August 28, 2020 — Americans are eating more seafood and cooking it more often at home, thanks in part to a nationwide campaign rolled out in early April.
The rapid-response Eat Seafood America! campaign, led by Seafood Nutrition Partnership and the Seafood4Health Coalition, was launched to help Americans stay healthy during the COVID-19 public health crisis as well as help boost the U.S. seafood economy, SNP said in a press release.
August 28, 2020 — The following was released by the Seafood Nutrition Partnership:
The Seafood Nutrition Partnership’s (SNP) Scientific and Nutrition Advisory Council is delighted to host the fourth annual State of the Science Symposium online on Thursday, September 17.
Sessions at this year’s symposium include: Dietary Guidelines 2020-2025, Seafood Consumption & Neurocognitive Development, and Seafood for Planetary Health and Economic Health. Educational presentations will combine technical analysis with more digestible points for non-specialists, making it accessible to a wide range of audience members and industries.
The full agenda is available at seafoodnutrition.org/soss. Register for tickets to State of the Science here.
August 17, 2020 — The following was released by the Seafood Nutrition Partnership:
Eat Seafood America!, a rapid-response initiative launched in early April aimed at helping Americans stay healthy during the COVID-19 public health crisis as well as help boost the U.S. seafood economy, has been successful in encouraging consumers to eat more fish and shellfish. Of consumers surveyed in June and July, those who reported seeing the Eat Seafood America! messaging were three times more likely to have increased their seafood consumption in the last two months.
Supported by the newly formed Seafood4Health Action Coalition of 44 organizations (full list is available at eatseafoodamerica.com), convened by Seafood Nutrition Partnership, this unified consumer outreach campaign works to help Americans build habits to eat more sustainable seafood. As the Eat Seafood America! momentum continues, heading into September and October for National Seafood Month, additional organizations have joined the coalition along with retail partners, including Giant Eagle, H-E-B, Hy-Vee, Meijer and Publix.
Read the full press release online.
July 15, 2020 — The following was released by the Seafood Nutrition Partnership:
The 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) released its final scientific report that will serve as the foundation for the development of the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The DGAC final report, comprised of 835 pages, has positive findings for seafood consumption.
April 6, 2020 — As frozen, fresh, and canned/pouched seafood sales continue to break records in the United States, consumers need help preparing the seafood they have purchased. To that end, the Seafood Nutrition Partnership (SNP) is offering a new Instagram Live and video series – which started on 1 April – as well as a new resource on budget-friendly seafood options, and other materials.
“A bright side of this unfortunate public health situation is that more people are at home experimenting with new recipes, learning to cook different foods, and having fun improvising with the items in their pantry,” SNP President Linda Cornish told SeafoodSource. “We hope people come out of this experience feeling more confident cooking with seafood and we are here to help them along the journey.”
February 5, 2020 — The following was released by the Marine Stewardship Council:
The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), a nonprofit with the sole mission to make sure the wild seafood you love is around forever, is encouraging consumers to eat more seafood during February Heart Health Month and all year long. The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends eating two, 3.5 ounce servings of seafood each week; however, USDA reports show a majority of Americans don’t meet the recommendation for fish and shellfish consumption.
The AHA and USDA recommendations are based on heart-health benefits shown from consuming one to two servings of omega-3 rich seafood per week, or about 250-500 mg of omega-3s a day, according to nonprofit organization and MSC partner Seafood Nutrition Partnership (SNP). One study[1] found that eating one to two servings of fatty fish a week reduces the risk of dying from heart disease by 36%.
“Fish and shellfish are very important parts of a heart-healthy diet,” said SNP’s Valerie Agyeman, a registered dietitian. “Seafood is a major source of healthy omega-3 fats and are also rich in nutrients such as vitamin D and selenium, high in protein, and low in saturated fat. There is strong evidence that eating fish or taking fish oil is good for the heart and blood vessels.”
According to a 2018 GlobeScan study commissioned by MSC, 70% of Americans believe supermarkets’ and brands’ claims about sustainability should be clearly labeled by an independent organization. As the first global science-based seafood certification program to be recognized for rigor and credibility by the United Nations, the MSC blue fish label is meeting increasing consumer demand for independent verification of sustainability claims by brands. The MSC works with the fishing industry, scientists, and conservation groups to create the world’s leading standard for sustainable seafood ensuring seafood is fished from stocks with healthy populations; caught with minimal impact on the marine environment; and in an area with effective, responsive, and responsible management.
