May 18, 2020 — The power of transparency when it comes to building lasting relationships with consumers is apparent in the results of the latest Feed4Thought survey conducted by international aquafeed company Cargill.
According to Pilar Cruz, president of Cargill’s aqua-nutrition business, transparency in the supply chain is critical when building consumer trust – a notion reiterated in the new survey’s feedback.
May 5, 2020 — In 1963, on their way home from the hospital after he was born, Louis Rozzo’s parents stopped by a building on Ninth Avenue in Chelsea, where the family ran a wholesale seafood business, to weigh him in a scallop scale. This March, when virtually every restaurant, club and hotel that bought seafood from him closed and his firm’s income dried up in a matter of days, Mr. Rozzo went back to where it all began.
The F. Rozzo & Sons building was still in the family. Mr. Rozzo converted the ground floor into a makeshift store where he sells clams, scallops, sea bass and American red snapper to people who are suddenly cooking at home a lot more than they used to.
“I’m seeing people taking home fish, then coming in the next day and showing me pictures of how they prepared it,” he said. Some of them undertake recipes that require the better part of a day. Mr. Rozzo enjoys their enthusiastic feedback, although he also suggested that some of the energy New Yorkers are devoting to their kitchen projects is, like his overnight fish store itself, born of desperation.
“There’s not much else to do,” he said. “It’s either that or go home and drink all day.”
April 6, 2020 — As frozen, fresh, and canned/pouched seafood sales continue to break records in the United States, consumers need help preparing the seafood they have purchased. To that end, the Seafood Nutrition Partnership (SNP) is offering a new Instagram Live and video series – which started on 1 April – as well as a new resource on budget-friendly seafood options, and other materials.
“A bright side of this unfortunate public health situation is that more people are at home experimenting with new recipes, learning to cook different foods, and having fun improvising with the items in their pantry,” SNP President Linda Cornish told SeafoodSource. “We hope people come out of this experience feeling more confident cooking with seafood and we are here to help them along the journey.”
March 23, 2020 — Environmental groups have long fought for animal rights, rallied against pollution and pushed back on overfishing, but a new message this week urged the nation to eat more seafood as it hunkers down during the coronavirus pandemic.
Specifically, many are asking you to please buy American-caught seafood.
“Over the past 20 years, American fisheries have become some of the best managed and most sustainable in the world thanks to policy reforms and the hard work of fishermen,” said Eric Schwaab, senior vice president for the Environmental Defense Fund’s oceans program. “But now fishermen need our help. By incorporating more seafood into our diets, we can support fishermen and coastal communities that depend on seafood harvesting as a way of life.”
The global spread of COVID-19 has triggered widespread economic chaos, and American fisheries are suffering due to restaurant closures and the collapse of export markets, advocates say.
February 24, 2020 — On average, Americans consumed 16.1 pounds of seafood in 2018, a slight uptick from the year before, according to the latest “Fisheries of the United States” report released by NOAA Fisheries on 21 February.
U.S. consumers ate more fresh and frozen seafood in 2018, contributing to the highest seafood consumption level seen since 2007, NOAA Fisheries found.
February 5, 2020 — The following was released by the Marine Stewardship Council:
The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), a nonprofit with the sole mission to make sure the wild seafood you love is around forever, is encouraging consumers to eat more seafood during February Heart Health Month and all year long. The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends eating two, 3.5 ounce servings of seafood each week; however, USDA reports show a majority of Americans don’t meet the recommendation for fish and shellfish consumption.
The AHA and USDA recommendations are based on heart-health benefits shown from consuming one to two servings of omega-3 rich seafood per week, or about 250-500 mg of omega-3s a day, according to nonprofit organization and MSC partner Seafood Nutrition Partnership (SNP). One study[1] found that eating one to two servings of fatty fish a week reduces the risk of dying from heart disease by 36%.
“Fish and shellfish are very important parts of a heart-healthy diet,” said SNP’s Valerie Agyeman, a registered dietitian. “Seafood is a major source of healthy omega-3 fats and are also rich in nutrients such as vitamin D and selenium, high in protein, and low in saturated fat. There is strong evidence that eating fish or taking fish oil is good for the heart and blood vessels.”
According to a 2018 GlobeScan study commissioned by MSC, 70% of Americans believe supermarkets’ and brands’ claims about sustainability should be clearly labeled by an independent organization. As the first global science-based seafood certification program to be recognized for rigor and credibility by the United Nations, the MSC blue fish label is meeting increasing consumer demand for independent verification of sustainability claims by brands. The MSC works with the fishing industry, scientists, and conservation groups to create the world’s leading standard for sustainable seafood ensuring seafood is fished from stocks with healthy populations; caught with minimal impact on the marine environment; and in an area with effective, responsive, and responsible management.
