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Monday, September 24, 2007PENSIVE EXPENSIVE 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 Prince Edward Island: Chowder taken seriouslyCHARLOTTETOWN — 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 Dutch retailer touting sustainable goodsENVIRONMENTALLY 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
Fish farmers promise to do better(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 <<<•>>> Tuesday, September 25, 2007E Fishermen and Managers Gamble on Fate of CodEXPENSIVE CAPE COD, Mass. – The New England Fishery Management Council approved a measure last week that fishermen say will either help save the cod fishery or shut down one of the region's most productive fishing grounds forever. Despite drastic cuts in the number of days boats can fish for cod — and greatly reduced landings — New England's cod stocks have not rebounded. Scientists, environmentalists and some fishermen believe that more needs to be done to protect cod habitat, particularly for vulnerable juveniles, who are not surviving to spawn in great enough numbers to restore the species. The Great South Channel separates the relatively shallow waters off the Outer Cape and Nantucket from the submerged plateau to the east, known as Georges Bank. Many commercially valuable fish and shellfish species call it home, or use it while on seasonal migratory routes. Fishermen also use it, catching an estimated $80 million worth of fish and shellfish every year there. The problem is that juvenile cod also rely heavily on the protection afforded by the gravel, boulders and vegetation on the channel bottom. At its semi-monthly meeting in Plymouth, the council voted to designate a large portion, nearly 5,000 square miles, of the Great South Channel as a Habitat Area of Particular Concern for juvenile cod. National Marine Fisheries Service fish surveys have shown a long history of large concentrations of juvenile cod using the channel. The Great South Channel is one of three areas selected by the council as critical habitat areas for juvenile cod, but it is, by far, the most controversial. The biggest impact on the bottom is heavy fishing gear, such as nets and scallop dredges, which are towed along the bottom behind vessels. The council still has another year to decide how much of the habitat area to protect but hopes to have rules in place by 2009. Fishermen fear that it could simply be declared off-limits to all fishing. "This is not only a disaster, but a travesty," said Jim Kendall a former New Bedford fishing captain, council member, and now a consultant with New Bedford Seafood Consulting. Kendall believes more research needs to be done before making such an important decision. "There's a lot of concern by the industry because the area is so productive," said Eric Brazer, who works for the Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen's Association in Chatham. He estimated that 80 percent of Chatham commercial fishing trips were to the Great South Channel. Council spokeswoman Pat Fiorelli said the habitat committee would look very carefully at all the data to carefully pick areas and determine the measures to be taken. "Everybody knows this is an intensely used fishing area," she said. "They might just pick particular areas that need better protection." – Cape Cod (Mass.) Times Fishermen Battle Over Yellow PerchANNAPOLIS, Md. — A fish so common anglers once called it "the people's fish" has inspired years of fiery debate between recreational and professional fishermen, and now Maryland authorities are planning to step into the fray over yellow perch. The state's Fisheries Service plans a hearing Tuesday to listen to the dueling anglers over the yellow perch, a striped fish less than 1 foot long at full size. Amateur fishermen complain that yellow perch are being hogged by professionals, who use large hoop nets to scoop up perch in the late winter and early spring as the fish head up Maryland's tributaries to spawn. The harvesting advocates counter that the yellow perch stock is healthy and that more limits on the fish will add another restriction to an already troubled industry. "It has nothing to do with how healthy the stock is, but who gets it," says Larry Simns, head of the Maryland Watermen's Association. The debate goes back several years. Recreational fishermen have long pushed for limits on commercial fishing, while the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) tried to negotiate a middle ground. The conflict grew heated last year, when the DNR's Fisheries Service suggested lifting an 18-year moratorium on commercial fishing of yellow perch in two rivers on Maryland's Eastern Shore, the Choptank and the Nanticoke. Hobbyists opposed the change, saying those rivers are among the few places left where recreational fishermen have a fair shot at getting yellow