Saving Seafood

MASSACHUSETTS: Selling state’s seafood: Report says ports like Gloucester must take lead

May 25, 2018 — Massachusetts should increase its public commitment and investment in the state’s commercial fishing industry to help foster innovation and partnerships among diverging stakeholders and the private sector, according to a report commissioned by the Seaport Economic Council.

The report, produced by the Urban Harbor Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston and titled “Building the Massachusetts Seafood System,” also recommended that major Bay State fishing ports such as Gloucester commit to a prominent role in growth and redevelopment of the fishing industry.

“It is at the local level where face-to-face information sharing and institutional support typically lead to new technology and product development, new businesses or non-profit programs and ecosystem restoration projects, and where the benefits of cultural and community development are most directly felt,” the report stated.

Lt. Gov. Karen Polito, the chairwoman of the council, traveled to Gloucester on Thursday — along with former Gloucester Mayor Carolyn Kirk, now deputy secretary of housing and development in the Baker administration — to hear the presentation of the final report at City Hall.

The presentation also drew Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll and Gloucester Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken on the dais and some members of the Gloucester City Council and fishing stakeholders in the audience of about two dozen.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

 

Mediterranean diets boost ‘good’ bacteria in the gut: Eating lots of vegetables, fish and olive oil increases levels by nearly 10%, study finds

April 27, 2018 — Eating a Mediterranean diet boosts ‘good’ bacteria in the gut, new research suggests.

Eating lots of vegetables, fish and olive oil improves good bacteria in the stomach by up to seven per cent compared with a western diet, a study found.

Lead author Dr Hariom Yadav, from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina, said: ‘We have about two billion good and bad bacteria living in our gut.

‘If the bacteria are of a certain type and not properly balanced, our health can suffer.

‘Our study showed that the good bacteria, primarily Lactobacillus, most of which are probiotic, were significantly increased in the Mediterranean-diet group.’

Poor gut bacteria has previously been linked to conditions such as depression and pneumonia.

The study, published in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition, used animals to mimic two human diets, as this allowed researchers to carefully monitor and control the nutrients ingested.

Read the full story at the Daily Mail

 

High prices turning Russians off seafood

April 24, 2018 — Russia’s overall catch has been on a consistent rise. In 2010, Russia’s total catch reached 4.2 million metric tons (MT). In 2012, that figure had increased to 4.33 million MT. By 2016, total fisheries were 4.6 million MT, and last year was record-breaking, with totals cresting 4.9 million MT, according to the Russia’s Federal Agency for Fisheries.

Yet paradoxically, the average consumption rate of fish by Russians within the same period has drastically decreased, by more than 50 percent. The decline is linked to sharp increases in prices, which have made seafood unaffordable for many people. The high prices themselves have been caused by a wide range of problems that must be tackled if Russia hopes to see its domestic seafood consumption increase.

Total catch breaks records 

Russia’s higher catch totals over the past several years can be attributed to the integration of Crimea into the Russian Federation in March 2014, as well as by Russia’s subsequent ban on imports from U. S., Australia, Iceland, Norway, and the European Union in August 2014. As a result, the country’s import volume decreased from 1 million MT in 2014 to 450,000 MT in 2016, and Russian fisheries’ production went from a 50 percent share in the domestic market in 2014 to more than 80 percent in 2017.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

 

Massachusetts: Sustaining New England’s Wild Seafood

March 27, 2018 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — The following was released by the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center:

The New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center and Eating with the Ecosystem presents Sustaining New England’s Wild Seafood on Thursday, April 12th at 6:30 p.m. as part of AHA night.  This naturalist-style lecture about marine ecosystems, how these contribute to seafood production and why it is important to take a whole-system approach to sustaining seafood.  Recipes will be shared.

This program is part of the Center’s look at the issue of sustainability during the month of April.  Admission is free.  The Center is handicap accessible through the parking lot entrance. Free off-street parking available. The Center is located at 38 Bethel Street in New Bedford’s historic downtown.

