Saving Seafood

  • Home
  • News
    • Alerts
    • Conservation & Environment
    • Council Actions
    • Economic Impact
    • Enforcement
    • International & Trade
    • Law
    • Management & Regulation
    • Regulations
    • Nutrition
    • Opinion
    • Other News
    • Safety
    • Science
    • State and Local
  • News by Region
    • New England
    • Mid-Atlantic
    • South Atlantic
    • Gulf of Mexico
    • Pacific
    • North Pacific
    • Western Pacific
  • About
    • Contact Us
    • Fishing Terms Glossary

New Netflix Movie is Propaganda not Documentary

March 9, 2021 — The following was released by the National Fisheries Institute:

Netflix’s long history of providing a platform for oft over looked documentaries is being called into question with its promotion of vegan activist propaganda.

Seaspiracy, the seafood sister to the vegan activist film, Cowspiracy, will premiere on Netflix in March.

“A vegan? To each their own. But when you’re producing a ninety minute vegan propaganda piece and calling it a ‘documentary’ that’s disingenuous,” said NFI President John Connelly.

The National Fisheries Institute has written to Netflix citing the litany of the hyperbole, half-truths and mischaracterizations associated with the producer’s previous animal and food related productions.

Noting the clear definitional difference between:

Documentary:  a presentation (such as a film or novel) expressing or dealing with factual events: a documentary presentation

and

Propaganda:  the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person

NFI suggested Netflix start a new “propaganda” content tab where films based on exaggeration, fabrications and conspiracy theories can be accessed.

“Keep in mind, this is the same entertainment network that brought us the whack-jobs of Tiger King. So let’s all take a breath,” said Connelly.

Alliance for Meat, Poultry, Seafood Innovation & NFI Comment on Cell Cultured Labeling

March 8, 2021 — The following was released by the National Fisheries Institute:

Today, the Alliance for Meat, Poultry and Seafood Innovation (AMPS Innovation), an industry coalition representing the makers of cell-cultured meat, poultry and seafood products, and the National Fisheries Institute (NFI), a trade association that represents companies throughout the seafood production supply chain, jointly submitted comments to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in response to the agency’s Labeling of Foods Comprised of or Containing Cultured Seafood Cells Request for Information. The letter calls on the agency to support a framework that labels these new products descriptively, accurately, and consistently to represent what the products actually are, how they are made, and ensure robust consumer transparency.

Accordingly, the two groups believe that labeling of seafood products produced using cell-cultured technology should be thoughtfully based on the following key criteria:

  • Truthful, non-misleading, descriptive, and clear, communicating to the consumer what the product is and how it is produced, in line with FDA’s regulatory requirements,
  • Signal potential allergenicity and nutrition for consumer safety and transparency,
  • Non-disparaging to either cell-cultured or conventional seafood products, and
  • Differentiated from conventionally produced wild or farmed seafood products through a qualifier that modifies the conventional name of the product.

Based on peer-reviewed research carried out by Rutgers professor Dr. William Hallman, NFI and the super-majority of AMPS Innovation, including all of the cell-cultured seafood companies, urge the FDA to adopt and memorialize the sole use of the term “cell-cultured” to support uniform labeling within the seafood category.

Full text of the letter can be accessed here.

Under a joint framework for regulation of cell-cultured meat, poultry and seafood products, which was agreed to by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and the FDA in March 2019, the two agencies will work together to ensure the safety and labeling of cell-cultured meat, poultry, and seafood products.

Among other provisions of the framework, FSIS will have oversight of the labeling of cell-cultured meat and poultry, as it does for all meat and poultry sold in the United States, while FDA will oversee the labeling of cell-cultured seafood, as it does for most seafood sold in the United States. In a public presentation last summer, the agencies committed to joint principles for product labeling and labeling claims across cell-cultured meat, poultry and seafood products.

This is the second instance in which AMPS Innovation has partnered with an organization representing the conventional food and agriculture industry to align on labeling-related policies. In October 2020 AMPS Innovation and the North American Meat Institute (NAMI) sent a letter to FSIS calling for the agency to solicit input on what labeling for cell-cultured meat and poultry products should look like through an Advance Notice of Public Rulemaking.

