Saving Seafood

MASSACHUSETTS: New Bedford launches seafood branding campaign

July 28, 2017 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — For generations New Bedford fishermen withstood the elements to do their jobs. Through rain storms they fished. In choppy waters they fished. Against harsh winds they fished.

So it was fitting that the unveiling of the city’s newly-created seafood brand was delivered in the rain at the Custom House Square in downtown New Bedford Thursday evening.

“We are the biggest, the baddest, the most comprehensive fishing port in America,” Mayor Jon Mitchell said. “We are going to scream from the mountain tops that we are the biggest fishing port in America. We are a real seaport and real fishing port. We want everyone to know that.”

In unabashed self-promotion, the city’s seafood brand initiative aims to make New Bedford synonymous with fresh, sustainable seafood much like Maine is with lobster and Alaska is with salmon. The logo, designed by Moore & Isherwood Communications, features a western rig fishing vessel, a major cog that’s helped make the Port of New Bedford the most lucrative fishing port in the country.

When buyers, whether they’re locally, nationally or internationally-based, purchase seafood from the Port of New Bedford, the products will have the logo on the packaging to serve as a visual reminder of what they are eating.

But more than just self-promotion, the branding will also tell consumers that the product they purchased has also been through rigorous testing in any of the city’s processing centers to ensure quality.

“Outside of our region, not enough people know how important New Bedford and our fishing industry are to providing sustainable, fresh, delicious fish to buyers and consumers everywhere,” Ed Anthes-Washburn, port director, said.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

CHRISTIAN PUTNAM: Local seafood in global competition: Time to fight back

July 28, 2017 — Most of our seafood is imported. “Most” means 92 percent; sometimes a higher number is quoted. That leaves eight percent of the seafood that is consumed in the United States sourced within our boarders. As was discussed last week, a piece of fish that is caught off the coast of Scituate, returned to shore properly handled but not frozen, processed locally and sold within a day or so is far superior to a frozen foreign product. Superior in both health and quality benefits. It would be hard to find someone to argue against this supposition.

Why would a consumer that lives in or near a fishing port every buy the foreign frozen version of something that is much better tasting and for you when caught locally? The answer is two-fold. One issue is that the seafood market is clearly global. Foreign players often have cost leverage over local operations. Second, many consumers do not realize they are buying or ordering a foreign-sourced fish and may not realize it has been frozen. Sometimes products are misrepresented on menus, sometimes the fish case at the grocery store is missing the required sign when a product is foreign and often the consumer just doesn’t think to ask.

While cognitively consumers know local is better, the differentiation between local and product from elsewhere simply enough to change behavior. A piece of fish is a piece of fish to many. Plus, after years of lackluster economic growth, many consumers are still very driven by price.

Read the full column at Wicked Local

CONNECTICUT: Industry expert says consumers have a role in saving local seafood

July 28, 2017 — STONINGTON, Ct. — Finding fresh, locally caught fish isn’t easy, but if educated consumers are persistent, they will not only help local fishermen, they’ll also help rebuild weakened domestic seafood markets that have been deeply gouged by imports and regulations.

Meghan Lapp, fisheries liaison for Seafreeze Ltd., a producer and trader of frozen seafood in North Kingstown, explained these points and more in her presentation, “Sea to Table: Bringing the Bounty of the Sea to You,” before an audience of about 40 people at the La Grua Center Thursday night.

In attendance were state Sen. Heather Somers, R-Groton, First Selectman Rob Simmons and a number of longtime local fishermen. The Stonington Economic Development Commission sponsored Lapp’s presentation.

She was joined by a panel comprised of Tom Williams, a generational fisherman with two sons who are commercial fishermen; Rich Fuka, president of the Rhode Island Fishermen’s Alliance; and Mike Gambardella, owner of Gambardella Wholesale Fish at the Stonington Town Dock.

