Thursday, December 31, 2009

Atlantic Seafood - New England to Florida

Seafood from the Atlantic Coast of the USA includes some of the highest quality fish and shellfish in the world. Atlantic seafood includes shrimp, lobsters, crabs, oysters, clams, scallops and a long list of fish.

These links offer more information about regional seafood:

New England Seafood

New Hampshire Seafood

Maryland Seafood

Virginia Seafood

North Carolina Seafood

Florida Seafood

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Bank of Montreal Urges Canadians to Eat Lobster for New Years

BMO Financial Group has reaffirmed its support for customers affected by the downturn in the Atlantic lobster fishery, and encouraged Canadians across the country to show their support by buying lobster this holiday season.

In its press release, a BMO official called on Canadians to support Canadian lobster fishers by making lobster a part of their New Year’s festivities. “I encourage everyone to bring more lobster home. There’s no better way to enjoy New Year’s Eve than to have lobster. Prices have collapsed to a near 20-year low, and Canadian lobster fishers need your support. You’ll be having a treat and helping out your fellow Canadians at the same time.”

Best American East Coast Sustainable Fish - Black Sea Bass

Seafood lovers that are seeking sustainable fish might want to consider black sea bass. These small but delicious fish are harvested with traps, similar to lobster traps. The traps do not require baiting as the fish enter naturally to seek cover. Bycatch in the black sea bass fishery is very low, often non-existent and non-target species are returned to the water. Black sea bass can be bought by visiting local USA seafood markets along the Atlantic Coast.

Monday, December 28, 2009

Cioppino - a Classic Italian Seafood Stew

Italy, known for its cuisine, also makes extensive use of fresh seafood. Cioppino is a classic Italian fish stew made with a mixture of fish and shellfish. The meal is not only popular in the home country, but also whereever Italian fishermen have settled. Depending on local species, the dish may contain fish, shrimp, crabs, mussels or other seafood. Other ingredients include wine, broth, herbs, garlic and butter.

Sunday, December 27, 2009

150th anniversary of UK Fish and Chip Shops

2010 marks the 150th anniversary of Fish and Chip Shops in the U.K. To mark this event the National Federation of Fish Friers (NFFF), in conjunction with our partners in the industry, are planning a year of promotional activities. The first shops to sell Fish and Chips opened in 1860, one in London, the other in Lancashire. Each of the ingredients had existed separately for some time prior but got together in 1860 to make the perfect partnership.

Great Britain is famous for its simple yet delicious use of North Sea fish, especially cod, haddock, saithe, sole and plaice. The meal, which originated as a result of the industrial revolution, consists of battered, deep-fried fish and sliced deep-fried potatoes. The meal has gained a strong urban following that continues to present day, with British style "chip shops" being famous not only in the United Kingdom but around the world.



For more information, visit: http://www.federationoffishfriers.co.uk/

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Seafood Paella

Spanish cuisine offers several classic seafood meal choices. Paella, a traditional dish, is a colorful mixture of saffron-flavored rice and meat. The name refers to the paellera, the flat, round pan in which it is cooked. A traditional paella is cooked outdoors, over a wood fire. Seafood used in the dish includes clams, prawns, lobster, mussels or squid.

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Haddock for Christmas

Several dishes from Europe and Scandinavia feature salted or smoked fish and rich sauces. German style haddock and potatoes is a good example. The meal pairs delicious salted haddock with hearty white potatoes, both items that can be stored during the long European winter. The recipe calls for alternate layers of potatoes, fish and onions. Eggs are beaten and folded together with sour cream, pepper and mace, then poured over the potatoes. The dish is then sprinkled with breadcrumbs and additional butter and baked slowly.

Haddock is also very popular smoked in Europe and Scandinavia where a famous product is finnan haddie. The real finnan haddie consists of North Sea haddock which has been gutted, split and smoked. In Scotland, it is traditionally served at breakfast or lunch but usually not as the main course of the meal.

Haddock Information

Traditional Seafood Dishes

Walking Fish New Year’s Oyster Fundraiser Share

Walking Fish is offering a special New Year’s Oyster Fundraiser share:

Sales are closing soon, so order your share today!

