Saving Seafood

MARK BITTMAN: What oysters tell us about ocean acidification

July 21, 2015 — MARK BITTMAN — This is kind of the good news/bad news department, as so many things are: The good news is that terrific oysters are being farmed in several locations in California; the bad news is that ocean acidification — the absorption of carbon dioxide into the sea, a direct result of high levels of carbon in the atmosphere — is a direct threat to that industry.

I saw both when I visited Hog Island Oyster Co. in Marshall, an operation north of San Francisco on Tomales Bay. (Actually, I’ve eaten at and of Hog Island dozens of times, and even shot video there for a PBS series more than 10 years ago.)

Read the full story and watch the video at The New York Times 

 

Congress probing California oil spill that blackened beaches

June 25, 2015 — LOS ANGELES (AP) — A congressional committee Thursday opened a probe into an oil pipeline rupture on the Central California coast that spread to the Pacific Ocean and washed up goo on beaches as far as 100 miles away.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee asked operator Plains All American Pipeline for detailed information on maintenance of the failed line, including how it addressed corrosion, and inspection records for five years.

The panel also wants the company to explain what it did in the hours leading up to the break near Santa Barbara, and how it reported the problem. The spill was estimated at up to 101,000 gallons.

The Texas-based company has faced criticism for how long it took to relay information to the federal government on the break, even though its internal planning documents repeatedly stress the importance of notifying the government of a leak as quickly as possible.

In a letter to Plains CEO Greg Armstrong, the committee said it wanted to understand the circumstances leading up to the break, as well as what steps the company had taken to maintain the integrity of the line.

The cause of the accident is being investigated by the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

Earlier this month, the agency released preliminary findings that said the break occurred along a badly corroded section that had worn away to a fraction of an inch in thickness. An estimated 21,000 gallons entered the ocean.

In a separate letter Thursday, the committee asked the pipeline administration for an update of what it called long overdue pipeline safety rules.

Read the full story at U.S. News & World Report

 

Spike in Northeast Lobster Price Stings LA Distributor

June 23, 2015 — The days of cheap lobster are over. From Maine to Monterey Park, consumers are shelling out more for the delicacy.

Wholesale prices are up about 20% compared with last year’s, said Chol Pak, president of Los Angeles-based Pacific Fresh Fish Co., which has sold seafood to restaurants in the L.A. area for 33 years.

His company sells Maine American Lobster for $8.95 per pound. Sales are down, he said, because that’s more than most of his buyers want to pay.

William Cheng, manager at NBC Seafood Restaurant in Monterey Park, said that at $16.99 a pound, the restaurant is charging customers $1 more a pound than last year.

“We don’t want to raise the price a lot because then the customers would have to pay more and there is just too much competition,” he said.

One reason for the price increase: An unusually cold winter in the Northeast delayed the summer harvest in Maine. Fishermen must wait until lobsters shed their shells and reach legal harvesting size.

Read the full story at Los Angeles Times

 

CALIFORNIA: Disappearing Porpoise: Down to 97 and Dropping Fast

June 19, 2015 — CALIFORNIA — The world’s most endangered porpoise is disappearing much faster than previously believed, according to a new report from the International Committee for the Recovery of the Vaquita.

Found only in the northern Gulf of California, the remaining 97 vaquitas are threatened by gill-net fishing. Despite an emergency two-year ban enacted by the Mexican government in April, fishermen still use the nets.

Recent data from acoustic monitoring show that the species is declining by an average of 30 percent a year — much higher than the previous estimate of 18.5 percent, which scientists said was the steepest decline of cetaceans on record.

Read the full story at the New York Times