Saving Seafood

A Sustainable Seafood Sampler from Coast to Coast

May 20, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

In the United States, we love our seafood. Thankfully, due to strong science and a dynamic management process, our fisheries are among the largest and most sustainable in the world. So no matter what coast you’re on, you can be sure that the U.S. seafood you find there is a smart choice. And just like the culture of each region has its own flavor, so does its seafood! Read on to discover what local favorites you might find around the country.

Northeast/Mid Atlantic

Eastern Oysters

Farmed oysters are one of the most popular aquaculture species in the world and they’re an excellent choice for your next seafood dish. Oysters filter the water where they live, which removes excess nutrients and improves water quality. Growing oysters also requires no feed since they eat phytoplankton floating in the water. Unlike wild oysters, farmed oysters are available year round. They are low in saturated fat and excellent sources of omega-3 fatty acids and iron.

Oyster flavor profiles can range from sweet to briny. You can eat them raw on the half shell or cook them in a variety of different recipes. They’re delicious whether you grill, fry, broil, or bake them.

> BBQ bourbon chipotle butter grilled oysters

> Asian fried oysters

Acadian Redfish

Acadian redfish, also called ocean perch, are the only fish in the rockfish/ocean perch family in the Atlantic. The fish is called redfish in New England and Canada—not to be confused with redfish from the Gulf of Mexico (which is a drum).

Acadian redfish are harvested year-round but harvests are usually largest during spring and summer in the Gulf of Maine. Their taste profile is mild and slightly sweet and their meat is medium firm, moist, and flaky.

> Acadian redfish with chimichurri

> Spicy redfish tacos

Read the full release here

LOUISIANA: An oysterman’s new worry: Will state’s coastal plan wash out his business?

May 18, 2021 — Sun-kissed lines frame Terry Shelley’s face like high tide stains a fishing dock. Today, those creases seem deepened by anger, but it’s the tone of his voice that gives it away.

Mr. Shelley has spent his entire working life as a commercial fisherman. Before he was a full-time oyster farmer and harvester, he spent the first part of his career harvesting shrimp and reef fish. He’s seen a lot, but not a pileup of challenges like now.

Back in September, Hurricane Zeta rumbled over small-town Port Sulphur, Louisiana, where the family’s oyster farm and processing center are based. The Shelleys lost half their cages, and they only managed to retrieve about half of that. Already by then, the COVID-19 pandemic had temporarily halted the supply lines Shelley Farms uses to sell its oysters.

Now, after losing most of his oyster crop last year, Mr. Shelley has another worry on his mind.

Louisiana coastal planners are pushing a $2 billion project proposal designed to fight back against the trend of persistent coastal erosion.

Read the full story at The Christian Science Monitor

Mollusks in Oregon coast watersheds contain forestry pesticides, study says

May 11, 2021 — Oysters, estuarine clams and freshwater mussels in watersheds along the Oregon coast contain pesticides used in managing forests, according to a study funded by Oregon Sea Grant.

Researchers from Portland State University found pesticides in 38 percent of the tissue samples. Indaziflam, an herbicide currently used in Oregon forestry, was found in about 7 percent of the samples. Contaminants also included pesticides used in orchards, Christmas tree farms and homes, as well as banned pesticides, including DDT byproducts.

The study, published in the journal Toxics, may help guide forest management practices to reduce the amounts of forestry chemicals entering aquatic ecosystems.

The study was led by Kaegan Scully-Engelmeyer, a doctoral student in the earth, environment and society program at PSU, and PSU marine ecologist Elise Granek.

They collected tissue samples from freshwater western pearlshell mussels — softshell clams typically found in the upper area of estuaries — and Pacific oysters. They collected them from watersheds along the Oregon coast in 2017 and 2018. These organisms are good indicators of environmental contamination because they are sedentary filter feeders.

Read the full story at the Newport News Times

Ambitious Vision for North Carolina’s Oysters Outlined in New 5-Year Plan

April 29, 2021 — Restoring oysters can boost water quality and offer shoreline protection from storms, and this week the North Carolina Coastal Federation released its five-year action plan, outlining steps to keep this valuable shellfish thriving.

Leda Cunningham, officer for Conserving Marine Life in the U.S. at the Pew Charitable Trusts, said North Carolina’s oysters are in good shape, but face threats from storms, poor water quality and the impacts of climate change.

She believes the new Oyster Blueprint offers an example for other coastal states of how to restore and protect oyster populations.

“In those 15 or so years, it’s led to measurable progress in the state, and that is really a result of the inclusive systematic approach that Coastal Fed has taken with its partners to identify challenges and opportunities with this special resource,” Cunningham stated.

Guided by the Blueprint over the years, North Carolina has restored nearly 450 acres of oyster habitat, grown shellfish aquaculture from a $250,000 to $5 million industry, increased the number of shellfish farms in the state tenfold, and developed a nationally recognized shell recycling program.

Erin Fleckenstein, coastal scientist for the North Carolina Coastal Federation, said the plan includes new management strategies to help safeguard North Carolina’s waters, particularly in the Newport River and Stump Sound.