“Eating seafood is integral to our heart health, and choosing sustainable seafood is integral to the ocean’s health,“ said Amy Gorin, MS, RDN, a registered dietitian in New York City. “For us, seafood provides essential nutrients – including omega-3 fatty acids needed for heart, brain and eye health. For the oceans, choosing sustainable seafood – such as wild-caught fish labeled with the MSC blue fish – means choosing seafood that’s good for you and for the oceans, too.”
Throughout Heart Health Month, the MSC will offer recipe inspiration on its blog and on social channels – @MSCBlueFish on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Seafood dishes made with MSC certified fish are good for the entire family – from approachable, easy meals the entire family will love to sustainably-sourced pet food for your furry family members – continuing the conversation around seafood that’s good for you and good for the ocean.
“There are more than 3,000 products with the MSC blue fish label in U.S. stores,” said Brian Perkins, regional director for the Americas at the MSC Marine Stewardship Council. “Whether recipes call for frozen, canned or fresh fish, taking the simple step to look for the MSC blue fish label before you buy helps to protect oceans from overfishing, supports fishermen and fishing communities, and promotes traceability from ocean to dish.”
October 16, 2019 — The following was released by the Seafood Nutrition Partnership:
A new paper published by a group of 13 leading dietary fats scientists highlights the tremendous health benefits from consuming seafood for infant and adolescent brain development. Among the key findings of the systematic review is an average 7.7 IQ point gain in children whose mothers ate seafood during pregnancy compared to mothers who did not eat seafood.
“Relationships between seafood consumption during pregnancy and childhood and neurocognitive development: two systematic reviews” (PLEFA) uncovered 44 scientific studies since 2000 that collectively show the importance of consuming seafood by moms to support the brain development of their babies as well as the need for children to consume more fish and shellfish.
“There is a lost opportunity for IQ when mothers are not eating enough seafood,” the paper’s lead author, Capt. Joseph Hibbeln, MD, Acting Chief, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, said at the State of the Science Symposium.
The 13 scientists formed a technical expert collaborative to address two questions posed by the 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC), and utilized the USDA’s Nutrition Evidence Systematic Review to evaluate the science following the DGAC prescribed review process.
Highlights from the paper, which evaluates studies on 102,944 mother-offspring pairs and 25,031 children, includes:
“The risk is not eating enough seafood — the benefits are so substantial for the development of baby brains, eyes and overall nervous system,” said J. Thomas Brenna, PhD, an author of the paper and a member of the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee.
These findings are consistent with a technical report from the American Academy of Pediatrics earlier this year that emphasized the importance of fish and called attention to the fact that U.S. children are not eating enough seafood. Additionally, Health Canada, the European Food Safety Authority, and World Health Organization have all stated the importance of seafood for brain development.
The authors of the paper, or the technical expert collaborative who conducted the systematic review, include: Capt. Joseph Hibbeln, MD; Philip Spiller, JD; J. Thomas Brenna, PhD; Jean Golding, PhD; Bruce Holub, PhD; William Harris, PhD; Penny Kris-Etherton, PhD, RDN; Bill Lands, PhD; Sonja Connor, MS, RDN, LD; Gary Myers, MD; J.J. Strain, PhD; Michael A Crawford, PhD; and Susan Carlson, PhD. None of the scientists were paid to conduct this review, all were voluntary, and do not have a conflict of interest.
An additional paper, “An abundance of seafood consumption studies presents new opportunities to evaluate effects on neurocognitive development,” published in PLEFA provides more background on the systematic review paper.
September 10, 2019 — Federal agencies are meeting through next March to define U.S. dietary guidelines for 2020-25, and a high-powered group of doctors and nutritionists is making sure the health benefits of seafood are front and center.
For the first time in the 40-year history of the program, the dietary guidelines committee has posted the questions it is going to consider. They include the role of seafood in the neurocognitive development in pregnant moms for their babies, and in the diet of kids from birth to 24 months directly, said Dr. Tom Brenna, professor of pediatrics and nutrition at Dell Medical School at the University of Texas.
“We really got jazzed when we saw that because we wanted to figure out what the committee would find when it does its literature search on what medical evidence is out there and boy, did we find a lot,” Brenna said.
May 30, 2019 — Soon after a U.S. pediatric doctors’ group said that children need to eat more seafood, the Seafood Nutrition Partnership (SNP) delivered some hopeful news for the cause, confirming that its recent marketing campaign targeted at mothers was highly successful.