perch. "Historically on the Eastern Shore, fishermen would be standing shoulder-to-shoulder catching yellow perch," says Robert Glenn, executive director of the Maryland chapter of the Coastal Conservation Association, a fishing group that fought lifting the moratorium. In areas where commercial fishermen are allowed to use their nets, Glenn says, "they don't allow recreational fishermen a fair chance." Years ago, he says, yellow perch were much more plentiful. Mike Benjamin, a charter boat captain out of North East, says he's seen early-spring fishermen for yellow perch disappear. The commercial business is relatively small. Simns says fewer than 100 people catch yellow perch for sale. It isn't very popular on Maryland menus, so much of the harvest heads to the Great Lakes region, where yellow perch is commonly served at fish fries or on fried-fish sandwiches. – USA Today Russian Leader: Let the Rich Go Without Caviar MOSCOW - The rich may have to take black caviar off the menu to let sturgeon stocks recover, Russia's first Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said on Friday. Ivanov, widely regarded as a leading contender to succeed President Vladimir Putin in 2008, said he could do without caviar if sturgeon fishing was banned. "If we banned catches for a period of time then I would certainly survive," Ivanov told an investment conference in Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi, RIA news agency reported. Ivanov, 54, said black and red caviar, and crab meat was not an essential part of an everyday diet and he could do without his caviar "ration" for five to seven years. "We would repair our national wealth in this time after we so rapaciously annihilated it," Ivanov said. Most of the world's sturgeon spawn in the rivers that flow into the Caspian Sea. Their unfertilized eggs -- caviar -- are sold by Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Russia. Overfishing, poaching, pollution and poor management have cut sturgeon stocks in the Caspian. Experts say beluga is on the verge of extinction after fish numbers fell by 90 percent over the past 20 years. High prices for caviar have made the sturgeon a target for criminal groups who control poaching gangs and illegal caviar sales in Russia and abroad. Beluga caviar, a symbol of ostentatious dining and luxury, costs about $1,400 a kg in Moscow markets but sells for 3,700 pounds ($7,400) a kg in London. Russian agriculture officials have pressed Putin to declare a state monopoly on the export of black caviar from Russia and to restrict its sale inside Russia to licensed outlets. – Scientific American What Your Customers are Thinking If there is a food ingredient that confuses the modern shopper its most definitely seafood —doctors tell us we need to eat more fish. There are certainly gobs of them available but when it comes to actually buying most of us get a little confused! So here's a little 101 on fish from Alton Brown of the Food Network: Smell the air Look for ice Look for whole fish It looks like a fish, but shouldn't smell like one! Look for chalkboards Get to know your fishmonger Buying fish on Mondays? Common fish myths: Bright eyes and pink gills? -- MSNBC Greener than Thou: Scots Trumpet Langoustine Moored along the quayside in driving rain, two trawlermen are nimbly grappling with writhing, nipping prawns. Within hours, the biggest, fattest prawns will be flown abroad to the seafood restaurants of Spain, or shipped off to a few fashionable restaurants in Edinburgh and London. There they hit the plate as langoustine - a luxury product which commands a high price, reaching £20 a kilo in the fish markets of Barcelona. The Scottish executive has just revealed that this shellfish is now the most single valuable species to Scotland's fishing industry, worth more than £140m a year or nearly 40% of the industry's income. And it is about to become even more valuable. Within months langoustine will become widely available in supermarkets across Britain for the first time, and with a new eco-label attached, making it attractive to consumers increasingly worried about sustainable fishing. Mirroring the explosion in sales for home-grown organic food and fair trade produce, eco-labelled British seafood is about to hit the mass market. Next year, hundreds of thousands of tons of British-caught prawns, sea bass, mackerel and herring should be on sale with a green tag attached - a move which conservationists believe could help solve an environmental crisis facing fish stocks. Next year, two prawn fisheries on the Firth of Clyde and a third based in Stornoway in the Outer Hebrides are expected to become accredited as ecologically-sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), the world's main independent certification body, earning a premium price at the fish counter. Britain's largest seafood supplier, Young's, is planning a marketing