Saving Seafood

14 Reasons One Doctor Has Stopped Eating Tilapia and Two More Question All Kinds of Fish

April 8, 2016 — There’s something fishy happening in the world of seafood, and we’re not quite sure how to handle it. While health concerns with foods as seemingly simple as a can of tuna fish have been raised by some, others are doing their best to remedy this and bring purity back to the seafood industry. Whether it’s tuna fish, salmon, or tilapia, though, it’s important that the entire food industry takes a step back and reassess the way fish are raised, processed, and served.

The sushi industry, in particular, has had some mislabeling issues over the past few years. According to a study by Oceana, in 2012, roughly 58 percent of New York City sushi restaurants were selling fish that wasn’t labeled properly, with the worst culprits being rolls and platters advertising the inclusion of red snapper. There were up to 13 different types of fish labelled as red snapper that were, in fact, entirely different species. Additionally, about 94 percent of white tuna sold in the same year wasn’t white tuna at all. This “white tuna” was actually escolar, a type of snake mackerel with purgative effects. 

There are efforts being made to fix this problem, though, and plans are being put in motion to install more classically trained sushi chefs in designated Japanese-grade sushi restaurants here in America and elsewhere around the world. The problems with sushi are but one issue affecting seafood consumption in this country. In addition to mislabeling, sketchy sourcing and the potential negative effects some fish can have on the body (no one wants to eat fish that has anything even close to purgative effects) all stand in stark opposition to the current American desires for transparent labeling, local sourcing, and food purity.

Read the full story at The Daily Meal

Waters Surrounding New York City Contain At Least 165 Million Plastic Particles — Making Its Way Into the Food Supply

February 13, 2016 — The waterways surrounding New York City are a soup of plastic, ranging from discarded takeout containers down to tiny beads that end up in the food supply, according to a new report by an environmental group.

The study, by the group NY/NJ Baykeeper, estimated there are at least 165 million plastic particles floating in New York Harbor and nearby waters at any given time.

The report was based on samples collected by trawlers that plied the city’s East River, the mouth of the Hudson River and New Jersey’s Passaic River and Raritan Bay between March and August 2015.

The average concentration of plastics was 256,322 particles per square kilometer, according to the report.

To maybe nobody’s surprise, the highest concentration, 556,484 particles per square kilometer, was found in New York City’s East River, which separates Manhattan from Brooklyn and Queens and is known for its floating filth.

“It just goes to show you big problems need big solutions,” said Sandra Meola, a spokeswoman for Baykeeper.

The New York-New Jersey study was modeled on a pioneering study of the Great Lakes conducted by Sherri Mason, a chemistry professor at the State University of New York in Fredonia.

That study found plastics pollution in all five lakes, with the highest concentration in Lakes Erie and Ontario, which are ringed by urban centers and industry.

Read the full story at the New York Daily News

DR. RAY HILBORN: Plenty of Sustainable Seafood Options Available

December 28, 2015 — The rising trend of “trash fish,” or unusual and underutilized seafood species, on fine dining menus in New York City was discussed last week in The New York Times by Jeff Gordinier. The idea is to, “substitute salmon, tuna, shrimp and cod, much of it endangered and the product of dubious (if not destructive) fishing practices,” with less familiar species that are presumably more abundant, like “dogfish, tilefish, Acadian redfish, porgy, hake, cusk, striped black mullet.”

Changing diners’ perceptions isn’t always easy, especially about seafood, but there is certainly momentum building for more diverse seafood species. Seafood suppliers are reporting record sales of fish like porgy and hake. Chefs feel good about serving these new species because, “industrially harvested tuna, salmon and cod is destroying the environment.” A new organization, Dock-to-Dish, connects restaurants with fishermen that are catching underutilized species and these efforts are highlighted as a catalyst for this growing trash fish trend. From a culinary perspective, this trend allows chefs to sell the story of an unusual and sustainable species, which more compelling than more mainstream species like tuna, salmon or cod. From a sustainability perspective, Gordinier implies that serving a diversity of seafood species is more responsible than the mainstream few that are “industrially caught” and dominate the National Fisheries Institute list of most consumed species in America.

Comment by Ray Hilborn, University of Washington

While I applaud the desire to eat underutilized species, it seems as if the chefs interviewed don’t know much about sustainable seafood. Below are a few quotes from the article that give the impression that eating traditional species such as tuna, cod, salmon and shrimp is an environmental crime.

“Salmon, tuna, shrimp and cod, much of it endangered and the product of dubious (if not destructive) fishing practices”

“The chef Molly Mitchell, can’t imagine serving industrially harvested tuna or salmon or cod. “You can’t really eat that stuff anymore,” she said. “It’s destroying the environment.”

“Flying them halfway around the world may not count as an ecofriendly gesture, but these oceanic oddities are a far cry from being decimated the way cod has. “Hopefully they’ll try something new and not just those fishes that are overfarmed and overcaught,” said Jenni Hwang, director of marketing for the Chaya Restaurant Group.”

“A growing cadre of chefs, restaurateurs and fishmongers in New York and around the country is taking on the mission of selling wild and local fish whose populations are not threatened with extinction.”

Read the full commentary at CFOOD

 

A New York City Legacy: Louis Rozzo and a Century’s Worth of Fish Dealing

August 21, 2015 — On a gleaming summer morning, Louis Rozzo steps out the door of a four-story stuccoed building on Ninth Avenue in Chelsea. The neighborhood has since transformed from its mid–19th-century beginnings as the epicenter of the city’s meat, produce and dairy industries, and today the street, lined with apartment buildings, coffee shops and restaurants, seems an unlikely location for a wholesale seafood operation. But this exact spot has been the headquarters of F. Rozzo and Sons  since Rozzo’s great-grandfather Felix moved his eponymous business here in 1924.

On the sidewalk just outside, Rozzo greets neighbors by name as they pass by on their way to work, and when two elderly women wander onto the wet cement floor in the front workroom, curious about buying some fish, he urges them inside.

A few guys, wearing yellow floor-length plastic aprons and waterproof boots, are still at work cleaning, scaling and portioning salmon into heavy-duty brown cardboard boxes. It’s close to 10 a.m. but Rozzo and his crew are nearing the tail end of a full day’s work, one that started in the wee hours of the morning. “I love what I do,” Rozzo tells the Voice, “but the hardest part of my job is getting out of bed.”

Read the full story at the Village Voice

 

New NYC Health Department Rule Mandates Raw Fish Make Pit Stop In Freezer First

July 11, 2015 — Beginning in August, most raw fish served in any New York City restaurant will have to be frozen first.

As WCBS 880’s Jim Smith reported, the city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s rule is going into effect next month, requiring fish being served raw or under cooked to first be frozen to kill off bacteria.

But James Versocki, counsel for the New York State Restaurant Association, said there are exemptions — meaning you’ll likely not notice any difference the next time your order a tuna roll.

Read the full story at CBS New York