About the Alliance for Meat, Poultry & Seafood Innovation
The Alliance for Meat, Poultry & Seafood Innovation is working to advance new methods of producing real, high-quality, safe meat, poultry and seafood products directly from cells, which, in partnership with the broader agricultural community, will help meet the demands of feeding a growing global population. AMPS Innovation advocates for our industry through sharing our collective expertise, providing insight into our innovation, and committing to safety and transparency with all stakeholders, including industry partners, policymakers, advocates and consumers. To learn more about the Alliance for Meat, Poultry & Seafood Innovation, visit www.ampsinnovation.org.

About the National Fisheries Institute
The National Fisheries Institute is a non-profit organization dedicated to education about seafood safety, sustainability, and nutrition. NFI and its members are committed to sustainable management of our oceans and being stewards of our environment by endorsing the United Nations Principles for Responsible Fisheries. Our investment in our oceans today will provide our children and future generations the health benefits of a plentiful supply of fish and seafood tomorrow. From responsible aquaculture, to a marketplace supporting free trade, to ensuring the media and consumers have the facts about the health benefits of fish and shellfish, NFI and its members support and promote sound public policy based on ground truth science. Learn more at www.aboutseafood.com.

Biden offers small businesses special PPP application window, assistance

February 22, 2021 — The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden is attempting to steer more Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funding to America’s small businesses.

In a 22 February announcement, the White House said it will open a special 14-day period, beginning Wednesday, 24 February, during which time only businesses with fewer than 20 employees may apply for PPP relief.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Record-high king crab prices not slowing retail sales

February 19, 2021 — Crab sales at U.S. retailers have hit record highs, with the category as a whole up over 60 percent, and king crab has been buoyed by the surge.

Customers at the retail level are buying record numbers of king crab, according to Michael Kotok, the president of Buffalo, New York, U.S.A.-based Arctic Fisheries. Kotok was speaking during the National Fisheries Institute’s Global Seafood Market Conference webinar series; SeafoodSource is providing exclusive coverage of the GSMC webinar series, which will be providing exclusive market-focused content throughout 2021.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

USDA, FDA, CDC: “No Credible Evidence” Food Packaging Transmits COVID-19

February 18, 2021 — The following was released by the National Fisheries Institute:

Today the leadership of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) all emphasized that food or food packing is not a likely source of COIVD-19 transmission. The rare joint statement said there is “no credible evidence” that the illness is transmitted that way.

“Today’s statement is an example of experts adhering to science and translating that high-level understanding into an important public health message,” said Lisa Weddig Vice President for Regulatory and Technical Affairs at the ‎National Fisheries Institute.

In today’s statement the USDA, FDA and CDC highlighted the safety of the U.S. food supply saying, “consumers should be reassured” that their confidence is based on “overwhelming international scientific consensus.”

“From epidemiologists to biologists, authorities are confident in the safety of the seafood supply and, what’s more, health experts cite seafood’s role in supporting a healthy immune system,” said Weddig.

The groups noted that a recent opinion from the International Commission on Microbiological Specifications for Foods said, “despite the billions of meals and food packages handled since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, to date there has not been any evidence that food, food packaging or food handling is a source or important transmission route for [the disease.]”.

NFI encourages companies and countries to ensure their actions and policies are based on this scientific fact.

Demand up, supply down in blue and red swimming crab market

February 18, 2021 — The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the blue and red swimming crab market are ongoing, and have combined to make the industry a more complicated prospect for importers.

Chicken of the Sea Vice President and National Fisheries Institute (NFI) Crab Council Executive Robert Kragh – speaking during NFI’s Global Seafood Market Conference webinar series – said the impacts of COVID-19 on the market were immediate from a producer perspective. SeafoodSource is providing exclusive coverage of the GSMC webinar series, which will be providing exclusive market-focused content throughout 2021.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

NFI’s John Connelly: US seafood industry faces whole new set of challenges under Biden

February 17, 2021 — Donald Trump’s presidency was a mixed bag for the U.S. seafood industry, according to National Fisheries Institute President John Connelly. Now almost a month into the presidency of Joe Biden, the industry faces a whole different set of challenges, Connelly told SeafoodSource.