Read the full story at the Public News Service

Efforts On to Rebuild North Carolina’s Oyster Population

April 27, 2021 — North Carolina’s estuaries were teeming with oysters 150 years ago. In the time since, a combination of factors has caused oyster populations to decline.

Development, urbanization, point and nonpoint source pollution, intensive farming, harvest pressure, and increases in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as freezing temperatures, hurricanes, heavy rains and prolonged winds have all contributed to the loss, said state marine ecologist Jason Peters.

As supervisor of North Carolina’s cultch planting program, Peters has been heading up an effort by the Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries to rebuild the oyster population.

“Cultch planting is an oyster restoration technique employed by many states along the East and Gulf coasts to return hard bottom habitat to our estuaries. This hard-bottom habitat, usually in the form of oyster shell of fossilized limestone marl, is placed in areas with suitable conditions for recruitment, growth and survival of oysters,” said Peters, who also supervises the state’s artificial reefs and oyster sanctuaries program. “The objective of this program is to mitigate habitat loss from harvest or natural events by establishing new, successful oyster reefs.”

Erin Fleckenstein is coastal scientist with the Wanchese office of the North Carolina Coastal Federation, which publishes Coastal Review. She explained that cultch planting activities are part of a comprehensive strategy to build back oyster resources and support a wild harvest fishery in the state.

Read the full story at Coastal Review Online

Shucked by the pandemic, oyster market begins to open up

April 14, 2021 — Of all the categories of seafood impacted by COVID-19 – both positively and negatively – mollusks appear to have borne the brunt of foodservice closures. The sector experienced a 60 percent decline in sales during the height of the pandemic last spring.

The mollusk market has also had one of the slowest recoveries, according to NPD Supplytrack data shared during a National Fisheries Institute’s Global Seafood Market Conference webinar. SeafoodSource is providing exclusive coverage of the GSMC webinar series, which will be providing market-focused content throughout 2021.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office Shares Biennial Report to Congress

April 9, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office’s Biennial Report to Congress (pdf, 9 pages) includes a snapshot of work we accomplished during fiscal years 2019 and 2020. Highlights include:

  • Completing the restoration of 350 acres of oyster reef in the Little Choptank River in Maryland—the largest oyster restoration project in the world to date.
  • Maintaining a system of buoys that allow for near-real-time observations of the Bay’s changing water and weather conditions.
  • Providing $5.2 million in funding to support watershed education for 53,000 students and 1,700 teachers.
  • Funded fish and habitat science with a focus on state and federal fisheries management needs for striped bass, summer flounder, black sea bass, and invasive blue catfish.
  • Supporting the design of three nearshore habitat restoration projects in coastal Virginia, which will enhance coastal resiliency and provide habitat for commercially and recreationally important fish.

For more details and to learn about other aspects of our work in fisheries and habitat science, restoration, climate, education, and more, we invite you to read through the report.

Sediment diversion project could drastically alter Louisiana shrimp, oyster fisheries

March 18, 2021 — A U.S. Corps of Engineers environmental impact statement for the planned USD 2 billion (EUR 1.67 billion) Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion project acknowledges it will drastically alter the south Louisiana shrimp and oyster fisheries.

“Moderate to major, adverse, permanent direct and indirect impacts are anticipated on shrimp fisheries in the project area due to expected negligible to minor, permanent, beneficial impacts on white shrimp, and major, permanent, adverse impacts on brown shrimp abundance,” an executive summary of the report, issued on 5 March, stated.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

CALIFORNIA: The San Francisco Bay Once Teemed With Oysters. What Happened?

March 5, 2021 — Oysters are a controversial food.

Some people slurp them down by the dozen, while others would rather go hungry for days than be forced to eat a single slimy specimen.

As one KQED staffer put it: “No matter how fresh they are, no matter where they come from, no matter what is put on them, it reminds me of being congested and having snot just slide down my throat.”

Bay Curious listener Joseph Fletcher falls into the first category: The San Francisco resident loves oysters and has been wondering if he’ll ever get the chance to eat one grown in San Francisco Bay.

“Will oysters ever make a comeback in the bay and return to the numbers they had back in the days before the Gold Rush?” Fletcher wanted to know.

There’s one type of oyster that’s indigenous to the San Francisco Bay, and that’s the Olympia oyster (Ostrea lurida). It’s named after Olympia, Washington, though these small, tangy oysters can be found up and down the west coast from Alaska all the way down into central Mexico.

Read the full story at KQED

Maryland oyster industry may be forever altered by COVID-19 pandemic

March 3, 2021 — The pandemic-impacted oyster season has been difficult for the industry in Maryland, causing farmers and watermen to rethink how they sell their product and changing how programs conduct oyster restoration.

After restaurants reduced their capacity and a stay-at-home order was issued last spring, restaurant sales essentially went to zero within a matter of a week, said Scott Budden, founder of Orchard Point Oyster Co. headquartered in Stevensville, Maryland.

Pre-pandemic, Orchard Point Oyster Co. would primarily sell to restaurants, either directly to the chef or through regional distributors and wholesalers. Since April, they have transitioned to directly selling to the public, through local pickups and cold shipping, Budden said.

Read the full story at Delmarva Now