Thursday, April 29, 2010

April is the Final R Month

April is the last "R" month of the cool season, which traditionally marks the end of fresh wild caught shellfish for many people. Along the Atlantic coast of North America, the spring and summer months mark a change in the types of seafood that are served. While chowders and oyster dishes may be less common, fresh crabs, lobsters and fish will are becoming more common. While the "R" month rule has traditional significance and is still obeyed by millions of seafood lovers, modern seafood operations offer top quality shellfish on a year round basis.

The following links discuss chowders and shellfish that are associated with the months that contain an "r" in their names:

seafood chowder

quahog clams

oysters

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Norwegian Cod and Haddock Fisheries Certified by MSC

Norway’s offshore Northeast Arctic (NEA) cod and haddock fisheries have been certified as sustainable under the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) environmental standard for sustainable and well managed fisheries. After successfully completing its assessment, MSC-certification for these fisheries was awarded at the European Seafood Expo in Brussels.

Around 125,000 metric tonnes of Norwegian cod and 90,000 metric tonnes of Norwegian haddock will now be eligible to display the blue MSC ecolabel. In addition to its domestic sales, the fish has a global market with fresh and frozen fish being sold in Germany, France and the UK.

source: MSC press release

Monday, April 19, 2010

Iceland Volcano is Searing Salmon Sales

Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull volcano eruption is affecting the seafood industry. In the USA, air travel restrictions have caused price increases or unavailability of specialty items such as imported salmon from areas such as Norway and Scotland.

The plume from the eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull volcano continues in April. Volcanic ash has been carried by north-westerly winds and has been detected over Norway, Sweden, northwestern Russia, northern Poland, northern Germany, northern France and southern UK.

The volcanic ash plume has affected flights over much of Europe, causing serious disruptions of business and travel. Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull Volcano began erupting on March 20, 2010.

For more information about Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull volcano eruption, visit http://www.squidoo.com/iceland

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

New BC Salmon Aquaculture Website Launched

A grassroots group has launched a new website that calls into question the agenda and credibility of some salmon farming critics in British Columbia, Canada. The website has been developed by Positive Aquaculture Awareness (PAA), a grassroots group of aquaculture workers and suppliers, and provides key facts about salmon aquaculture that are often ignored by well funded environmental groups.

“We are in the business of providing a healthy food for a growing population,” says PAA President, Cory Percevault. “Communication is becoming increasingly important as anti-salmon farming groups have had the ear of the public for far too long now.”

PAA was formed in 1998 to raise awareness of BC’s aquaculture industry and to challenge the myths about salmon farming. The new website provides key facts about aquaculture and questions the information provided by environmental groups, their funding sources and attached agenda. Areas of interest such as sea lice, closed containment and the health of farmed salmon are a key focus of the website.

“Salmon farming employs 6000 British Columbians and it’s important that their voices are heard,” adds Percevault. “The amount of misinformation on our business is shocking and we believe this new website is a good source of credible information on BC aquaculture and encourage those who may have an interest in BC aquaculture to visit this new website.”

The new website can be found at www.FarmFreshSalmon.org

Thursday, April 8, 2010

NOAA to Develop New Aquaculture Policy

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has announced plans to develop a new national Aquaculture Policy.

As a first step, NOAA is currently seeking broad input on the components of a draft aquaculture policy from interested stakeholders including communities, state and local governments, tribes, businesses, associations, the aquaculture industry, commercial and recreational fishermen, the seafood industry, non-governmental organizations, and the general public.

Stakeholders can participate in three ways - by participating in a listening session, by submitting a comment online, or by participating in a national call-in. The public input period began on April 6 and will end on May 14, 2010.

After the listening sessions are over, NOAA will analyze the public input and develop a draft national policy for review and public comment. Once that process is complete, the agency will issue a new NOAA Aquaculture Policy.

Dates and times of the listening sessions can be found at:

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/aquaculture/policy1/index.htm