Saving Seafood

Maine delegation asks for help easing tariff impact on lobster industry

July 15, 2019 — Maine’s Congressional delegation is urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture to include funding for Maine’s lobster industry as USDA finalizes its aid package for agricultural producers affected by China’s retaliatory tariffs.

U.S. Sens. Angus King, I-Maine, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Reps. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine 1st District, and Jared Golden, D-Maine 2nd District, have signed a letter that reiterates an earlier request of relief for Maine’s lobster industry amid the ongoing trade war with China, according to a news release.

“Retaliatory tariffs have caused a very significant export market for Maine lobster — China — to all but disappear,” the letter says.

The delegation requested “significant” funds for Maine’s lobster industry through USDA’s Agricultural Trade Promotion Program.

“ATP funding will help to develop new export markets for Maine lobster, decreasing the blow of Chinese tariffs on an iconic American industry,” the letter said.

In June, the delegation sent a letter to President Donald Trump urging him to provide financial assistance to lobster businesses hurt by the ongoing trade war with China, similar to the relief being provided to American farmers.

The delegation noted that prior to the Trump administration’s tariffs imposed on a variety of Chinese goods, China had become the second largest importer of Maine lobster.

Read the full story at MaineBiz

160,000 Pounds of Frozen Fish Recalled Over Fears for Food Safety

May 30, 2019 — A Californian frozen seafood importer and supplier has asked stores and shoppers to return two different types of frozen fish over concerns for food safety.

The move came on May 28 after the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) decided to recall 160,020 pounds of fish products imported by the Los Angeles-based Richwell Group because the items were not presented for import re-inspection into the United States.

The affected catfish, or Siluriformes, products include different weights of packages containing two and three pieces of frozen headless Yellow Walking Fish as well as 14 ounce packages of wild caught, frozen, headless, and cleaned Mystus Fish.

Read the full story at The Epoch Times

USDA seeking even more Alaska pollock

April 2, 2019 — Soon after announcing its multimillion-dollar purchase of Alaska pollock from several key North American suppliers, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is seeking more of the frozen fish.

In a 29 March bid notice, the USDA said it’s looking to buy 646,000 pounds of frozen Alaska pollock fish sticks for the National School Lunch Program and other Federal Food and Nutrition Assistance Programs.

Trident Seafoods, High Liner Foods, and Channel Fish are the beneficiaries of the USDA’s March purchase of nearly USD 28.1 million (EUR 25 million) worth of frozen Alaska pollock.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

US government seeking to buy large quantity of wild salmon

March 6, 2019 — The United States Department of Agriculture is asking for bids on 324,000 pounds of frozen wild salmon fillets.

Bids on the salmon, which will be used for the National School Lunch Program and other Federal Food and Nutrition Assistance Programs, must be made by 29 March.

The USDA wants the frozen salmon fillets delivered in cases of 40, one-pound packages.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

 

USDA confirms major US pollock purchase

January 25, 2019 — A USD 30 million (EUR 26.5 million) commitment from the United States government to buy Alaska Pollock will help mitigate the effects of the U.S.-China trade war on producers.

Due to the U.S. government shutdown, the U.S. Department of Agriculture notified the Association of Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers (GAPP) via phone that it will soon publish a solicitation so that Alaska pollock suppliers can bid on USD 30 million worth of deliveries to food banks across the country.

The USD 30 million solicitation is in addition to the USD 7.6 million (EUR 6.7 million) that USDA is already purchasing to support the National School Lunch Program, GAPP CEO Craig Morris said.

Morris said the purchase was a win for the U.S. pollock sector.

“We should be really proud that people who are in need are going to get a really nutritious product, and it is great for our industry, which has had challenging times,” Morris said. “There is a lot of demand for our product and this announcement … shows that we are going to have even more demand than a couple of days ago.”

Last fall Alaska legislators pushed for the USD 30 million (EUR 26.5 million) purchase to help offset losses from the U.S.- China trade war, and the news is finally official.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Federal Shutdown Halts Some Environmental Conservation Efforts, Slows Others

January 9, 2019 — Federal researchers in western Massachusetts study ways to protect migrating fish, backyard birds and urban trees. The government shutdown is keeping them home and away from their research.

The researchers work for agencies like the USDA Forest Service and the U.S. Geological Survey.

Curt Griffin heads the UMass Amherst Department of Environmental Conservation, where some of the scientists are based.

“It’s a very, very unfortunate event that our federal colleagues are caught up in this mess,” Griffin said. “And it’s not fair to them. It’s not fair to the public that they provide important services to. So it’s just a very broken system, and they’re caught in the middle.”