Lapp said the fishing industry was so over-regulated, “You practically have to be a lawyer to go fishing.”

Read the full story at the Westerly Sun

MASSACHUSETTS: Live Music, Matchups, and More for all ages at Seaport’s Fish Pier Sunday, August 13th, Boston’s Landmark Fish Pier

July 27, 2017 — BOSTON, Mass. — The following was released by the Boston Seafood Festival:

Live music from popular local performers and blue-grass bands, kids’ favorites like face-painting and costumed pirates and all-day festivities make this summer’s Boston Seafood Festival on August 13, 11am – 7pm, a must for seafood lovers of all ages.

Some of the festivities in store for attendees of Boston’s biggest and tastiest seafood festival include a live performance from headliner American Idol alum and rising country star Ayla Brown as well as numerous activities for children and families.

Along with fish cutting demonstrations by celebrity chefs, a lobster bake tent, and a beer garden, Boston Seafood Festival guests are able to enjoy a plethora of activities ranging from face painting to photos with roaming pirates and costumed characters. Attendees will also be entertained by live music including the rhythmic rock band La Joya, a soulful jazz band and the vivacious bluegrass inspired band, Wheelhouse Rodeo.

Sunday, August 13

Over All Activities

12:00 – 1:30pm         Fish Cutting Demonstration (Pier)

12:00 – 6:00pm         Lobster Bake Tent (Throughout Pier)

12:00– 6:00pm          Beer Garden (Throughout Pier)

12:00 – 6:00pm         Kids Activities (Throughout Pier)

12:00 – 6:00pm         Acoustic Aaron (Lobster Bake)

12:00– 6:00pm          Chef Demos (Throughout Pier)

1:30 – 4:30pm           Pirates (Throughout Pier)

2:30– 3:30pm            Battle of the Shuckers (Pier)

Main Stage

11:30 – 12:15pm       Welcome Program

12:30– 1:30pm          A Jazz Band

2:00 – 2:30pm           Interfaith Unity Blessing

2:30 – 3:15pm          Two Way Radio

3:30 – 4:30pm          Wheelhouse Rodeo

4:45– 5:40pm           Ayla Brown

5:30 – 6:30pm          La Joya Band

Scheduled times are subject to change

Tickets are $15.00 and are available at http://www.bostonseafoodfestival.org/. Proceeds underwrite Boston Seafood Festival and in part support the work of the Boston Fisheries Foundation, a not-for profit organization that preserves and protects the local seafood industry’s long-term viability as well as safeguards the ocean’s present and future natural resources.

The Boston Seafood Festival is presented by Boston Fisheries Foundation along with generous sponsors that include; Massport, Harpoon, Stavis Seafoods, Channel Fish, The John Nagle Company, Quarterdeck, JCDecaux, Carpenter’s Union, Ipswich Clambake, East Boston Savings Bank, Boston Sword & Tuna, and F.J. O’Hara & Son’s. Boston Seafood Festival is managed and produced by Conventures, Boston’s leading events management and communications agency.

About Boston Seafood Festival:

Presented by Boston Fisheries Foundation, Boston Seafood Festival combines a terrific family-friendly day of delicious seafood sampling, live music, local chef demonstrations, children’s activities and more with a rare opportunity to learn more about preserving Boston’s essential seafood and maritime heritage.

For more information and a complete list of activities, please visit http://bostonseafoodfestival.org.  Check out event updates on the Seafood Festival Facebook page, @BostonSeaFest on Twitter, or follow the conversation using #BostonSeaFest

ARA BUAKAMSRI: Major change for the Thai and global seafood industry

July 27, 2017 — Thailand is on the brink of making real progress toward the elimination of destructive fishing and human rights abuses in its seafood supply chains. As a potential yellow card de-listing from the European Commission looms, it remains to be seen whether the country will take the steps needed to fully meet the standards to eliminate human rights abuse in the seafood industry.