campaign to push langoustine - its shell, tail and claws fully intact - into branches of Marks & Spencer, Waitrose and Sainsbury's. Young's is also planning to produce the first ecologically-sound scampi for mass-market retailers such as Asda and Tesco. It is a remarkable rehabilitation for the prawn. Since Scotland's traditional cod and herring fisheries collapsed, it has helped to resuscitate the fishing fleets of western Scotland and Northern Ireland - where the trade association is supporting the Clyde's bid for MSC status. Prawn boat skippers now believe their children could enter the industry: unlikely two or three years ago. The seven British fisheries currently carrying the MSC eco-label are mostly small, niche industries, selling species such as Dover sole, langoustine, and cockles from Hastings on the Channel, Loch Torridon on the west coast of Scotland and the Berry inlet in Wales to local fishmongers and restaurants, specialist exporters and selected supermarkets. They produce just 6,750 tons each year. If successful, the new fisheries poised to get MSC accreditation will mean that more than 230,000 tons of fish and seafood will carry its blue logo. As consumers increasingly demand sustainable seafood the value of eco-labelled fish sold in the UK has quadrupled over the last three years to £55m but, until now, most has come from overseas. Rupert Howes, the MSC's chief executive, believes that seafood eco-labelling in Britain is reaching a "tipping point," where it will be embraced by both the industry and consumers. Greenpeace applauds the MSC for pushing the fishing industry to accept scientific scrutiny, but believe its criteria are often lax and can endorse fisheries not yet fully sustainable. But fisheries campaigner Oliver Knowles added: "The concept of an eco-label for fisheries is one we absolutely welcome because the market needs it - we would give a thumbs up for that without hesitation." – The Guardian, UK <<<•>>> Wednesday, September 26, 2007ENSIVE New Zealand Cuts Harvest to Preserve HokiEXPENSIVENew Zealand cut quotas 10 percent for the annual catch of hoki, the country's most-valuable fish export, to let dwindling stocks replenish. The government is also reducing limits for orange roughy and closing one orange roughy fishery off the west coast of the South Island, Fisheries Minister Jim Anderton said in an e-mailed statement. The limits apply for the new season beginning Oct. 1. New Zealand shipped NZ$1.1 billion ($820 million) of seafood in the 12 months ended July 31, the country's seventh-largest export. In July, companies including Sanford Ltd., the nation's biggest publicly traded fisher, called for a reduction in the hoki catch to protect the species as warmer sea temperatures affect stocks. "I need to ensure that there is a better chance that a rebuild of stocks will occur,'' Anderton said. The hoki limit will be cut to 90,000 metric tons from 100,000 tons and Anderton requested the industry limit the harvest from western waters to 25,000 tons. He didn't reduce the limit by more "because of the reasonably severe economic consequences'' for fishing companies, he said. – Bloomberg Declawing Affects Crab Survival RatesNew research on the effects of declawing crabs shows the practice may not be sustainable. In Europe and the U.S. fishermen are allowed to "declaw" edible crabs - remove one, or in the UK, both claws - and toss the animals back into the sea. Because crabs can regenerate the limbs, the fishery industry considers the practice sustainable, New Scientist reports. Bob Elwood of Queen's University Belfast and colleagues measured how much declawing increased stress and affected crabs' survival. Crabs with one claw removed showed a greater physiological stress response - release of glucose and lactate into the blood - than crabs allowed to shed a claw naturally. And they were still stressed 24 hours later. Of 28 crabs that had one claw removed, five died, whereas no crabs died after shedding their claws naturally. In the UK, fishermen can legally remove both claws. "There is a suggestion that the practice makes the fishery sustainable but the data on mortality would put this into doubt," says Elwood. – Fishupdate.com Marine Pest Could Treat Cancer and Arthritisr A marine worm that is infesting Australian waters could hold the key to arthritis and cancer treatments. Australian scientists believe the European fan worm - an introduced pest - has anti-inflammatory properties, the Sydney-based Daily Telegraph reported. Found mainly in Victoria, the worm also populates in southern parts of New South Wales and thrives in polluted waters. But Associate Professor Theo Macrides of the RMIT University, Melbourne wants to commercially harvest the worm for medicine. "This worm is a survivor and we figured it must have an outstanding defense mechanism," he said. "Our interest has been in analyzing the worm