In partnership with seafood suppliers such as Starkist, Trident, Bumble Bee, and Verlasso, the coupon and digital campaign that ran for eight weeks during Lent generated a 300 percent return on investment, SNP said. The organization’s investment of USD 100,000 (EUR 90,000) produced approximately USD 300,000 (EUR 269,000) in sales growth, SNP President Linda Cornish told SeafoodSource.
Notably, sales of seafood in supermarkets in Indianapolis, Indiana, where the pilot campaign took place, rose 2.4 percent during the promotional period. Frozen finfish soared more than 11 percent, far outperforming national sales growth of less than 3 percent, according to SNP.
“We surveyed local moms and poured over a lot of data to really understand the audience. We found that Indy-area moms like seafood and they want to eat it more, but they didn’t think their families would eat it,” Cornish said.
February 20, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — Seafood News Editor’s Note: The story below lays out known facts about the cuts to the federal budget made by the Trump Administration. However, it is unlikely that Congress will accept these cuts.
The Trump Administration’s $4.4 trillion federal budget for next year takes some mean whacks to programs that affect fisheries.
Off the top, the spending plan unveiled on February 12 cuts the budget for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) by 20 percent to $4.6 billion. Among other things, NOAA manages the nation’s fisheries in waters from three to 200 miles offshore, which produce the bulk of Alaska’s seafood landings.
It’s the cuts within the cuts that reveal the most.
NOAA Fisheries is facing a $110.4 million drop to $837.3 million, a 14 percent budget cut. That includes a $17.7 million decrease in fisheries science and management, a $5 million cut in data collection needed for stock assessments, a $5.1 million reduction in funding for catch share programs and a $2.9 million cut to cooperative research programs.
The proposals for NOAA law enforcement are even more severe – a decline of $17.8 million is a 25 percent budget reduction.
“The entire law enforcement reduction is coming from the agency’s cooperative enforcement program and will eliminate funding for joint enforcement agreements with law enforcement partners from 28 states and U.S. territories,” reported the Gloucester Times.
The National Weather Service, also under NOAA’s umbrella, is facing a $75 million slice off its $1 billion budget. It will axe 355 jobs, more than a quarter of the NWS staff, including 248 forecasters.
Trump also wants to cut $4.8 million from habitat and conservation programs, wiping out funding and grants for NOAA’s fisheries habitat restoration projects.
The Trump plan proposes gutting $40 million from NOAA climate change programs, which would eliminate competitive grants for research and end studies on global warming in the Arctic, including predictions of sea-ice and fisheries in a changing climate.
The national Sea Grant College Program, which conducts research, training and education at more than 30 U.S. universities, is again on the chopping block.
Funding for programs under the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) that monitor earthquakes and volcanoes would each drop by 21 percent. The USGS water-resources program, which includes the national stream-gauge network, would be reduced 23 percent.
Trump proposes to cut the Environmental Protection Agency’s budget to $6.1 billion in 2019, its lowest level since the early 1990s and about 25 percent below the current mark.
The EPA budget also eliminates funding for climate-change research while providing $502 million for fossil energy research, an increase of nearly 24 percent.
Seafood sales also could be badly hurt by proposed deep cuts to food stamps, or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Instead of shopping at grocery stores, under Trump’s plan recipients would receive boxes of shelf-stable commodity items such as powdered milk, juices, pasta, peanut butter, and canned meats, fruits and vegetables.
“Seafood is the only major food group that is not considered a USDA commodity. If the new food delivery platform is going to put an emphasis on commodity goods, then that will leave out lean, heart-healthy seafood,” said Linda Cornish, president of the Seafood Nutrition Partnership.
Closer to home, Trump also plans to stop federal funding for the Denali Commission, introduced by Congress in 1998 as an independent agency to provide critical utilities, infrastructure and economic support throughout Alaska. The plan calls for a $10 million cut out of $17 million, with the difference going to an “orderly closure.”
The White House says that any state that can afford to pay its residents an annual dividend doesn’t need a “unique and additional federal subsidy” such as the commission, wrote longtime Alaska journalist Dermot Cole. Trump added that “the commissions’ effectiveness at improving overall economic conditions remains unproven.”
The FY19 budget, which goes into effect on October 1, now goes before Congress.
This story originally appeared on Seafoodnews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.