It’s fair to say that Thai authorities have made progress in key areas, including reforms to the legal and regulatory framework for fishing that was drawn up in 1947, along with improvements to and the enforcement of labour regulations. At the UN Ocean Conference in New York this year, Thai delegates announced a voluntary commitment to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing by rigorously controlling, monitoring, and inspecting all Thai-flagged fishing vessels operating inside and outside Thai waters. A key piece of this commitment is to eliminate all IUU fishing in Thai fishing fleets by 2019.

Understandably, this progress has been met with criticism, seen by some as insufficient and cosmetic.

Read the full opinion piece at the Bangkok Post

SIMBA Seafood Traceability System Improves Productivity with Real Time Production and Inventory Updates for Management, Operations and Accounting

July 27, 2017 — REDMOND, Wash. — The following was released by Dynamic Systems, Inc.:

Dynamic Systems, Inc., a leader in Automated Seafood Solutions has updated SIMBA to now track production minute to minute as it happens on the plant floor for real-time data.

Most Seafood Processors record plant production and inventory manually using paper and pen or spreadsheets. Although the system works it is time consuming and error-prone.

The SIMBA System now provides real-time information to Management for timely business decision-making. Operations can monitor each production line in real-time and identify bottlenecks or issues as they happen. And Finance can have inventory and shipping data automatically uploaded to their accounting or ERP system for immediate billing.

Plant floor data entry is accomplished seamlessly using touch screens which can be formatted to show each user only what they will need to select. Employees are able to quickly enter multiple attributes per production run, such as species, grade, color, area, etc., and print unique labels for each carton.

SIMBA’s traceability function offers granular data with depth of traceability unmatched.  Track lots through processing, commingling and re-packing. Print audit reports with the punch of a button as soon as the items are packed.

The accuracy and speed of barcode scanning allows SIMBA’s inventory and shipping information to upload in real-time for sales and invoicing. Warehouse personnel use mobile barcode scanners to record carton and pallet locations and to ship against sales orders, work orders or log cartons into specific vans.

SIMBA Solves 3 Huge Problems: “SIMBA has been a great tool for our company. It solved three huge problems: Production Tracking, Traceability, and Shipping Accuracy. We would like to expand the system in the near future.”

The Man Who Got Americans to Eat Trash Fish Is Now a Billionaire

July 19, 2017 — Chuck Bundrant was a college freshman with $80 in his pocket when he drove halfway across the country to Seattle to earn a few bucks fishing. The year was 1961.

He hasn’t stopped fishing since.

And today, Bundrant, the founder and majority owner of Trident Seafoods, is worth at least $1.1 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. His wealth is due to a fair measure of pluck. Back in the early 1980s, he persuaded Americans to eat pollock, then considered a trash fish, at fast-food restaurants and, to this day, Trident ships it — along with salmon and cod — to chains including Costco and Safeway.

Along the way, Bundrant cultivated politicians who would pass legislation that aided Trident’s business by keeping foreign fisheries at bay. These days, Trident also is benefiting from health-conscious consumers gravitating to seafood.

The Bloomberg index calculates that Bundrant owns 51 percent of privately-held Trident, which had $2.4 billion in revenue last year, based on information compiled from trade groups. It’s valued by the Bloomberg index at about $2.1 billion, using comparisons to five publicly traded peer companies, including Clearwater Seafoods Inc. and Oceana Group Ltd. Trident operates about 16 processing plants and 41 fishing vessels — and remains defiantly independent.

“We don’t answer to investment bankers like some other seafood companies,’’ the company writes on its website. “We only answer to our customers, our fishermen, and our employees.”

Read the full story at Bloomberg

Trump calls out US seafood trade imbalance

June 5, 2017 — U.S.  President Donald Trump’s declaration that June is National Ocean Month – and his stated desire to grow the country’s seafood exports – was praised by seafood industry groups.