to determine its defensive capabilities and the potential to harness those qualities." The worm is native to the Mediterranean and eastern Atlantic coast. It was introduced to Australian waters from the hulls and ballast water of ships. It competes with native marine life for suspended food and spreads rapidly smothering the sea floor. – Fishupdate.com Congress Asked to Boost Food Safety Funding WASHINGTON - Consumer advocates and grocery industry representatives are expected to ask Congress Tuesday to set aside more funding for food safety. The hearing of the House Appropriations' Subcommittee on Agriculture will focus on how the Food and Drug Administration inspects imported food. The agency has come under heavy scrutiny in recent months after contaminated products from China, including toothpaste and seafood, made their way into the country. Hogan & Hartson Attorney Joseph Levitt is scheduled to testify on behalf of the Grocery Manufacturers Association, which represents companies like Hormel Foods Corp., Kellogg Co. and Procter & Gamble Co. Levitt was previously director for food safety at FDA. The trade group took the unusual step last week of calling for more regulation of companies that import food. Under the group's proposal, companies would share more information with FDA about their incoming shipments to allow regulators to focus on higher-risk imports. The group also wants Congress to set aside more funding to help FDA inspect more of the shipments made to U.S. ports. Currently about 1 percent of all imports are inspected by the agency. Subcommittee chairwoman Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., has proposed giving FDA $28 million to enhance its food safety budget. Other witnesses scheduled to testify include Caroline Smith, of the Center for Science in the Public Interest as well as FDA's Assistant Commissioner for Food David Acheson. - AFX News Limited China Revokes Licenses of Hundreds of Food Producers BEIJING - China's government said Tuesday it has revoked the food production licenses of hundreds of companies, including producers of rice and monosodium glutamate, in its latest crackdown on unclean or unsafe manufacturing practices. Chinese food, drug and other exports ranging from toothpaste to seafood are under intense scrutiny because they have been found to contain potentially deadly substances. Domestically, the problem occurs regularly. One of China's major product safety watchdogs said in a statement posted on its Web site Tuesday that it had recently revoked the food production licenses of 564 Chinese companies. The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said the decision was part of a "special campaign to ensure product quality and food safety and strengthen food safety supervision." It didn't say specifically when the licenses were canceled. It named the three worst offenders, but did not give details of their violations. They were the Shijiazhuang Good Cook Food Factory, a monosodium glutamate factory in northern China's Hebei province, the Hefei Wanmaomao Quick-frozen Food Co. in Anhui province in the east, and Kaiping Shagang District Xinfengsheng Rice Factory in the southern Guangdong province. The other companies had their food production licenses revoked because they were found to be manufacturing goods they weren't licensed to make, or because they had moved or were being renovated, it said. After an initial reluctance, the government has launched an aggressive campaign to win back consumer confidence by issuing new regulations, cracking down on violators and setting up a Cabinet-level panel to monitor quality. – Associated Press <<<•>>> Thursday, September 27, 2007 Consumers Force Industry to SustainabilityEXPENSIVE New Zealand cut quotas 10 percent for the annual catch of hoki, the country's most-valuable fish export, to let dwindling stocks replenish. The government is also reducing limits for orange roughy and closing one orange roughy fishery off the west coast of the South Island, Fisheries Minister Jim Anderton said in an e-mailed statement. The limits apply for the new season beginning Oct. 1. New Zealand shipped NZ$1.1 billion ($820 million) of seafood in the 12 months ended July 31, the country's seventh-largest export. In July, companies including Sanford Ltd., the nation's biggest publicly traded fisher, called for a reduction in the hoki catch to protect the species as warmer sea temperatures affect stocks. "I need to ensure that there is a better chance that a rebuild of stocks will occur,'' Anderton said. The hoki limit will be cut to 90,000 metric tons from 100,000 tons and Anderton requested the industry limit the harvest from western waters to 25,000 tons. He didn't reduce the limit by more "because of the reasonably severe economic consequences'' for fishing companies, he said. – Bloomberg DUBLIN – The $400 billion seafood industry has no