Mercury: Study offers hope for safer eating E

(This also appears in our Fish Wrap service.)

 COLUMBUS, Ohio – Mercury dumped in a lake can be found in game fish as soon as three years later, a group of Canadian and U.S. scientists reports.

 And that rapid movement can work in the opposite direction, the 24 scientists conclude.

 That means that reducing the amount of mercury from coal-burning power plants and industry could quickly result in a decrease in the amount of the heavy metal in the fish we eat.

 "It's hard to find good news in environmental science, and this is good news," said Cindy Gilmour, a microbial ecologist at the Smithsonian Institution and one of the report's authors.

 Federal and state air-pollution regulations call for reductions in mercury from power plants by 2010 and further reductions totaling an 89 percent drop by 2018. The resulting benefit of lower mercury in fish will be seen "in years or tens of years at the most," Gilmour said.

 The peak of mercury problems came in the late 1960s when commercial fishing of walleye was banned because fish numbers were down and the amount of mercury in the fish was increasing, Tyson said.

 Rob Reash, principal environmental scientist at American Electric Power, said industry studies have found that, in the U.S., 40 percent to 85 percent of the mercury in the air comes from global sources. Change will "take global, regional and local controls," Reash said.

- Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch

CHARLOTTETOWN — At this time of year, when mornings turn cold and autumn is truly upon us, soup is again on the country's culinary horizon.

But on Prince Edward Island, soup is more than sustenance for cold days. After two days of slurping through the "qualifying heats" last weekend as a judge for the Milk International Chowder Championship in Charlottetown, it's clear that bowls of steaming soup can make or break the professional chefs who have slaved over portable stoves to achieve the perfect potage.

 The 28 entrants began with the same basic task -- to create a milk-based chowder containing the local island bounty, namely haddock, mussels, scallops, crab, lobster and the PEI spud.

 But the competitors took the basic bowl of creamy seafood soup to new frontiers. There were thick chowders and thin ones, peppery chowders, chowders infused with tarragon and drizzled lobster reductions and basil oil. Some arrived decorated with handfuls of dulse, sprinkled with chunky bits of bacon, brimming with the famed island blue mussels, and other exotic and odd garnishes.

 On one entry, a miniature seagull perched on a fried-potato cliff. On another, whole lobster claws, seared scallops and edible flowers floated above the broth in an artful still life.

 Some were thick with fresh crab just pulled from the shell; others used thin slivers of heirloom fingerlings or mashed potato for texture.

 As we spooned through them all in search of the best bowl, looking for distinct flavours and just the right balance and consistency, it was clear this was not Mom's basic supper soup.

 In fact, it was Duncan Smith's Just Like Dad's Seafood Chowder -- a chunky bowl of tender fish, scallops and creamy broth with a secret shot of Triple Sec and a crisp lobster ravioli perched over it all -- that took the top prize.

 This year was the first time in the history of the 12-year-old PEI International Shellfish Festival that a native-born chef has won the chowder competition.

 Second place went to chef David LeFevre of Water Grill in Los Angeles for his sophisticated bowl of seafood soup, infused with lemon zest and topped with steamed shellfish. Chef Luis Clavel of Salty's in Halifax placed third with his Two Seafood Guys Chowder, using plenty of crab meat and local L'Acadie Blanc wine. – Toronto Globe and Mail

Lobstermen say cost of whale-safe gear high

 ELLSWORTH, Maine - There would be a price to pay for Maine lobster fishermen if the federal government, seeking to offer more protections to endangered whales, requires the fishermen to switch to more expensive, whale-friendly fishing gear.

 But lobstermen seem to be willing to pay another price first to try to prevent the rule from being implemented.

 In an effort to raise money for whale habitat research, two lobstermen’s associations in Maine have voiced support for raising the price of the state-issued tags that fishermen must attach to their traps. The fishermen would want the extra revenue to be used for studying the presence of whales in Maine’s coastal waters.

 The board of directors of the Down East Lobstermen’s Association voted unanimously last week to support a temporary increase in the trap tag fee from 30 cents a tag to 40 cents. But they said that they want the increase to last only for two or three years and that they want to know exactly how the extra money would be spent before the increase goes into effect.

 The Maine Lobstermen’s Association, which with 1,200 members is the largest commercial fishermen’s association in Maine, also has endorsed increasing the trap tag fees.

 With most Maine lobstermen limited to 800 traps apiece, a 10-cent increase would mean an additional annual expense of $80 a year for each fisherman — small change compared to an additional annual cost of $10,000 to $15,000 that many say each fisherman would face by switching to sinking rope.

 Under legal pressure from whale conservation groups, and in response to reports of endangered whales caught in lobster fishing gear, the National Marine Fisheries Service is considering implementation of a new rule that would require all fishermen to use sinking rope on their traps.

 Fishermen who set their traps within a proposed zone that extends approximately three miles from shore would be exempt from the new rule.

– Bangor Daily News

 ENVIRONMENTALLY concerned consumers in Holland can now be assured of the green credentials of fishmonger 'Visspecialist Peter van de Laar', based in Nijmegen, since five of its counter species have been awarded Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) status.

 Alaska salmon, Hastings Dover sole, North Pacific sablefish, North Sea herring and Patagonian scallops are all available, fully certified at the fishmongers.

 The MSC mark is awarded to fisheries that have shown in an independent assessment that they keep marine habitats intact, protect endangered species and don’t contribute to overfishing.

 In The Netherlands, fishmongers account for about 45 percent of all fish products sold in retail outlets. In his role as chairman of the Dutch Association of Fishmongers, Peter van de Laar speaks to many fishmongers in Holland. “People are very interested in becoming certified and thus being able to sell fish with the MSC label.”

– FishUpdate

(This article also appears in our Fish Wrap service.)

IN a move to reassure wild fishery interests following a recent escape of 30,000 farmed salmon, the Scottish salmon sector has said that effective containment remains a priority.

Earlier this week, it emerged that Scotland's wild fish interests intend to make a formal complaint to the European Commission following a "succession" of escapes.

Commenting, Sid Patten, chief executive of the Scottish Salmon Producers' Organisation, said: “The industry is making huge efforts to improve containment standards of fish, which, after all, represent our most valuable asset.

“Clearly, given some of the recent comments on this issue, it is a very emotive subject in some quarters. But predictions must be made on robust science, not supposition.

“There appears to be consensus that the decline of wild fish is multi-factorial, with issues such as climate change having an impact. We are eager to work with our wild fish colleagues to determine the extent of all potential impacts."

– Fish Farmer