“The fisheries resources of the United States are among the most valuable in the world. Growing global demand for seafood presents tremendous opportunities for expansion of our seafood exports, which can reduce our more than US 13 billion (EIR 11.6 billion) seafood trade deficit,” he said.

The American Shrimp Processors Association welcomed President Trump’s call-out of the domestic seafood industry, the organization’s executive director, C. David Veal, told SeafoodSource.

“The American Shrimp Processors Association welcomes any recognition from the Trump administration of the significant problems caused by the trade imbalances of imported seafood. The USD 4.5 billion (EUR 4 billion) trade deficit from shrimp alone has had devastating impacts on communities in the Gulf and South Atlantic regions for the last two decades,” he said. “Any effort to reduce the trade deficit is appreciated by those who make their livelihoods in the domestic shrimp industry and their associated communities.”

In his remarks commemorating the declaration, Trump also said that the country’s offshore areas are underutilized and often unexplored.

“We have yet to fully leverage new technologies and unleash the forces of economic innovation to more fully develop and explore our ocean economy,” he said.

Gavin Gibbons, vice president of communications for the National Fisheries Institute, said it was “good to see the White House taking notice of the seafood community and focusing on the importance of resource utilization.”

“Safe, sustainable expansion of underutilized areas may present an opportunity for expansion of things like aquaculture. We look forward to seeing any administration plan for such an effort,” Gibbons said.

The key to successful expansion of U.S. seafood production will be maintaining the rigorous sustainability oversight of NOAA, according to Gibbons.

“Initiatives that seek long-term growth solutions should continue to observe the tested, science-based system based on total allowable catch,” he said.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Eat more seafood for your health, right? Actually, it’s not that simple.

May 20, 2017 — The Dietary Guidelines for Americans strongly suggest that adults eat two servings of seafood, or a total of eight ounces, per week. Fish and shellfish are an important source of protein, vitamins and minerals, and they are low in saturated fat. But seafood’s claim to fame is its omega-3 fatty acids, including docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), which are beneficial to health.

Omega-3s are today’s darling of the nutrition world. Many observational studies have indeed shown them to help alleviate a range of conditions including high blood pressure, stroke, certain cancers, asthma, Type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease. However, there isn’t complete scientific agreement on the health benefits of omega-3s, especially when considering the lack of strong evidence from randomized clinical trials, which are the gold standard for research.

So what exactly is the evidence that seafood is good for your health?

The strongest evidence exists for a cardiovascular health benefit, and from consuming seafood (not just fish oil), which is significant because heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States.

One of the things I research is Americans’ meat and protein consumption. Though many of us are concerned about getting enough protein, most Americans actually get more than enough protein.

Rather, the problem is that most of us don’t include enough variety of protein sources in our diet. We eat a lot of poultry and red meat but not as much seafood, nuts, beans, peas and seeds. For seafood in particular, consumption is estimated at about 2.7 ounces of seafood a week per person, well below the recommended eight ounces.

So the solution might seem simple: Increase public-health messaging along the lines of “Seafood is healthy. Eat more of it.” But it’s a bit more complicated than that.

Read the full story at the Washington Post

2017 SeaWeb Sustainability Summit taking place 5 to 7 June in Seattle

May 4, 2017 — The 2017 SeaWeb Seafood Summit, the international seafood sustainability conference, will take pace in Seattle, Washington, U.S.A. from 5 to 7 June.

The summit aims to connect the industry’s environmental, social, and economic stakeholders and give them a forum for productive dialogue, partnerships, and solutions, according to a press release from Diversified Communications, which produces the summit in partnership with The Ocean Foundation [Editor’s note: SeafoodSource is owned by Diversified Communications].

The site of this year’s summit will be the Westin Seattle. The program includes a main keynote and daily plenary presentations as well as six breakout sessions, with topics ranging from traceability and transparency to business and management, aquaculture, IUU, and FIPs.

Read the full story at Seafood Source