Saving Seafood

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

BREN SMITH, SEAN BARRETT, AND PAUL GREENBERG: What Trump’s Budget Means for the Filet-O-Fish

April 25, 2017 — Consider the pollock.

It is the most voluminously caught fish in the United States, accounting for a quarter of everything Americans catch. As such it is the major bulwark against the United States’ multibillion-dollar seafood trade deficit — the second-largest deficit in our trade portfolio, after crude oil. And it is, today, the main component in the McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish, or the “fish delight,” as Donald Trump likes to call it.

Now consider the president’s budget for the people who make his preferred sandwich possible.

If Congress seriously entertains the White House’s suggestions, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — a popular target for conservatives, who see it primarily as a source of pesky climate-change research — and the National Marine Fisheries Service it oversees will lose 17 percent of its funding. This despite Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross’s desire to “try to figure how we can become much more self-sufficient in fishing and perhaps even a net exporter.”

As the three of us consider this statement, a common wry fisherman’s response comes to our lips: Yeah, good luck with that, buddy.

Because of repeated sacrifices made by American fishermen working with NOAA over the past 40 years, the United States now has the most robust and well-managed wild fisheries in the world. Federal observers oversee 80 percent of the large trawlers fishing for pollock, ensuring that this largest of fisheries maintains an impeccable set of management tools.

But in spite of all of our success, only around 9 percent of the seafood available in American markets comes from American fishermen. In fact, the last traditional fishing communities in the United States are fighting for their very existence. Fair-trade local fishermen remain unable to compete in our domestic marketplace, which is overwhelmed and flooded with cheap, untraceable imported seafood.

Read the full opinion piece at the New York Times

GSSA Executive Director Greg DiDomenico to Talk Sustainable Fishing at New York Times Food Conference

September 27, 2016 – The following was released by the Garden State Seafood Association:

TRENTON, N.J. (Garden State Seafood Association) — September 27, 2016 – Today, Garden State Seafood Association (GSSA) Executive Director Greg DiDomenico will discuss sustainable fishing issues at the New York Times’“Food for Tomorrow” conference. The conference, which seeks to “uncover and assess the most important issues and trends affecting the nourishment of our nation and the world,” is hosting a panel on marine issues and fisheries management, titled “Tricky Waters,” addressing “the demand for fish without depleting our oceans.” Joining Mr. DiDomenico on the panel will be Sean T. Barrett, Co-Founder of Dock to Dish and Bren Smith, Owner of Thimble Island Ocean Farm and Executive Director of GreenWave.

The GSSA has been at the forefront of promoting sustainable fisheries, while also advocating on behalf of New Jersey fishermen. In 2015, it worked with other fishing groups, environmentalists, and fishery managers at the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council to pass the Deep Sea Coral Amendment. This open, transparent, and inclusive effort resulted in new protections nearly 40,000 square miles of Mid-Atlantic corals, and has been praised by both fishermen and conservationists alike.

“The GSSA has always been a force for conservation in the Mid-Atlantic, and an example of how we can balance the real and serious concerns of the commercial fishing industry, with ensuring the future health of our oceans,” said Mr. DiDomenico.

In his remarks, Mr. DiDomenico plans to address the misconceptions surrounding current fishing practices, and to highlight the sustainable nature of U.S. fisheries management and domestically caught seafood. Mr. DiDomenico will also discuss the value of fish as a low-cost protein alternative that will be instrumental in feeding a hungry world.

GSSA leaders have been awarded for their past work on sustainability issues. In 2015, the New York Aquarium recognized Mr. DiDomenico as a Conservation Leader. Ernie Panacek, the President of the GSSA, was also honored in 2015, receiving the Urban Coast Institute’s Regional Ocean Champion Award.

“Food for Tomorrow” will take place from September 26-28 at the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in Pocantico Hills, New York. The event will be streamed live on The New York Times’ website, beginning at 4:35 PM on September 27. Other notable speakers include US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack on the Obama Administration’s food policy record, television star Martha Stewart on the future of food, and Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney on a recent Philadelphia initiative to tax soda consumption.