Saving Seafood

Nutrition

SNP Celebrates GivingTuesday with Month of Thanks

November 17, 2020 — The following was released by the Seafood Nutrition Partnership:

Seafood Nutrition Partnership (SNP) is responding to meet the needs of helping Americans stay healthy with seafood and driving demand to the U.S. seafood community through the Eat Seafood America! campaign. As a 501(c)3 non-profit reliant on public donations, SNP is asking everyone that is able to make a tax-deductible donation in honor of GivingTuesday, December 1, 2020.

GivingTuesday is a global generosity movement, unleashing the power of people and organizations to transform their communities and their world. GivingTuesday will kick off the generosity season this year by inspiring people to give back on December 1, 2020, and throughout the year. Seafood Nutrition Partnership has set a goal of raising $25,000 by December 1, 2020.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with the global GivingTuesday movement and highlighting the work of Seafood Nutrition Partnership through this campaign,” said Linda Cornish, President of Seafood Nutrition Partnership. “Donations support SNP’s work to further advances and awareness in seafood nutrition science, educate health and nutrition influencers, and reach consumers through Eat Seafood America! campaign.

“We can’t do this important work without all of our donors. Please join us on this global day of giving!”

Join Linda Cornish live on SNP’s Instagram channel @Seafood4Health at 2 pm ET Tuesday, December 1 for our first Insta-thon!

For the weeks leading up to GivingTuesday, SNP is celebrating with a Month of Thanks, honoring those who have helped us and all Americans get through a tough year, including the restaurants and grocery stores that have nourished and provided sustenance for us.

SNP is sharing ways you can express generosity right from your own home:

  • Thank Restaurants. Order seafood meals from you favorite restaurants, post a photo of your meals and add #eatseafoodamerica #thankyourestaurants.
  • Thank Grocery Stores. Make a seafood meal, post a photo of your meal and add #eatseafoodamerica #thankyougrocers
  • Thank Fishermen and Seafood Farmers. Plan to make a seafood dish for Thanksgiving and add #eatseafoodamerica #thanksgiving.

Read the full release here

Americans don’t eat enough fish and miss out on robust health benefits

November 13, 2020 — Eating fish can provide powerful advantages for the heart and brain, yet Americans eat less than half of the 26 pounds per year that experts recommend. By contrast, Americans buy seven times more chicken and beef annually than fish.

Why Americans don’t eat more fish has been pondered for a long time by health experts, fish farmers and fishermen themselves. One way to consider this question is production. Consumers can buy a product only if it’s available. The more they buy, theoretically, the more that item will be produced. In this case, a greater demand for fish would be stimulated if more fish were offered for sale.

More seafood could be made available for American consumers from global ocean sources given that at least 60% of seafood in the U.S. is imported. U.S. aquaculture has the capacity to significantly increase. Research conducted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries also indicates slightly more domestic wild-caught fish can be harvested.

Read the full story at Yahoo News

Eat More Kelp campaign launched by climate change activists in North America

November 10, 2020 — Climate change is the impetus driving the new Eat More Kelp campaign in North America, which seeks to “change the trajectory of culinary culture in the United States and Canada to include more carbon-capturing, ocean-grown domestic sea vegetables,” according to its organizers.

A collaboration of activists, regenerative ocean farmers, and climate groups are behind the campaign’s creation. The initiative was announced in tandem with the founders of The Kelp Fund, Inc. launching a new website and e-commerce platform, which offers Eat More Kelp-branded merchandise for “concerned citizens and organizations around the world who are seeking impactful ways to raise awareness about how to fight climate change,” it said in a press release.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

US, Mexico partner on food safety

October 29, 2020 — The United States and Mexico are partnering on new food safety regulations, which include seafood safety enhancements and better disease outbreak mitigation measures

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Mexico’s Federal Commission for the Protection from Sanitary Risks and the National Service of Agro-Alimentary Health, Safety, and Quality (SENASICA) – have officially expanded a partnership to work together on food safety.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Behind the Scenes of the Most Consumed Seafood

October 1, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Shrimp, tuna, clams—the most popular seafood items in the United States are familiar names to both seafood lovers and the occasional consumer. You may have wondered about the environmental impact of consuming more of a popular product.

We’ve got good news: U.S. seafood is sustainable seafood! Thanks to our robust quotas, retention limits, and other management measures, you can be confident that U.S. seafood products were harvested sustainably.

Around 75 percent of the shrimp harvested in the United States comes from the Gulf of Mexico. Three species dominate the catch there: white shrimp, pink shrimp, and brown shrimp. Each of these species currently have population levels above the targets set by scientists.

Federally permitted shrimp fishermen are required to report their landings. They also provide information on fishing effort, including the number of fishing trips they take. The data is used in shrimp stock assessments and to support the sustainable management of red snapper. Depending on the gear they use, shrimpers must also use special equipment that reduces incidental catch, including sea turtle bycatch.