Connelly is optimistic Biden will be less aggressive in the use of tariffs than Trump, and he said he’s comforted by the fact that Biden’s picks for U.S. Commerce secretary and U.S. trade representative, Gina Raimondo and Katherine Tai – both of whom are awaiting confirmation votes by the U.S. Senate – are familiar with the seafood industry. But Biden’s environmental initiatives may prove thorny for the industry, and it remains to be seen whether the administration will prioritize the reopening of the foodservice sector, Connelly said.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Post-COVID recovery could see spate of seafood company mergers and acquisitions

February 11, 2021 — When the world begins to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, some prominent seafood executives are predicting a busy period of mergers and acquisitions.

Speaking during the National Fisheries Institute’s 2021 Global Seafood Market Conference’s economic outlook panel, seafood company advisors and CEOs said they expect a combination of factors will lead to increased M&A activity. As companies begin to see a turnaround from the COVID-19-related economic downturn, access to cheap financing could spur companies to look for new opportunities, according to Antarctica Advisors LLC Managing Partner Ignacio Kleiman.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

One Alaska king salmon is worth the same as two barrels of oil right now

February 10, 2021 — Seafood sales “are on fire” in America’s supermarkets and one king salmon from Southeast Alaska is worth the same as two barrels of oil.

That’s $116.16 for a troll-caught chinook salmon averaging 11 pounds at the docks vs. $115.48 for 2 barrels of oil at $57.74 per barrel on Feb. 3.

As more COVID-conscious customers opted in 2020 for seafood’s proven health benefits, salmon powered sales at fresh seafood counters. Frozen and “on the shelf” seafoods also set sales records, and online ordering tripled to top $1 billion.

Those are some takeaways from a National Fisheries Institute Global Marketing Conference hosted online by SeafoodSource News.

Here is a sampler of what experts called “eye-popping” 2020 retail sales reflecting America’s trend to eat more fish:

IRI, a world leader in market data, said overall sales at in-store fresh seafood counters jumped 28% to $871 million, led by salmon with a 19% increase to $2.2 billion.

Read the full story at the Anchorage Daily News

NFI’s Robert DeHaan: Action on climate change, COVID, multilateralism will guide Biden’s first months

February 10, 2021 — Just before Joseph Biden was sworn in as president of the United States a month ago, his chief of staff, Ronald Klain, laid out the obstacles ahead for the administration.

“We face four overlapping and compounding crises: the COVID-19 crisis, the resulting economic crisis, the climate crisis, and a racial equity crisis,” Klain wrote in a memorandum issued to staff on 16 January.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • …
  • 14
  • Next Page »

Recent Headlines

  • A Story About Whales & Scallops in Maine
  • Western Pacific Fishermen Losing Last Vestiges of U.S. Waters Open to Fishing; Council Frustrated
  • University of Idaho study shows climate change is shrinking natural habitat for salmon
  • MAINE: Gov. Mills announcing more than $15 million for seafood industry
  • IFFO, SFP convene roundtable to improve sustainability of global fishmeal, fish oil sector
  • Simulator Helps Researchers Envision Commercial Offshore Wind Farm In Maryland
  • Chesapeake Bay Dead Zone Smaller Than Previous Years Due To Mild May Temperatures
  • New criteria for Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish and Red Drum management

Most Popular Topics

Alaska Aquaculture ASMFC Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission California China Climate change Coronavirus COVID-19 Donald Trump groundfish Gulf of Maine Gulf of Mexico Illegal fishing IUU fishing Lobster Maine Massachusetts Mid-Atlantic National Marine Fisheries Service National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NEFMC New Bedford New England New England Fishery Management Council New Jersey New York NMFS NOAA NOAA Fisheries North Atlantic right whales North Carolina North Pacific offshore energy Offshore wind Pacific right whales Salmon Scallops South Atlantic Tuna Western Pacific Whales wind energy Wind Farms

Daily Updates & Alerts

Enter your email address to receive daily updates and alerts:
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Tweets by @savingseafood

Copyright © 2022 Saving Seafood · WordPress Web Design by Jessee Productions