choice but to adapt to intensifying demand from retailers and consumers for "environmentally friendly" fish, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations said on Tuesday. During opening remarks made to industry representatives attending the 2007 Seafood Industry Congress (25-27 September, Dublin), Grimur Valdimarsson, Director of FAO's Fishing Industries Division, said that the need for seafood producers to guarantee environmental performance is unavoidable. "The push towards sustainable fisheries is not just coming from government or environmental groups, but from the market itself," Valdimarsson said, noting that major seafood retailers like Unilever, Tesco, Walmart and Asda have already committed to putting on their shelves only fish that was harvested or raised sustainably. "In recent years the seafood industry has been uncertain as to whether these trends represent a momentary fad. Today, there's no question: it's real, it's a sea change, and it's the way of the future," he said. In broad terms, this means that producers will need to be able to assure retailers and consumers that their fish were not taken from overexploited stocks, farmed in ponds where mangroves once stood, or caught in nets without turtle-saving excluder devices installed. Doing so requires monitoring fishing activities via tracking systems, labels and similar mechanisms. There are already a number of initiatives under way that seek to do this, established either by seafood retailers or public interest organizations. Developing countries will have a tough time Resource-strapped developing countries will have a particularly hard time making the transition to fully certifying their fisheries. Helping resolve this problem is an issue of particular importance to FAO, Valdimarsson said, adding that the retailers shaping market trends have a responsibility to help suppliers in the developing world cope. Fishing rights key The widespread practice of granting open or nearly-open access to fishing grounds is another challenge. "Under the open access regime, fishing is an extremely competitive, zero sum game: if a fishermen doesn't land a fish, his competitor will, leaving little incentive to conserve the resource" according to Valdimarsson, and the consequence is overfishing. "So fishermen have a vested interest in not revealing what they've been doing. That must change, because the emerging paradigm requires the industry to be able to say exactly where, when and how a fish was caught." Safety and quality issues This year's World Seafood Congress was co-organized by FAO, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the World Health Organization, the International Food Quality Certification Group, and Ireland's Sea Fisheries Protection Authority in collaboration with the International Association of Fish Inspectors and with the support of the Irish Sea Fisheries Board, Enterprise Ireland, and the Food Safety Authority of Ireland. The congress has traditionally focused on seafood safety and quality issues, but environmental concerns have risen higher on its agenda in recent years. One of the most serious difficulties faced by fish exporters is coping with different safety standards being imposed by various importing countries. The need for greater harmonization of standards and more equivalence agreements, as well as the proliferation of private standards and certification schemes for fish products will also be discussed in Dublin. -- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (Rome) Cod Prices Reach HighsGRIMSBY, U.K. – Large cod fetched a near record price of up to £5.30 a kilo ($23.54 a pound) on the Grimsby market yesterday, as fish prices almost everywhere started to harden. Although the port received over 3,500 boxes - a generally normal consignment for the all important start of the week - most types of fish were fairly expensive. Grimsby Fish Dock Enterprises described the £5.30 price as "phenomenal," adding that "in old money, this works out at £265 per box or £67.50 per stone." Meanwhile, according to Fridleifur Fridleifsson, Managing Director of Iceland Seafood UK in Hull, prices for frozen cod products from Iceland increased in early September by five to seven per cent, reports the publication Fiskifrettir. This is the first month of the 2007-2008 fishing year that will see a 32 per cent reduction in the Icelandic cod quota. This news bears out the gloomy predictions from trade analysts last month after the new quotas were first announced. M&J Seafoods, Britain's largest fish-based food service company is predicting a week of high prices, although supplies should be just about adequate. – Fish Update, UK Greenpeace Says "Stolen" Tuna Sold in Europe Greenpeace today warned European supermarkets that they may be selling tuna stolen from the Pacific Ocean. The conservation grouping alleged that products from the companies