Eating with the Ecosystem’s mission is to promote a place-based approach to sustaining New England’s wild seafood, through healthy habitats, flourishing food webs, and short, adaptive supply chains. Learn more at www.eatingwiththeecosystem.org.

The New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center is dedicated to preserving and presenting the story of the commercial fishing industry past, present, and future through archives, exhibits, and programs. For more information, please email programs@fishingheritagecenter.org or call (508) 993-8894.

 

Legit Fish is Adding Validity to a Peculiar Part of the Seafood Industry

March 14, 2018 — Certain entrepreneurs have an interest in a particular topic or industry that serves as an underlying theme to their career.

Taking a look at the career of Legit Fish Founder and CEO Michael Carroll, you will see he has been involved with the seafood industry for nearly 30 years. Carroll has worked as a commercial fisherman, in various marketing roles selling cod and haddock to grocery stores, and as a business consultant for seafood-companies.

And now, he is the founder of a seafood-focused tech startup in a city both catered to tech and seafood.

Legit Fish provides an administrative and tracking platform for seafood offloaders and independent fisherman to certify and market their fish as local. The software application replaces the current paper and Excel logistics systems with a cohesive cloud-based system that offers a scalable and unmatched level of traceability in the seafood industry.

The seafood offloader simply inputs the vessel, species, sizes, and relevant harvest information which is automatically transmitted to federal harvest records, inventory, sales, accounting etc. substantially reducing labor and transaction efficiencies. The application verifies the accuracy of the product information against the official government harvest record through proprietary API access and approves the printing of labels.

“Our software is built for traceability and logistics. If you lie on a federal harvest record, there are consequences, therefore we ground our product origin claims on this record. It’s up to us to make sure that the seafood distributors are honest, while still trying to be a business solution,” Carroll said. “With our current business partners, we can authenticate landings in Boston, New Bedford and Gloucester which represents an estimated 70% of the New England Groundfish Fishery and 30% of Atlantic Sea Scallops Fishery.”

Read the full story at VentureFizz

 

Limiting the Spread of Disease in Farmed Salmon

March 14, 2018 — Currents in the ocean spread viruses that are killing large numbers of Norway’s farmed salmon. Where should fish farms be built? And should they all be in use at the same time? Researchers now know more about how to limit the virus problem.

Pancreas disease is a viral infection in farmed salmon that causes major economic losses because it reduces how much the fish grow and increases mortality. When farmed salmon are weakened, they also become more susceptible to other diseases. Pancreas disease (PD) can resolve on its own, but often mortality is high.

Researchers monitored the ocean currents in the Romsdalsfjord and in Nord- Trøndelag county in 2014. Data from the observations have been transferred to a digital model, where researchers then depicted virtual virus particles in order to understand how the disease can spread from one fish farm to another. In addition to threatening fish welfare, every year the disease leads to major losses for Norwegian salmon breeders. A single outbreak can quickly cost a small aquaculture operation more than $1 million.

Ocean currents are one of the most important pathways for the disease, carrying the virus from one fish farm to the next. Planning for where best to locate aquaculture facilities, and knowledge of which facilities to use when combatting the disease, can prevent the spread of the disease, new research from NTNU in Ålesund shows.

Read the full story at Maritime Executive

 

Massachusetts: Seafood expo cut short, still a success

March 14, 2018 — The first casualty of Tuesday’s fierce snowstorm actually came late Monday afternoon, when Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken opted for safety reasons to cut short the city’s presence at the massive Seafood Expo North America at the convention center in South Boston.

“We don’t want any of our people getting hurt trying to come in here to staff our booth or the people coming in to meet with us,” Romeo Theken said even before leaving the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center Monday. “And really, we’ve gotten most of what we wanted to get done.”

Following Monday’s session, the Gloucester contingent, led by Economic Development Director Sal Di Stefano, broke down the city’s booth and hauled everything back to Gloucester.

