Saving Seafood

Connecticut fighting move to give Long Island Sound waters to New York, Rhode Island

February 2, 2016 — WASHINGTON – Connecticut’s lawmakers and state officials are trying to derail a bill would take about 150 square miles of Long Island Sound waters from federal government control and give that authority to New York and Rhode Island, a move that could hurt the state’s fishing industry.

The bill would require Connecticut fishermen to obtain permission from the neighboring states to continue to fish those waters, known as an “exclusive economic zone,” or EEZ. Members of the state’s congressional delegation say that would be a costly and burdensome process.

“We believe that this misguided legislation was crafted strategically to benefit certain states while disproportionately harming the Connecticut fishing industry,” delegation members said in a letter to the leaders of the House Natural Resources Committee.

At issue is the “EEZ Clarification Act,” sponsored by New York Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin, that would re-designate 150 square miles of federal EEZ waters in the vicinity of Block Island, between Montauk, N.Y., and Point Judith, R.I., as  New York and Rhode Island state waters.

At a House Natural Resources subcommittee hearing Tuesday, Zeldin said the strip of water known as the EEZ poses a threat to fishermen “who can go from fishing legally to breaking the law” by inadvertently straying into federal waters and facing fines.

“Law-abiding, responsible fishermen should not be punished for doing their job,” Zeldin said.

But a representative from the Fish and Wildlife Service and conservationist John McMurray, owner of One More Cast Charters, testified that stripping federal protections from the waters would hurt the Long Island Sound striped bass population.

Read the full story at The Connecticut Mirror

 

Blue Fin Tuna, Once Bountiful, Now in Peril, Scientists Say

January 22, 2016 — NEW YORK — When you mention tuna, most minds probably swim to the ubiquitous cans of the fish, or maybe a delectable piece of sashimi decked out with roe and wasabi.

But when Stanford biology professor Barbara Block contemplates tuna, her mind goes to images of bluefin tuna — the massive, speedy fish that regularly traverse oceans in a single year.

“Over a lifetime they might travel tens of thousands of miles,” Block said, flanked by California’s Monterey Bay.

Block is warning that the bluefin, once thought to be incredibly bountiful, is now facing peril because of decades of overfishing.

Read the full story at NBC New York

Operators Gear Up to Present Innovative, Flavorful Fried Fish During Lent

SEAFOODNEWS.COM by Michael Ramsingh — January 13, 2016 — Foodservice operators will infuse more flavor into the traditional fried fish staples during this year’s Lenten season. Fish dishes are expected to feature more Mediterranean, Asian, Middle Eastern and Mexican concepts and flavors. “Fish is the perfect canvas for any flavor, ” says Arlene Spiegel, of Arlene Spiegel & Associates, a restaurant consulting company in New York. “And people love fried food. A fried fish sandwich or fish and chips can be stellar. And it shouldn’t be just for Lent. It can be promoted all year round. It can be something important.”

Ocean Choice International said they are pleased with the decision by the Supreme Court of Newfoundland that dismissed a challenge to the company from Landvis Canada, the minority partner owned by an Icelandic Fishing Firm. Landvis sought to oust Martin and Blaine Sullivan, the two brothers who control the company. “It was a clear and unambiguous decision and we are very pleased that Justice Orsborn completely accepted our position,” said Martin Sullivan, Chief Executive Officer with OCI.

In other news the PEI Fishermen’s Association (PEIFA) wants changes made to the temporary foreign workers program to allow seafood processing plants to hire more workers. “It gets back to being able to process all the product that’s coming in. We’ve got a short term strategy, let us adopt it and we’ll work towards a bigger longer-term solution,” said PEIFA Executive Director Ian MacPherson.

Meanwhile, Ecuador and Peru are reporting lower mahi catches since the season began in Mid-November. It appears El Nino may be impacting mahi landings since warmer waters have increased the supply of bait fish. “One of the effects of El Niño is a bountiful supply of natural prey which the mahi are inclined to eat. Because of this they are preferentially feeding on natural bait and are less inclined to feed on fishing bait, resulting in lower catches,” said Jeff Azari, at Pacific Coral.

Finally, Alaskan Senator Lisa Murkowski said she would stall the final vote approving Dr. Robert Califf as the next FDA Commissioner if she does not get assurances that mandatory labeling laws will be written for genetically modified salmon. “I want to make sure, be very, very certain, that when we are talking about these genetically engineered fish for human consumption, voluntary labeling is not adequate,” said Sen. Murkowski.

This story originally appeared on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It has been reprinted with permission.

 

 

MASSACHUSETTS: Coast Guard tows fishing boat over violations

January 8, 2016 — A New Bedford fishing vessel’s voyage was cut short Thursday after the Coast Guard found multiple safety violations, according to a statement from the Coast Guard.