Albacora, Calvopesca, Nirsa and Conservas Garavilla cannot be trusted, given that seven of eleven recently recorded illegal fishing incidents are directly linked to these tuna giants. The companies sell tuna under the names Campos, Isabel, Garavilla, Atun Real, and Calvo and private supermarket brands, and can be found in most European countries including Spain, Italy, the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and France. “Spanish fishing companies are selling stolen tuna to European supermarkets. Consumers have no idea that the tuna they buy may have been robbed from some of the world’s poorest communities,” claimed Sari Tolvanen, Greenpeace International Oceans Campaigner. Pirate fishing is a lucrative business, worth up to 6.5 billion euros a year globally. Depleted high value fish stocks, such as tuna and cod are particularly vulnerable, Greenpeace contends. As tuna stocks decline across the world, the tuna industry and pirates are moving further into the Western and Central Pacific. Vessels licensed to fish in the Eastern Pacific are now pirate fishing, they contend, in the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of the Cook Islands, French Polynesia and Kiribati . An estimated 300,000 tons of tuna are stolen from the Pacific every year, worth many times more than Pacific Island states earn in access fees and licenses. “Pacific Ocean tuna species - yellowfin and bigeye - are already severely depleted,” said Lagi Toribau, Greenpeace Pacific Oceans Campaigner. “Rich foreign seafood companies steal our fish, selling it cheaply in Europe, the US and Asia, while the true cost is paid for by Pacific islanders. Not one cent is generated for communities here, and our main source of food is being stolen from our plates.” Greenpeace wants a halving of all tuna fishing in the Pacific in order to ensure the long-term sustainability of the fisheries; a ban on all transshipments at sea; and for the Pacific high seas “donut holes” to be made into no-take marine reserves, to help fight piracy, and restore fish stocks and ecosystems. – FishUpdate, UK Russia Seizes Half-ton of Contraband Caviar MOSCOW – Following a tip-off, police intercepted the 460kg of caviar at Chkalovsky airfield near Moscow, where it was flown from Khabarovsk in Russia's Far East, said Yuri Sinyutin, a spokesman for the ministry's economic safety department. "In order to get this much black caviar, poachers caught and destroyed over 23 tonnes of sturgeon, themselves worth around 10 million rubles ($NZ545,405)," said Sinyutin. Environmentalists say sturgeon fish, from which caviar is produced, are on the verge of extinction. Russian television pictures showed the caviar stored in metal and plastic buckets wrapped in rubbish bags. Sinyutin said it was transported without proper documents, stored in unsanitary conditions, and came from illegally-caught fish. Overfishing, poaching, pollution, poor management and corrupt law enforcement have cut sturgeon stocks so severely that experts say the beluga species is on the verge of extinction after falling 90 per cent in the past 20 years. Beluga caviar, a symbol of ostentatious wealth and dining luxury, costs about $US1800 for 1kg in Moscow markets, versus 3700 British pounds ($NZ10,207) in London. Russia's first Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov, a leading contender for president in 2008, last Friday spoke favorably for a sturgeon fishing ban. He said he could live without the delicacy if a ban helped replenish stocks. – Reuters <<<•>>>
Friday, September 28, 2007
Crime and Punishment I: Illegal ConchEXPENSIVE Two Miami men have been charged with illegally exporting more than 113,000 pounds of seafood from the Caribbean to the United States and Canada. Janitse Martinez, 33, owner of Caribbean Conch, and Ramon Placeres, 58, owner of Placeres & Sons Seafood, were charged with a conspiracy to smuggle large quantities of banned queen conch from Haiti, Honduras and Colombia to customers throughout Canada and the United States, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida said. Queen conch is a protected species, and importing it from the Caribbean is banned in countries that signed the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). In September 2003, the embargo was enacted by CITES participants aiming to stem the continued and significant decline in the species, due in large part to rampant illegal harvest. The U.S. attorney's office said the smuggling was found when a shipment of 2,100 pounds of queen conch, falsely labeled as "Frozen Whelk meat, product of Canada," was intercepted by a Fish & Wildlife Service inspector at the Peace River bridge in Buffalo, N.Y., consigned to Caribbean Conch, in Hialeah. The Fish & Wildlife Service's National Forensic Laboratory, in Ashland, Ore., tested the seafood product and confirmed it was queen conch. An investigation