The third nor’easter of the past fortnight, however, did force the city — again for safety reasons — to cancel its annual Wednesday-after-the-Expo visit to the city by a contingent of largely foreign seafood processors, dealers and fishermen in Boston for the three-day seafood show that features 1,341 exhibitors from 57 countries around the globe. Cumulatively, they occupy 258,360 square feet of exhibition space.

“It’s really for the safety of our guests and out of respect for people who will be involved in snow removal around the city,” Di Stefano said. “The last thing we want to do is put somebody in danger. And you know what? They can always come back.”

The city, he said, made a strong showing in the first two days of the show, capped off Monday by its VIP luncheon tasting that drew 75 into a glassed suite overlooking the sprawling convention floor.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

 

U.S. fisheries’ leader Oliver asserts ‘business-minded’ stance at Boston 2018

March 13, 2018 — BOSTON — The US’ top regulatory authority on fishing used his first appearance ever at a Seafood Expo North America (SENA) conference on Sunday to describe how he was reshaping the mission at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to create more of a pro-business environment.

Commercial fishermen largely applauded the Donald Trump administration’s selection of Chris Oliver to serve as NOAA’s assistant administrator of fisheries in June 2017. But Oliver, who was confirmed in his new role in July, has maintained a relatively low profile since, his office not responding to requests for interviews.

In November, he told Alaska fishermen at a public meeting that he supported regulatory flexibility. The month before he had demanded the retraction of an article suggesting US seafood exported to Japan includes a high number of illegal unreported and unregulated (IUU) fish.

On Sunday, in Boston, he made it clear that he was using his leadership role to both follow the administration’s charge to combat excessive regulation and also looking out for harvesters.

“I’m a firm believer in a science-based approach to fisheries,” Oliver said. “… For 40 years, the North Pacific [Management] Council has been using annual catch limits, and I firmly believe those are the cornerstone to sustainable management. But I also believe that there is room for flexibility and a greater role for common sense frankly in our approach to fisheries management. And I want to bring a more business-minded approach to that process.”

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

 

Lund’s Fisheries Offering Fair Trade Certified Scallops

March 12, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — Lund’s Fisheries has announced that they are now offering Fair Trade Certified scallops, a first in the United States for an Atlantic sea scallop fishery.

“Ethically and sustainably harvested seafood is increasingly demanded by consumers. It is the right thing for the environment and the right thing for people,” said Wayne Reichle, President of Lund’s Fisheries. “We are proud to sell a product that’s as good for our fishermen as it is for the consumer.”

Lund’s Fisheries received approval from an independent certification group to be able to sell their scallops using the Fair Trade label. The label was designed to show consumers that the product meets the highest standards for environmental sustainability, social responsibility and fair labor practices.

“We are excited to welcome Lund’s fisheries to the Fair Trade family of certified suppliers as they expand their commitment to sustainability by bringing the benefits of Fair Trade certification to the fishermen and processing workers who are an integral part of their success,” added Julie Kuchepatocv, Seafood Director at Fair Trade USA.

This story originally appeared on Seafoodnews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

 

New Bedford’s seafood passion wows international buyers

March 12, 2018 –Fish buyers from around the world – 11 countries to be exact – congregated early Friday morning at the Wharfinger Building. While most partaking in the 14th annual fish buyer’s tour spoke English, an attribute of New Bedford communicated to all 30 people.

“They’re really passionate about their own businesses and what they sell to the people,” said Peter Lai, who traveled from Hong Kong to represent Sea and Earth Food Sources.

This year’s tour made stops at BASE New England Seafood Auction, Oceans Fleet, Northern Wind and Bergie’s Seafood.

Those on the tour also enjoyed a seafood lunch at the Waterfront Grille, which included a presentation from Kevin Stokesbury, a professor at UMass Dartmouth’s SMAST.

He offered a presentation that featured the latest research on trying to aid the groundfish fishery through the implementation of cameras.

It tied into what the buyers heard at nearly every stop on the trip regarding quotas, fishing seasons and regulations.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times