The 83-foot Amber Nicole did not have a life raft, had improperly marked survival suits, and no record of performing mandatory monthly drills, all serious safety deficiencies, according to the Coast Guard statement. The boat was operating about 44 nautical miles off Nantucket with a crew of seven.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

Sustainable Fishburger Based On Chef Eric Ripert’s Recipe Coming To Hamptons School

January 8, 2016 — A group of extraordinary East End chefs have joined forces in the kitchen for The Montauk Fishburger Project, an initiative that aims to familiarize local elementary and high school students with one of the area’s plentiful, nutritious resources, which is being conscientiously harvested under firm federal and state fisheries management regulations, incredibly close to home.

The program is being pioneered by the founding members of Dock to Dish, the first Restaurant Supported Fishery program in the U.S., who have now established the inaugural partnership with The Long Island Commercial Fishing Association and the Bridgehampton Edible School Garden program, with the goal of making wild, sustainable, traceable local seafood readily available to East End youth.

Read the full story at Hamptons Online

Case for Shad & Herring Rules Circles the Drain

January 7, 2015 — (CN) – The D.C. Circuit cut the line on a case accusing the government of failing to protect ocean fish that feed New York and New Jersey eagles and striped bass.

Led by the New Jersey-based Anglers Conservation Network and its founder, Capt. Paul Eidman, the case centers on four dwindling stocks of fish – alewife, blueback herring, American shad and hickory shad – that school in the Atlantic Ocean from New York to North Carolina.

As those fish migrate up rivers during their annual spawning in the spring, they are prey for bald eagles, ospreys and other birds, like cormorants and gulls, as well as for other fish at sea and for striped bass making their annual spawning run into many of the same rivers.

The case at hand contends that there are even fewer river herrings and shads available for bigger species on the food chain, thanks to a 2013 inaction by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, one of eight established by the 1976 Fishery Conservation Act, or Magnuson-Stevens Act.

That year, the council was considering adopting Amendment 15 to add river herring and shad to the 1983 Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fishery Management Plan.

Rather than approving the amendment, however, the council voted 10-9 to table the issue for three years while a working group studied the fish further.

The plaintiffs say this decision violated the Magnuson-Stevens Act, but U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler dismissed the complaint on Sept. 30, 2014.

A three-judge panel with the D.C. Circuit affirmed Tuesday.

Read the full story at Courthouse News Service

 

Trader Joe’s tuna fish cans are underfilled: lawsuit

January 5, 2016 — Fish lovers have slapped Trader Joe’s with a class-action lawsuit accusing the grocery store of “cheating” customers by not filling their 5-ounce cans of tuna all the way.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Manhattan federal court, says tests by a US government lab found that the cans of various Trader Joe’s tuna brands actually contain less than 3 ounces of the fish and that “every lot tested, and nearly every single can, was underfilled in violation of the federally mandated minimum standard of fill.”

One test found that 24 cans of Trader Joe’s Albacore Tuna in Water Half Salt contained, on average, just 2.43 ounces of pressed cake tuna — 24.8 percent below 3.23 ounces, the federally mandated minimum standard of fill.

Read the full story at the New York Post

 

End of an era as Tokyo has last New Year tuna auction before historic fish market closes

January 5, 2015 (AP) — TOKYO — It’s among the biggest of Japan’s many New Year holiday rituals: Early on Tuesday, a huge, glistening tuna was auctioned for about $118,000 at Tokyo’s 80-year-old Tsukiji market. Next year, if all goes as planned, the tradition won’t be quite the same.

The world’s biggest and most famous fish and seafood market is due to move in November to a massive complex farther south in Tokyo Bay, making way for redevelopment of the prime slice of downtown real estate.

The closure of the Tsukiji market will punctuate the end of the post-war era for many of the mom-and-pop shops just outside the main market that peddle a cornucopia of sea-related products, from dried squid and seaweed to whale bacon and caviar.

The auction is typical of Japan’s penchant for fresh starts at the beginning of the year — the first visit of the year to a shrine and the first dream of the year are other important firsts — and it’s meant to set an auspicious precedent for the 12 months to come.

Sushi restaurateur Kiyoshi Kimura has prevailed in most of the recent New Year auctions, and he did so again this year in the bidding for a 440-pound tuna.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the New York Post

 

Artist Celebrates Seaport’s Fulton Fish Market 10 Years After Closing

SOUTH STREET SEAPORT, N.Y. — December 22, 2105 — A decade after the Fulton Fish Market shut down its longtime home in the South Street Seaport, artist Naima Rauam said she’s still “transfixed’ by the memories of its bustle and charming grit.

“The light, the activity, the hard work — it was all so captivating,” said Rauam, 69. “I could paint the fish market forever.”

From memories, photos and old sketches, Rauam continues to paint colorful scenes of the long-shuttered market from her seaport studio.

A collection of some of her latest watercolors, along with older works and variety of prints, are now on display in a new exhibit titled, “10th Anniversary, Remembering Fulton Fish Market.”

Read the full story from DNAinfo