then led to the seizure of more than 63,000 pounds of illegally traded queen conch. Martinez and Placeres face up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a criminal fine of $250,000 or twice the intended gain. – South Florida Business Journal Crime and Punishment II: Undersized Blue CrabsBALTIMORE - MeTompkin Bay Oyster Co. of Crisfield pleaded guilty in federal court in Baltimore Sept. 17 and was ordered to pay a $50,000 fine for selling illegal, undersized Chesapeake Bay crabs in interstate commerce in violation of the Lacey Act. Special agents from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and an officer from DNR purchased approximately $1,500 worth of undersized crabs on three occasions from MeTompkin Bay. A search warrant was executed Sept. 5, 2006 at the company’s Broad Street and 11th Street locations and approximately 3,274 dozen undersized crabs labeled as “pee wees” were seized, valued at approximately $26,000. -- Newszap Maryland, MD Restaurant Review: Seafire Grill RICHMOND, Va. - One of the joys of eating out is the mystery behind the menu. How do they get their eggs so luxurious? Their soups so creamy? Their fried chicken so crisp? And often we don’t want to know the answers (butter, cream and lard, respectively). But if we’re going to become regulars, those answers start to matter. Eventually, we have to acknowledge that what happens in a restaurant kitchen doesn’t stay in a restaurant kitchen. It affects us — and our world.
-- Richmond Style Weekly, Virginia Omega-3s May Protect Children from Diabetes We're told repeatedly to consume more omega-3 fatty acids to guard against heart attack, stroke, even Alzheimer's disease. It's also advice that might protect children from Type 1 diabetes, according to a study published in today's issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. More than 200,000 Canadians have Type 1 diabetes, a lifelong condition that occurs mainly in childhood and early adolescence and requires daily insulin injections for survival. In Type 1 diabetes, the body makes little or no insulin, the hormone that clears sugar from the bloodstream. The body's immune system behaves inappropriately by producing autoantibodies, compounds that destroy the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas. Scientists speculate that genetic background and environmental factors - including diet - play a role in the autoimmune process that leads to diabetes. Studies suggest that inflammation is involved in the development of Type 1 diabetes. Since omega-3 fats have strong anti-inflammatory properties, it's thought they might help reduce the risk of the disorder. In the study, researchers from the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center examined the influence of omega-3 fatty acid intake on diabetes in 1,770 children, aged 1 or older, who were at increased genetic risk for developing Type 1 diabetes. Parents were asked annually to recall the diets of their children, including how often they ate certain types of fish and seafood and which oils were used in cooking. Omega-3 fat intake was measured at 3, 5, 7 and 9 years of age. Three omega-3 fatty acids are found in food: DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and ALA (alpha linolenic acid). Cold-water fish such as salmon, trout, sardines, tuna, mackerel and herring contain DHA and EPA. ALA is plentiful in flax, canola and walnut oils as well as soybeans. Children also took regular blood tests to detect the presence of autoantibodies that attack the cells of the pancreas. During the study, children who consumed more omega-3 fats were less likely to test positive for the autoantibodies. For each 800-milligram increase in daily omega-3 fat intake - the amount found in 1.3 ounces of Atlantic salmon, two teaspoons (10 ml) of canola oil, or four walnut halves - the risk of developing diabetes auto-antibodies in the bloodstream was reduced by 55 per cent over the course of the study. Children in this study consumed most of their omega-3 fats from plant sources rather than seafood. Previous research has also hinted that omega-3 fats help prevent Type 1 diabetes. A study from Norway revealed that children with diabetes were less likely to have been given cod liver oil during infancy than children without diabetes. And studies conducted in animals have demonstrated the ability of omega-3 fats to reduce diabetes risk. While the link between omega-3 fats and prevention of Type 1 diabetes needs further research, there are other good reasons to boost your intake of these healthy fats. Strong evidence suggests that a regular intake of DHA and EPA reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke. That's why Health Canada and the Heart and Stroke Foundation advise Canadians to consume fatty fish at least twice per week. – Globe and Mail, Toronto
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