Seafood Headlines April 18, 2017

State oyster recall underway on Pacific Northwest coast over Norovirus

Due to multiple reports of oyster-associated Norovirus-like illnesses, Washington State is conducting a recall for all shellfish harvested from 3/15/17 to 4/11/17 from the implicated portion of the Hammersley Inlet growing area. The area of the recall has been closed.

At this time the following companies are identified in this recall include: Calm Cove Shellfish Company, Clearwater Shellfish, Gomez Shellfish, Goodro Shellfish, National Fish and Oyster Company, Navy Yard Oyster Company, Padden Seafood, Rivera’s Shellfish, Russ Shellfish, S and B Shellfish Company, Salazar Shellfish, Schreiber Shellfish, and Sea Fresh Farms. To read the full article click here. Source Food Safety News.

Uncertainty for West Coast Shrimp; Degenerating Ocean Predictability Shakes up Market Pricing

Pink Shrimp Price Talks and Egg Laden Females Leave Shrimp Boats Tied Up at the Docks in Oregon. As with any wild species, estimating biomass is difficult and Laurie noted that "predictability of the resource is starting to go down." To watch the full video click here. Source Tradex.

Japan on verge of breaking tuna fishing cap

Japan is poised to exceed an international commitment to limit catches of threatened Pacific bluefin tuna just two years after it adopted the cap, which has been undermined by lax compliance.

Japan leads the world in catches and consumption of the fish. As of Monday, the Japanese bluefin catch had reached 99.7% of the agreed-on quota for the 12 months ending in June, making it only a matter of time -- possibly within the next two weeks -- until the commitment is broken. To read the full article click here. Source Asian Review.

‘Tartan imposters’ charge as fish egg imports hit 90%

Nine out of 10 Scottish farmed salmon are reared from eggs produced overseas, according to government data that reveals a record level of imports.

Just over 90% of eggs used to farm Scottish salmon came from other countries in 2015, up from 13% in 2005. The vast majority (86%) were brought from Norway. To read the full article click here. Source The Times.

Controlling Energy Costs in the Cold Storage Environment

Refrigeration accounts for the majority of a refrigerated warehouse’s total electrical costs, often up to 70 percent of a plant’s total operating expenses. As energy costs continue to increase, more and more food distributors are realizing the need for energy optimization and monitoring as a way to increase productivity and lower energy costs. The most effective way to reduce energy costs is by employing an integrated approach to mechanical and automation controls. To read the full article click here. Source Food Logistics.

British skippers want to see loathed fishing quotas scrapped post-Brexit and replaced with a reduction in days at sea

As experts warn relations between fishermen and the Government are at an historic low, Cardiff University polled almost one in ten of fishing boat captains. And they found concerns Ministers are totally out of touch with the views of Britain’s ocean going strivers.

The study found that two thirds of skippers want the EU’s hated Commons Fishery Policy totally scrapped, with a similar level of support for ALL foreign boats being completely excluded from British waters once the UK has left the EU.

And 56% of skippers instead favour a “days at sea” method of controlling British fishing waters. To read the full article click here. Source The Sun.

Court ruling favors US government in fishing monitor dispute

A federal appeals court has found in favor of the U.S. government in a challenge brought by a New England fishermen's group over the cost of at-sea monitoring.

The monitors are workers who collect data that help the government craft fishing regulations. The government shifted the cost of paying for monitors to fishermen last year. To read the full article click here. Source McClatchy.

Two Cited For Taking Closed Season Shrimp in St. Bernard Parish

Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries enforcement agents cited two subjects for alleged closed season shrimping violations on April 17 in St. Bernard Parish.

Agents cited Ricky R. Robin, 63, of St. Bernard, and Jonathan Gould, 36, of Violet, for using trawls for shrimp during a closed shrimp season. Agents observed the men actively shrimping in the Bay Eloi area around 6 a.m.

The Louisiana spring inshore shrimp season is currently closed in this area. Agents seized 25 pounds of shrimp and returned them to the water. To read the full article click here. Source DWF Lousiana.

Denmark to contest UK efforts to 'take back control' of fisheries

The British government’s plan to “take back control” of its waters after leaving the EU is about to be challenged by a claim from Denmark that its fishermen have a historical right to access to the seas around Britain dating back to the 1400s.

Officials in Copenhagen have mined the archives to build a legal case that could potentially be fought in the international court of justice in The Hague, although officials hasten to say that this is not their intention. To read the full article click here. Source The Guardian.

Artist Sets Futuristic Dinner Party In World Reshaped By Rising Seas

What will our dinners look like when temperatures and sea levels rise and water floods our coastal towns and cities?

Allie Wist, 29, an associate art director at Saveur magazine, attempts to answer that question in her latest art project, "Flooded." It's a fictional photo essay (based on real scientific data) about a dinner party menu at a time when climate change has significantly altered our diets. To read the full article click here. Source NPR the Salt.

State’s fishing fleet confronts an opioid problem

A reputation for drug use has long followed the Massachusetts fishing fleet, whose fiercely independent crews often return to port flush with cash and ready to exhale after long and dangerous trips.