For $40, you will receive:

A bag of 24 oysters, fresh from Carteret County fishermen
A shucking knife, lemons, recipes and shucking instructions

Delivery on New Year’s Eve (Thursday, Dec. 31)
11:00 am to 1:00 pm
Duke Gardens parking lot off Anderson St. in Durhan, NC

Order online at www.walking-fish.org/oyster.php

Please contact Kim Gordon at kag38@duke.edu with any questions.

Sales close at midnight on Christmas Day

A community-supported fishery (CSF) is based on the community-supported agriculture (CSA) model. A CSF involves pre-payment by consumers for a ‘share’ of fresh, locally harvested seafood (i.e., a set amount of seafood generally picked up by the consumer on a weekly or bi-weekly basis). Just as CSAs can encourage sustainable and profitable farming practices, CSFs have the potential to do the same for fishing.

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Mexican Seafood Dishes

Mexican seafood meals include seafood enchiladas, fish tacos and other recipes. Fish tacos are made with traditional ingredients such as toasted corn tortillas, sweet peppers, jalapeno peppers, onions, lettuce, tomatoes, grilled, smoked or fried fish, cheeses, lime and others.

Seafood enchiladas are another very simple Latino dish to prepare. A typical enchilada recipe is the foundation of the meal, with tortillas being filled with vegetables, sauce and practically any type of boneless fish. Once assembled, the enchiladas are arranged in a casserole dish and covered with more sauce, cheese and spices.

Traditional Seafood Dishes

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

UK Consumers Buy Prawns for Christmas

Brits will go crackers for prawns this Christmas with more than 2,000 tonnes predicted to be sold over the festive period, according to Seafish, the authority on seafood.

Last Christmas, sales of coldwater prawns – the small variety commonly used in prawn cocktails – increased by 280% and the trend will be repeated this year as consumers stock up for the party season.



Karen Galloway, Seafish market insight manager, said: “Prawn cocktails, prawn canapés and garlic prawns are all the rage during the festive period and this Christmas a massive 2,000 tonnes of all varieties of prawns will be sold across Britain.

“And it’s good to know prawns can be a healthy indulgence this Christmas. They count towards your recommended two portions of fish a week and contain zinc and copper, both of which are important for healthy, glowing skin.”





Prawn Links

Prawn

UK Seafood

The Popularity of Seafood

This article from Fresh Seafood discusses the most popular forms of seafood products including fresh, frozen, smoked and canned.

See: The Popularity of Seafood

Monday, December 21, 2009

Sicilian Fisherman's Stew






A traditional recipe for Sicilian Fisherman's Stew

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup chopped red onion
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 medium ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped, with their juices
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 lbs fresh mussels in the shell
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

Heat the olive oil in a wide, heavy pot over medium heat, add the onions and garlic, and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add the parsley and tomatoes. Raise the heat and bring to a simmer. Add 1 cup water and the wine.

Cook, partially covered, for 10 minutes.

Add mussels (in shell), cover, and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.


recipe and photo credit: Fresh-Seafood.Net

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Arctic Char

Arctic char is a member of the Salmonidae family which includes salmon and trout. Arctic char are found in both freshwater and saltwater in Arctic, sub-Arctic and alpine lakes and coastal waters of Canada, Iceland, Greenland, Scandinavia, Siberia, the U.K. and other parts of northern Europe.

Arctic char is light, moist and firm in texture and serves as an excellent salmon or trout substitute. Char are highly prized for their excellent flavor and high content of Omega 3 fish oil.
Fish Chowder made with Arctic Char

2 lbs. arctic char
2 potatoes peeled cut into 3/4 inch cubes
1 small onion, sliced
6 strips bacon or salt pork
3 Tbsp. butter
2 cups scalded milk
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Remove skin and fillets and cut off head and tail. Cut fish into 2 inch pieces and set aside.

Put head, tail, and backbone pieces into a stew pan, add 2 cups of cold water and bring slowly to boiling point; cook 5 minutes.