“Eating seafood is integral to our heart health, and choosing sustainable seafood is integral to the ocean’s health,“ said Amy Gorin, MS, RDN, a registered dietitian in New York City. “For us, seafood provides essential nutrients – including omega-3 fatty acids needed for heart, brain and eye health. For the oceans, choosing sustainable seafood – such as wild-caught fish labeled with the MSC blue fish – means choosing seafood that’s good for you and for the oceans, too.”
Throughout Heart Health Month, the MSC will offer recipe inspiration on its blog and on social channels – @MSCBlueFish on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Seafood dishes made with MSC certified fish are good for the entire family – from approachable, easy meals the entire family will love to sustainably-sourced pet food for your furry family members – continuing the conversation around seafood that’s good for you and good for the ocean.
“There are more than 3,000 products with the MSC blue fish label in U.S. stores,” said Brian Perkins, regional director for the Americas at the MSC Marine Stewardship Council. “Whether recipes call for frozen, canned or fresh fish, taking the simple step to look for the MSC blue fish label before you buy helps to protect oceans from overfishing, supports fishermen and fishing communities, and promotes traceability from ocean to dish.”
February 4, 2020 — More than half of seafood consumers in key markets don’t have a preference between wild and farmed fish, but they do want products that take a responsible approach to protecting both planet and people, a new survey conducted on behalf of the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) found.
Carried out by market researcher GlobeScan, the ASC’s survey questioned more than 7,000 seafood eaters across Germany, France, The Netherlands, China, Japan, Canada, and the United States. It learned that while there were strong variations between countries in terms of seafood consumption and frequency, there was “generally high” support around the world for better protection of the environment and workers when it comes to food production.
December 4, 2019 — Organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), the International Symposium on Fisheries Sustainability discussed opportunities to reform the capture fisheries sector to contribute to global food security, eradicate hunger, promote gender equality, and achieve the SDGs. At the event, the High Level Panel on the Sustainable Ocean Economy released a blue paper that analyzes the current status and future potential of food production from the ocean.
The Symposium convened from 18-21 November 2019, in Rome, Italy. The Forum focused on the theme, ‘Strengthening the Science-Policy Nexus’ and aimed to identify pathways to strengthen the science-policy interface in fisheries production, management and trade based on sustainability principles. Panelists discussed opportunities for the fisheries sector to respond to challenges and support the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030).
The High Level Panel released a paper titled ‘The Future of Food from the Sea,’ at the Symposium. The paper finds that the ocean could provide more than six times the food it does today with improved management and technological innovation. In comparison with current fishing projections, the report stresses that reforming the world’s capture fisheries by ending overfishing and improving global fisheries management could result in 20% more catch compared to today and 40% more fisheries catch than current projected future catch. This amount is over two-thirds of the animal protein needed to feed projected future global populations. In addition, the paper emphasizes “highly nutritious nature of seafood,” which contains essential vitamins, minerals, omega-3 fatty acids and other nutrients not contained in terrestrial animal proteins or plant-based foods. The report also highlights the potential of the sustainable expansion of marine aquaculture to enhance food security and help eradicate hunger, in line with the SDG 2 (zero hunger).
November 26, 2019 — Eating ocean fish is good for you, but some fish have significant levels of methylmercury which is bad for you, so you should avoid those fish, right? Wrong, says a new study.
Mothers who ate seafood, even when it contained high levels of methyl mercury, had smarter kids than those who didnʻt eat seafood, says the comprehensive, peer-reviewed study.
“Moderate and consistent evidence indicates that consumption of a wide range of amounts and types of commercially available seafood during pregnancy is associated with improved neurocognitive development of offspring as compared to eating no seafood,” it said.
This flies in the face of conventional wisdom, and some medical wisdom. Both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommend against pregnant women eating ahi, over concerns about methyl mercury exposure.
There is no question that thereʻs methylmercury in yellowfin, bigeye and bluefin tuna, and that the amount has been increasing in recent years. There are also significant amounts of mercury in blue marlin and other species.
The Hawai`i Department of Health warns against pregnant women eating any blue marlin, swordfish and shark and recommends severe limits on consumption of tunas.
November 25, 2019 — It’s long been known that eating fish — especially cold-water fish such as salmon that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids — is good for heart health.
But, for the millions of Americans who are at high risk of heart disease, eating enough fish to make a difference isn’t likely to be realistic for most.
There’s growing evidence that taking a very high dose of purified fish oil, delivered in a prescription pill, can help prevent heart attacks and strokes among people who have elevated risks. The amount of fish oil in the daily recommended dose of the pill is the equivalent of eating about eight to 10 servings of salmon a day.
In early November, an advisory panel to the FDA voted unanimously to approve expanded use of the prescription drug, Vascepa, which is made from one type of omega-3 fatty acid, called eicosapentaenoic acid, or EPA for short. The oil is extracted from sardines and anchovies, and then purified.
Currently, Vascepa is already approved for use in people with very high levels of triglycerides — which is a type of fat in the blood. (You can check your triglycerides as part of a cholesterol screening.)