Some fishermen link that reputation to a rugged cowboy culture; others to the pain medication taken by men and women whose bodies are battered by the job. But now, as opioid deaths rise relentlessly in Massachusetts, fishing captains from Cape Ann to Buzzards Bay are beginning to stock their boats with naloxone, a drug that reverses overdoses and is commonly sold under the trademark Narcan. To read the full article click here. Source Bonston Globe.

New Study Sheds Light on Relationship Between Forage Fish, Predators, and Fishing.

A paper published this week shows a new understanding of how commercially fishing forage fish impacts forage fish predators like sea birds, marine mammals, and pelagic finfish.

Forage fish are small, silvery, bottom-of-the-food-chain fish that eat plankton and small invertebrates. They are eaten buy seemingly everything in the ocean, providing “forage” for many other animals—you’ve probably heard of the two most common forage fish: sardines and anchovies. If asked their favorite marine species, not many people would choose a forage fish, but many would choose a forage fish predator: Penguins and puffins are endearing, dolphins and seals are adorable, and tuna and swordfish are delicious. Forage fish help sustain these populations, but are also favorite foods for many cultures. To read the full article click here. Source CFOOD.

Poachers ravaging nearly half of natural World Heritage sites

Nearly half of all the natural World Heritage sites on the planet are being ravaged by poachers who are driving some endangered animals towards extinction, according to a new report.

 The illegal wildlife trade was estimated to be worth some ï¿¡15bn, making it the fourth largest international criminal trade after drugs, guns and human trafficking, according to the ‘Not For Sale’ report.

 Illicit logging and fishing are also occurring on an epic scale. To read the full article click here. Source Eurasia Diary.

Cape fishermen push to protect herring stocks with year round closure

Peters, and many other Cape fishermen, think it is more than coincidental the decline occurred just as a large-scale fishery for herring, an important food source for tuna, was permitted, bringing large vessels working in pairs towing a massive net between them to within three miles of the Cape. To read the full article click here. Source Cape Cod Times.

Seafood Thieves Get Just Desserts

The Northeast District Court has sentence two men to prison for stealing frozen seafood and bird meat.

The theft took place in November and the value of the ‘hot’ frozen goods was estimated at ISK 700,000 (EUR 5,901/USD 6,308).

One man was sentenced to three months’ prison and the other man to two. They both pleaded guilty. To read the full articel click here. Source Iceland Review.

Fortune Fish parent company acquires e-commerce firm Lobster Gram

Fortune International, the parent company of Fortune Fish & Gourmet, has acquired e-commerce company Lobster Gram.

This will enable Fortune to expand into the e-commerce market nationally, Fortune said in a release.

Lobster Gram has an e-commerce lobster sales website and an 18,000 square foot distribution center in Biddeford, Maine, which started as a one-man show in 1987 by Dan Zawacki, known as “The Lobsterman”. To read the full article click here. Source Tidewater Systems.

GREATER TRANSPARENCY AND AWARENESS WILL HELP STOP FLOW OF ILLICITLY CAUGHT SEAFOOD

We are now extending our efforts into the wholesale and retail seafood markets with the goal of stopping the sale of illicitly caught fish throughout the supply chain. Seafood, from both wild and farmed sources, is the most valuable food commodity in the world, accounting for nearly $150 billion in global trade per year, a number that has increased annually by 8 percent since 1976. To read the full article click here. Source The Pew Cheritable Trust.

Pensacola Bay Oyster Co. wins top prize at Innovation Awards

The Innovation Awards, held this week at the Hilton Pensacola Beach hotel, are a competition that serves as a funding opportunity similar to the TV show "Shark Tank." Divided into four business categories — post-revenue, pre-revenue, veteran and student — 61 startup companies applied to this year’s competition. Judges whittled down the applicants to the best three in each category, and those companies presented their business plans Thursday. To read the full article click here. Source Pensacola News Journal.

Top cod counter: More data needed

The Baker administration cabinet secretary in charge of the industry-based survey of Gulf of Maine cod agrees with commercial fishing interests that conclusions drawn from the initial findings of the multi-year study are premature. To read the full article click here. Source Gloucester Times.

FDA sends warning letter to Vietnam over importer’s seafood HACCP

Vietnam’s Ba Hai Company Limited received a warning letter dated March 21, 2017 from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over its fish and fishery products examined at an importer located in the United States.

FDA said Ba Hai’s HACCP plan for scombroid species of fish contains “serious deviations” from seafood HACCP requirements, enough that its frozen scombroid species of fish are adulterated. To read the full article click here. Source Food Safety News.

Eating Fish Benefits: Seafood Diet Is Healthy, But Omega-3 Is Not Guaranteed

Seafood is very healthy to eat – all things considered. 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, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), all of which are beneficial to health. The U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans strongly suggest that adults eat two servings of seafood, or a total of eight ounces, per week. To read the full article click here. Source International Business Times.

Aldi stores recall batch of Irish tuna steaks due to 'health risk'

ALDI has recalled a batch of tuna steaks due to the detection of "high levels of histamine".

Customers who purchased Skellig Bay tuna steaks are being advised not to eat the product as they pose a "possible health risk". To read the full article click here. Source Independent.