Cut bacon or salt pork into small pieces and fry out, add onion and fry 5 minutes. Strain fat into a large pan, add potatoes to fat, then add 2 cups boiling water and cook 5 minutes.

Add liquor drained from the bones, add fish, cover and simmer 5 minutes.

Add milk, salt, pepper, and butter.

To thicken, melt 1 tablespoon butter and add 2 tablespoons flour, blending well. Gradually add 2 cups scalded milk.

Serve steaming hot with crackers.

More Arctic char information:

http://www.fresh-seafood.net/home/fish-shellfish/arctic-char

http://www.squidoo.com/arctic-char



Tools and Techniques for Cleaning Fish and Seafood

When cleaning fish it’s important to decide if you will scale or skin the fish as well as choosing to fillet the fish or simply gut and remove the head, tail and fins. Smaller fish may not be suited for filleting but most larger fish can easily be filleted in order to provide high quality boneless meals. Skinning the fish and trimming any dark meat can further raise the quality of your meal.

Prior to filleting fish, select the proper knives and check their edge. Sharpen and clean the blade if needed. For very large fish, a thick blade may be necessary to cut the skin. Once the tough outer skin is cut, it may be necessary to switch to a flexible fillet knife. Never use a knife to scale fish, instead use a fish scaler or an old kitchen knife that is dull and no longer useful for cutting.

These pages have specific tutorials and other information on cleaning fish, shellfish and other seafood:

Cleaning and Filleting Flounder
Cleaning and Filleting Tautog
Cleaning Black Drum Fish
Cleaning Scaling and Gutting Pan Fish
Fillet Knives and Other Kitchen Accessories
Freezing Fish and Other Seafood

Best Seafood Recipes

When searching online for the best recipes for fish, shrimp, prawns, lobsters, scallops, clams, oysters, mussels and other seafood, an excellent resource is this seafood recipe collection from Fresh Seafood.

The collection includes a wide range of recipes, searchable by seafood type, ethnic cuisine, newest and most popular.

Friday, December 18, 2009

Shrimp, Fish, and Lobster at the Winter Farmers' Market

Fresh local New Hampshire seafood will be available for sale on Saturday December 19th, 2009 from 10-2pm. Among the items offered will be an abundance of NH Shrimp and local fish...brought to you by Eastman's, Yankee Coop and Seaport Fish.

More details, including driving directions, a map, and a list of all the farmers and food vendors who will be there, available at www.seacoasteatlocal.org

Visitors are encouraged to enjoy the season while supporting local fishermen - buy local shrimp this year!

More information about New Hampshore cold water shrimp can be found at www.nhseafood.com

Dutch Government Offers Funds for Fishery Certification

The Dutch parliament voted recently to amend the government’s 2010 budget to make an additional 500,000 euros available for fishery assessment and certification. The decision means that The Netherlands have now allocated a total of €1.5m towards fishery certification.

source: MSC press release

Queenscliff Seafood Feast - Good Friday, April 2nd 2010

The annual Queenscliff Seafood Feast is Australia’s biggest culinary celebration with the freshest of seafood available, with all proceeds going to the Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal.

Held on Good Friday the event is recognized by the Australian Fisheries Management Authority as the largest and best seafood event in Australia and attracts thousands to the family friendly day in search for some tasty morsels.

This years Queenscliff Seafood Feast is Good Friday, April 2nd 2010.


New Hampshire Shrimp Boil

A Shrimp Boil will be held at Strawbery Banke's Candlelight Stroll on the evenings of December 19th and 20th, from 4-8pm.

Fishermen and other volunteers will be on hand to answer questions about local shrimp and demonstrate how to prepare them. Shrimp will be $2 a cup, with proceeds with benefitting Strawbery Banke and NH Seafood.

For information, the Strawberry bank event link is: http://www.strawberybanke.org/candlelight-stroll.html

Enjoy the season as you support local fishermen - buy local shrimp this year!

More information about New Hampshire shrimp can be found at www.nhseafood.com

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

European Seafood Exposition

The European Seafood Exposition is the world's largest seafood fair. Attracting buyers and sellers from over 140 countries around the world and featuring the stands of over 1600 exhibitors.

