in this hunk of ocean becomes a matter of federal jurisdiction, not state.

As it happens, there are few if any laws on the books to regulate this new concept in fish farming.

 In a surprising example of the government actually getting ahead of a problem, the White House last year pushed for the creation of the National Offshore Aquaculture Act, which would give the Commerce Department the authority to regulate offshore aquaculture.

 Rep. Nick Rahall, the chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, introduced the bill in April 2007 "as a favor to the administration." Two months earlier he had asked the Government Accountability Office to determine how such an unusual, deepwater, economic activity should be handled to protect the oceans and the food supply.

The GAO issued its 54-page report this week.

Rahall said the administration's proposed bill doesn't go far enough to ensure adequate protection for the marine environment.

 "This new report makes abundantly clear what I have long believed - any offshore aquaculture development must be done in a manner that does not jeopardize the health of our oceans or the viability of the fishing industry," said the West Virginia Democrat. – Seattle Post-Intelligencer

When you hit the produce aisle to look for something organic, the bill can really add up. Grace Parisi of Food and Wine Magazine joined NY1 at Whole Foods to explain what it means to be organic and when it’s worth the splurge.

“Organic simply means fruit, vegetables or grains that are raised or grown on farms that use no synthetic fertilizers, do not employ any genetic modifications and use no chemicals,” said Parisi.

Over in the seafood section, beware of so-called organic fish, since there is a catch.

“There is no governmental regulation for organic seafood, so if you go to market and you see a label that says ‘organic,’ it could be organic, but it could not be,” said Parisi.

There are two types of seafood that you will see: “wild,” which means it was caught in the wild, or “farm-raised,” which means it was raised in a nursery.

How the fish are caught is also an issue for many people.

“Because of over-fishing, sustainability is the number one issue in fishing industry,” said Parisi. “Ways to support sustainability, which means fish will be protected for future generations, is that to catch by line – which means one at a time -- or to farm them in humane and sustainable ways.”

Some food stores may specify how it was caught -- if not, just ask.

When it comes to the grocery aisles, the most basic information will help you understand decipher the “organic” labels.

“'One hundred percent’ means all organic,” said Parisi. “'Organic’ means at least 95 percent are organic, and ‘made with organic ingredients’ means at least 70 percent are organic.”

To learn more about organics and other food labels, visit www.usda.gov. For other food related topics, visit www.foodandwine.com. - Jill Scott, writing in NY1

GALLIANO. La. -- With fuel prices soaring and shrimp prices dropping, beleaguered shrimp fishermen in Terrebonne and Lafourche say they are facing the opening of the spring season with resignation as well as determination.

 "A month ago we had hope. Not anymore," said shrimper John Wunstell of Galliano.

 State biologists have said the spring crop is likely to include a lot of smaller shrimp, which could be good news for processors who need a good mix of sizes.

 But in Chauvin and Dulac, Golden Meadow and Dularge, fishermen fueling up for the noon season opening are feeling a lot of pump pain, with diesel fuel higher than many can remember.

 Wunstell, the owner of Ramie’s Wish, a 63-foot steel-hulled trawler, said he and other shrimpers were hoping for relief from high fuel prices before the season opened. Instead, prices have gone up.

 "You know what I just paid for diesel? $3.65 a gallon. See this boat? It holds 7,000 gallons. You figure that out. Me, I’m going out with 2,800 gallons. We just have to see what happens," Wunstell said.

 The problem, as he and several other shrimpers explained, is that there really isn’t a lot trawlers can do to cut fuel use or cost.

 "You can stop working. That’s about it. An engine burns fuel," said Alden Griffin of Golden Meadow, owner of the Tee-Shannon, a 30-foot wooden hull. Griffin, a retired oilfield worker, trawled on his days off when he was working, and now shrimps with his grandson Shannon, his boat’s namesake, who is also an oilfield worker.

 Griffin said he isn’t sure how much longer shrimping will be economically viable.

 "Everything is more expensive. I paid $3.70 for diesel. Ice is higher. Parts are higher. Food is higher. And they’re paying 50 cents a pound for little shrimp. That’s about $50 a box. I don’t know how much longer this is going to be there for him," he said, indicating his grandson. -- Houma Courier, Louisiana 

 NEW DELHI –  Instead of blaming India and other developing nations for the rise in food prices, Americans should rethink their energy policy and go on a diet, say a growing number of politicians, economists and academics here.

 Criticism of the United States has ballooned in India recently, particularly after the Bush administration seemed to blame India's increasing middle class and prosperity for rising food prices. Critics from India seem to be asking one underlying question: "Why do Americans think they deserve to eat more than Indians?"

 The food problem has "clearly" been created by Americans, who are eating 50 percent more calories than the average person in India, said Pradeep Mehta, the secretary general of CUTS Center for International Trade, Economics and Environment, a private economic research organization based in India with offices in Kenya, Zambia, Vietnam and Britain.

 If Americans were to slim down to even the middle-class weight in India, "many hungry people in sub-Saharan Africa would find food on their plates," Mehta said. The money Americans spend on liposuction to get rid of their excess fat could be funneled to famine victims instead, he added. – International Herald Tribune