Read the full story at New England Public Radio

USDA announces USD 20 million catfish purchase

September 20, 2018 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it will be purchasing nearly USD 20 million (EUR 17 million) in catfish products as part of its Section 32 “Bonus Buys” authority.

The USDA announced its intention to use its authority for catfish purchases on 9 February, is intended to “Encourage the continued domestic consumption of these products by diverting them from the normal channels of trade and commerce,” according to a release by the USDA. All told, the department is purchasing just over four million pounds of catfish from various U.S. producers.

The decision was applauded by officials in states with catfish aquaculture operations in place.

“Aquaculture and catfish production is an important segment of Arkansas agriculture,” said Arkansas Agriculture Secretary Wes Ward, in a letter of support sent to the USDA. “We appreciate Secretary Perdue’s support of this important industry and his understanding of the impact that this industry and its producers have on our state’s rural areas. This approval not only helps the industry but also helps to make sure that a healthy protein is available for food nutrition assistance programs.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Farm Bill provision would tilt school pollock, tuna purchases back to US

September 19, 2018 — US pollock and tuna harvesters don’t normally care much about the so-called Farm Bill, the massive, every-five-year legislation that helps to, among other things, preserve crop subsidies for American corn and soybean growers and nutrition programs for the unemployed. But they do this time.

That’s because Alaska Republican senator Dan Sullivan has placed a provision in one of the two bills now being worked out in a congressional conference committee that would force the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to more aggressively enforce the “buy American” rules required for schools to receive federal reimbursement for the meals they serve to children, including fish.

The US pollock industry maintains that strapped-for-cash school systems aren’t following those rules, resulting in some 60% of the pollock they serve to be what they claim is less expensive and inferior, twice-frozen fillets sourced originally from Russia. They support Sullivan’s change.

“We are mindful of the need to maximize the use of federal dollars in procuring fish products for school meal programs and for school districts to maximize available school lunch foods,” said the At-sea Processors Association (APA), a group that represents six seafood companies that maintain interests in or operate 16 US-flag, high-tech trawl catcher/processor vessels in the Alaska pollock fishery, in a recent statement.

“However, it is similarly important to maximize the nutritional value of school lunch meals for children and to ensure that students’ early exposure to fish products is positive in order to promote incorporating more seafood meals into diets consistent with federal dietary guidelines.”

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

 

Five US House Democrats get behind tariff-relief bill for fishermen

July 30, 2018 — In the same week that President Donald Trump announced his plan to offer land farmers in the US $12 billion to help compensate for losses suffered as a result of his trade scuffles with China and other nations, a small group of Democrats in the House of Representatives have put forth a plan to help fishermen.

HR 6528, introduced Wednesday by Massachusetts representative Seth Moulton, would amend a provision contained in the Magnuson Stevens Act that allows for the government to make money available to harvesters in the case of a natural or man-made disaster. It would add language that clarifies that such funds can also be used in the case of “unilateral tariffs imposed by other countries on any United States seafood.”

Co-sponsors of the bill include representatives Chellie Pingree of Maine, Stephen Lynch and William Keating, both of Massachusetts, Jared Huffman of California, and Raul Grijalva of Arizona.

Pingree, an organic farmer, has been particularly vocal about the president’s tough trade stance, writing letters to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and US Trade Representative.

“Farmers haven’t been the only ones to suffer the consequences of the Trump administration’s sloppy trade actions,” she said in a statement issued this week.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

 

Muddled communications on mercury causing consumer confusion

June 6, 2018 — It’s a rare occasion when representatives of industry, academia, and government all agree.

The fact that the U.S. seafood industry, an army of health experts, and the U.S. government all want to see the country’s population consume more seafood is a sign of how universal the agreement is surrounding the health benefits of seafood consumption.

But in seeking to achieve that objective, consensus often breaks down over the best way to communicate the benefits to consumers. One of the biggest points of division is the issue of mercury contamination in fish, since scientific studies on the potential harm of mercury in seafood are often conflicting and a source of frustration to consumers.

Jay Shimshack, an asssociate professor of public policy and economics at the University of Virginia and an expert in environmental and health policy, told SeafoodSource the problem lies with the way policymakers frame the message when issuing health advisories.

“Fish consumption advice is often complex and confusing. Message-framing matters a lot, and real-world constraints like affordability are as important as the true risks and benefits,” Shimshack said.

Consumers are told eating a variety of fish can be good for them, Shimshack said.

“But [they are told], ‘Do not consume some species [and be] careful not to consume too much of other species,’” Shimshack said. “Current U.S. commercial fish advisories list more than 60 species, and species names are not always consistent from one time and place to the next.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source