Join top buyers from over 140 countries at the world’s largest seafood trade fair.

The European Seafood Exposition attracts buyers and sellers from all corners of the globe to Brussels for three days of business, networking, growth and opportunity.

* Visit the stands of over 1,600 exhibitors, representing all categories of seafood products: fresh, canned, frozen, and value-added seafood; storage, processing, and handling equipment; a host of seafood-related services including freight-handling, insurance, and information technology.


* Source the newest, most innovative products hitting the market. The prestigious Seafood Prix d’Elite new products competition celebrates its 10th year in 2010.

Whatever you call it – Brussels Seafood, ESE, Seafood Expo, or Salon du Seafood - if you want to access the global seafood market, you need to attend the European Seafood Exposition.

The European Seafood Exposition will be held April 27-29, 2010.

Regional Seafood Links

Squidoo, a popular web 2.0 site offers several pages about regional seafood:

Virginia Seafood

North Carolina Seafood

South Carolina Seafood

New England Seafood

New Hampshire Seafood

Pacific Coast Seafood

Canada Seafood
Fresh-seafood.net has released a new series of seafood species information pages:

salmon
arctic char
cod
haddock
pollock
mackerel

Several additional pages about fish, shellfish and other seafood are coming in the next few weeks.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Gulf of Mexico Red Snapper Recovering

A recent scientific update on Gulf of Mexico red snapper shows that fishermen may be able to catch more fish next year. “The update showed harvest levels were still a bit too high in 2008; however, scientific projections are promising for 2009, indicating that the stock may improve enough to support higher harvest levels,” said Dr. Bonnie Ponwith, Southeast Fisheries Science Center director for NOAA’s Fisheries Service. “This is very exciting news and is evidence of how science and management can work together to protect our natural resources.”

Historical records indicate fishermen have targeted red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico since the late 1800s as a subsistence fishery. However, fishing pressure became too great throughout the mid-1900s as coastal populations increased and saltwater sport fishing became more popular. Heavy fishing since then brought this population to a level that could not be sustained or reproduce as much as it could.

In response to the poor condition of this once prolific population, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council began to address the issues in the mid-1980s. The actions taken by the council have ranged in variety and degree, from adjusting recreational size limits to implementing a catch share program for commercial fishermen in 2007.

“This has been our most challenging fishery issue in the Gulf of Mexico to date,” said Dr. Roy Crabtree, southeast regional administrator for NOAA’s Fisheries Service. “The Gulf Council deserves a lot of credit for making some very difficult decisions and commercial and recreational fishermen deserve equal credit for complying with the regulations to help this species recover.”

The red snapper population is still a long way from making a full recovery, but reducing fishing pressure has expedited the recovery process and continues to provide long-term benefits to the fish, as well as to those dependent upon it for business and recreation. As the species’ condition continues to improve, fishermen are reporting red snapper in areas where they haven’t been seen in many years, such as off of Tampa Bay, Fla., and southward.

The scientific update was completed by a panel of experts selected by the Gulf Council and comprised of academic, state, and federal scientists. This panel presented their results to the Gulf Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee in early December.

The Gulf Council may review this information at their next meeting in February in Mobile, Ala., and make a recommendation to NOAA’s Fisheries Service to increase the current red snapper catch levels. The update suggests the current catch level can be increased from five million pounds to slightly more than 6.9 million pounds.

While this is good news, an increase to the total allowable catches may not support an increase to the length of the recreational fishing season. Preliminary data indicate the recreational fishery exceeded its annual quota by more than one million pounds in 2009. Any decision regarding the length of the 2010 recreational fishing season will need to take into account final information on the extent of that overage. NOAA's Fisheries Service will determine the length of the recreational season early next year; however, the season will begin on June 1.

It is important to note that red snapper are managed separately in the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic (North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida’s east coast). Earlier this month, NOAA’s Fisheries Service announced a temporary rule to protect red snapper in the South Atlantic as its population is in poor condition, much like the Gulf of Mexico population once was. The temporary measures for the South Atlantic become effective on Jan. 4, 2010, and will not apply in Gulf of Mexico waters.

source: Gulf Council press release