Saving Seafood

Rep. Suzan DelBene Introduces Bipartisan Bill to Put U.S. Seafood in School Lunches

February 25, 2016 — The following was released by the Office of Congresswoman Suzan Delbene: 

Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01) today introduced bipartisan legislation to require fish products purchased for federally subsidized school lunches be domestically harvested.

“The Pacific Northwest produces some of the world’s best and healthiest seafood. We should be supporting our local industries, especially when they are producing a superior product for our nation’s children,” DelBene said. “I want to ensure school district funds stretch as far as possible, but not at the expense of child nutrition. This bipartisan bill is not only good for our fishermen, but also our children, who will be receiving more nutritious fish as a result.”

Current law has unfortunately resulted in fish products caught and processed in foreign countries being included in school lunches at the expense of fish caught in America. For example, 60 percent of the pollock served in the school lunch program comes from Russia and is often processed in China because the Buy American requirement is only “to the maximum extent practicable.” This allows cheaper, but less nutritious Russian pollock to replace Alaska pollock. The bill would strengthen the Buy American provision in the National School Lunch program by stating “without exception” that federally subsided school lunches should use domestically sourced fish, or fish from a U.S. flagged vessel in the case of tuna.

DelBene serves on the House Agriculture Committee, which has part jurisdiction over the National School Lunch program. Reps. Don Young (R-AK), Jim McDermott (D-WA), Adam Smith (D-WA), Rick Larsen (D-WA), Jamie Herrera Beutler (R-WA), Derek Kilmer (D-WA) and Denny Heck (D-WA) joined DelBene in introducing H.R. 4617, which has a companion measure (S. 2529) in the Senate from Sens. Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK).

“We appreciate Congresswoman DelBene and her House colleagues’ continued support for the region’s seafood industry, especially this legislation to restrict federally subsidized seafood purchases by school districts to fish harvested in the U.S.,” said Joe Bundrant, CEO of Trident Seafoods Corporation. “Alaska pollock is a versatile, nutritious and affordable seafood product, ideal for the school lunch program. This legislation can help ensure that our children get the best choice at a good value for school districts.”

Read the release online

Studies aim to restore habitat of imperiled Northwest fish

February 8, 2016 — BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Scientists in the Pacific Northwest are studying more than a dozen watersheds to develop templates on habitat restoration that could be used in similar streams to bolster struggling fish populations.

The federal government lists 28 populations of salmon and steelhead on the West Coast that need protections due to low numbers despite spending millions of dollars every year on restoration efforts.

 The studies aim to make those efforts more successful. They focus on 17 watersheds in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Northern California and British Columbia and examine the benefit of everything from dam removal to building artificial beaver dams in tributaries.

Creating templates for habitat restoration could save time and money by using strategies known to produce good results in similar habitats in the region, said George Pess, a research fisheries biologist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“The overall goal is to learn enough to be smart about our restoration,” he said, noting that the studies will offer recommendations to private, tribal and government entities but won’t produce any legally binding regulations.

 

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Houston Chronicle

Senators Cantwell and Murkowski Introduce Legislation to Protect Pacific Northwest Seafood

WASHINGTON — september 29, 2015 — The following was released by the office of Senator Maria Cantwell:

Today, Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) introduced bipartisan legislation to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to change the market name of “Alaska pollock” to “pollock”. The change aims to better distinguish the pollock harvested in Alaskan waters from Russian pollock passing itself off as “Alaskan pollock” in stores nationwide. This legislation is co-sponsored by Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK) and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA).

In 2012, 113 million pounds of Russian pollock were sold to U.S. consumers as “Alaska pollock.” Senators Cantwell and Murkowski believe the labeling move is necessary because the Alaskan Pollock fishery is far more sustainable and produces higher quality products compared to international Pollock fisheries.

“Today, all Pollock can be labeled as Alaskan – no matter where it’s caught. The Alaskan Pollock fishery is one of the most sustainable fisheries in the world, and consumers have a right to know if the Pollock they see in the grocery store, or on a menu, is real, sustainable Alaskan Pollock caught by American fishermen,” said Senator Cantwell.

“Alaska is known world-wide for our top quality seafood. When consumers seek out the words, ‘Alaska, wild-caught’ at the grocery store, they shouldn’t be deceived by what they are actually getting,” said Senator Murkowski. “The change in nomenclature is necessary to avoid ongoing misrepresentation of the origin of pollock that is purchased and consumed in the U.S.”  

This bill also makes a similar change to golden king crab, which can only be legally labeled as brown king crab, even though it is known as golden king crab today.

The Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers (GAPP) support these efforts and have previously cited several reasons for the requested change:

•             The use of “Alaska pollock” as an acceptable market name is misleading to consumers;

•             “Alaska pollock” is understood by consumers to connote a geographic origin, not a particular kind of food from any geographic origin;

•             The use of “Alaska pollock” as an acceptable market name is inconsistent with other similar fish species; and

•             U.S. government programs support other efforts to provide accurate information to consumers about the seafood they purchase.