Read the full release here

Aquaculture Supports a Sustainable Earth

October 1, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The United Nations maintains 17 Sustainable Development Goals that serve as a framework for international cooperation to help people and the planet thrive.

A recent study from the UN shows that aquaculture can improve food security and nutrition by increasing the amount of seafood available for people to eat. If done correctly, aquaculture increases food production, boosts economic growth in coastal and rural areas, and can help keep waterways clean.

Explore how aquaculture fits into the UN’s sustainability goals:

1. Shellfish Beds Help Restore Our Waterways

Shellfish such as oysters, clams, and mussels are not just a beach barbecue staple; they serve an important role in waterways. However, in some areas these shellfish have been largely lost from coastal ecosystems. Restoring and farming shellfish beds allows these bivalves to clean the water as they filter feed, serve as habitats for smaller organisms, and can even help prevent shoreline erosion. Preserving ecosystems, safeguarding biodiversity, and reversing land degradation are significant components of sustainable aquaculture.

Read the full release here

Study: Increased intake of omega-3 fatty acids linked to improved heart health outcomes

September 18, 2020 — A new study presents “compelling evidence” for consuming more of omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA – nutrients that seafood possesses rich quantities of – for cardiovascular prevention.

The meta-analysis, considered to be the “most comprehensive analysis of the role of omega-3 dosage on cardiovascular prevention to date,” was published in the most recent issue of in Mayo Clinic Proceedings and involves an in-depth review of 40 clinical trials. It finds that intake of EPA and DHA is correlated with reduced risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) events, which cause 7.4 million deaths globally each year, and reduced risk of myocardial infarction, or heart attacks.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Stuck at home? Here’s a fine way to find fish

September 17, 2020 — Between 85% and 90% of all seafood is consumed in restaurants or purchased from retail stores. So when COVID-19 struck in March, the seafood industry went into shock.

Gone were the restaurants that bought millions of pounds of seafood, including our beloved salmon, a mainstay of Pacific Northwest good eating. In 2017, for instance, Washington state’s total commercial catch was 666 million pounds—and that’s just one state’s catch.

Into this desperate situation stepped Max Mossler, ’16, managing editor and developer of Sustainable Fisheries, an entity of the UW School of Aquatic and Fisheries Sciences that explains the science of sustainable seafood. Mossler developed a Fish Map from information he collated from hundreds of commercial fishing lists. The map is a way for commercial fishing companies to sell their products directly to consumers. Want some fresh fish? Visit the website and tap one of the balloons on the map to see the name of the fishing enterprise and the type of fish on the “menu.”

Read the full story at University of Washington Magazine

More MSC Certified Supplements Hitting Shelves, Steward Supplements Launches 100% MSC Certified Product Line

September 2, 2020 — The following was released by the Marine Stewardship Council:

Cod liver oil and salmon oil in new Steward Supplements products are now 100% MSC certified sustainable, joining more than 170 other fish oil products in the US market that carry the MSC blue fish logo. Steward Supplements launched the new product line today with fish oils sourced from certified US fisheries, with all products manufactured in Dutch Harbor, Alaska.

The MSC is recognized as the world’s leading certification program for sustainable, wild-caught seafood. For products to be sold as MSC certified, seafood from MSC certified fisheries can only be handled, processed and packaged by organizations with a valid Chain of Custody certificate. These companies are audited regularly by independent certification bodies to ensure that they comply with the MSC Chain of Custody Standard. This requires that MSC certified seafood is only purchased from certified suppliers and is always identifiable, segregated from non-certified seafood and sold with the correct paperwork identifying it as certified. Steward Supplements is a MSC certified Chain of Custody holder.

“More than ever, consumers want to support companies that are socially and environmentally responsible, and by providing MSC certified products, Steward Supplements is achieving that desire”, said Brian Perkins, regional director for the Americas at the MSC. “Products that carry the MSC blue fish label are traceable to a sustainable source so shoppers can trust that it is good for them and good for the ocean.”

Stewards marine superfoods are comprised of an array of pro-resolving mediators, natural high levels of Vitamin A & D as well as a portfolio of omega-3 fatty acids. All the products contain no synthetic additives, with only non-GMO ingredients, and with each purchase, 1% of the proceeds go to protecting our oceans.

“Steward Supplements believes in sustainability, transparency, & quality. It is our responsibility to meet the MSC’s global standards for sustainable harvesting of marine ingredients in creating our health products. We are proud to have the MSC eco-label on all of our products,” said Tommy Little, Steward Supplements Co-Founder.

The MSC standard was established in 1997 and is the only wild caught seafood standard and ecolabeling program to meet United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UNFAO) guidelines as well as meet Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI) benchmarking criteria. The standards used to evaluate fisheries have been developed in deliberation with scientists, industry, and conservation groups, and reflect the most up-to-date fisheries science and management practices.