Seafood Headlines February 13, 2017
McDonald's is testing a snow crab sandwich
McDonald's is classing up the joint by introducing a snow crab sandwich, which is being served at four San Francisco Bay Area restaurants.
It's at least the second attempt by the burger maker to tap into the Bay Area food scene for inspiration. In May, the company unveiled the made-to-order Gilroy Garlic Fries, made with garlic from Gilroy, California. The garlic fries were served in four restaurants in South Bay.
If successful, the snow crab sandwich could pose a threat to the old McDonald's standard: The everlasting Filet-O-Fish. To read the full article click here. Source USA Today.
Quiznos (Langostino) Lobster Offerings Rise Above a Sea of Fish Sticks and Fillets
Quiznos popular Lobster & Seafood Salad and Sub and Lobster Mac & Cheese are back. This year, Quiznos is introducing the brand-new Lobster & Seafood Salad Ciabatta which features the tasty lobster salad guests crave, served on Quiznos newest artisan bread option – toasted Ciabatta.
"We know our guests look forward to Quiznos lobster promotions at this time of year and we try to surprise and delight each year with a new offering" said Susan Lintonsmith, Chief Marketing Officer. "Last year, we launched our new pasta platform and featured our Lobster Mac & Cheese during the Lenten seafood season. This year, we're excited to offer our new Lobster Ciabatta sandwich. We continue to listen to our guests and push for delicious innovation in our product offerings." To read the full article click here. Source PR Newswire.
Seatech Langostino Lobster Meat
From a MSC certified fishery, packed from fresh cooked langositno, langostino lobster meat is the perfect bite sized seafood. From cold, fresh salads to steaming, creamy bisques and pasta dishes, the Chilean Langostino Meat (Cervimunida Johni and Pleuroncodes Monodon) is flavorful, versatile and attractive. Only the best langostino meat is selected and sold under the Seatech label. Our office in Santiago is constantly working with the packers to assure we receive the highest quality product possible. This gives us a great advantage over others who do not have the same contact with the packers. They are not assured the same quality we demand of our products. For additional information visit www.seatechcorp.com/chileanlangostino.
North Pacific council gets review of Bering Sea pollock program
After two years of almost ceaseless contention, the North Pacific regulatory waters have cooled down for now.
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council oversees all federal fisheries between three and 200 miles off the Alaska coast. One of eight regions, the North Pacific fishery is by far the country’s most profitable, having produced two-thirds of the country’s total seafood value in 2015.
Over the last two years, the council has been in battle mode over chinook salmon and halibut bycatch, and Gulf of Alaska groundfish catch shares. There have been parades of protest and industry stand-downs and rural Alaska villages emptied to give impassioned pleas alongside Seattle fishing crews and captains. To read the full article click here. Source Alaska Journal of Commerce.
Why the Olympia Oyster Is Primed for a Comeback
Why would anyone want to eat oysters this small? I asked myself the first time I saw a half dozen Olympia oysters on the half shell. I was newly obsessed with learning the flavors and textures of raw oysters. Grand Central Oyster Bar in Manhattan was — and still is — the Harvard for general oyster education, so it was my classroom. Its menu lists 256 oysters, named for the places they are farmed or wild harvested. Not all are always available, but the name Olympia had a nice ring to it, so I thought I’d take a chance and try a half dozen.
From the Oyster Bar’s shucking stand came a plate of six tiny oysters, each about the size of a 50-cent piece, with meats so small they hardly qualified as morsels. But after eating a couple, I was intrigued. They had big flavor for such little guys — the earthiness of an estuary, a sweet and briny taste; nuttiness; and something metallic and coppery, like pennies in a stream. To read the full article click here. Source Eater.
Big Changes At New Orleans Restaurants As First-Ever Crab Fishing Closure Looms
Louisiana blue crab is everywhere from the gumbo pot to the seafood boil in New Orleans. But for a 30-day span beginning later this month, the local catch will be off limits.
From Feb. 20 through March 21, the state will enact a first-of-its-kind closure of the blue crab fishery. Along with other new regulations restricting the harvest of immature female crabs, the shutdown is intended to give fledgling crabs a respite and encourage a stronger population when the fishery reopens in early spring. To read the full article click here. Source The New Orleans Advocate.
GAA Supports Responsible Pangasius Producers
The pangasius industry finds itself in the media spotlight, and the Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) wishes to take the opportunity to set the record straight on a number of issues.
Pangasius can be produced responsibly and to rigorous food-safety standards and therefore can be purchased with confidence on these grounds. Pangasius producers certified to Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) standards are subject to rigorous food-safety inspection and environmental production controls. These producers have invested in their businesses to meet these requirements and should be respected for their leadership in doing so. To read the full article click here. Source Global Aquaculture Alliance.
Star of BBC's Trawlermen takes leading role at Scottish Seafood Association
Peterhead skipper Jimmy Buchan has been appointed business manager of the Scottish Seafood Association (SSA), the trade body for the country's processing industry.
The rough-tough star of the BBC's Trawlermen series is taking over from Michael Bates, who is moving to a new post as technical manager at Seafood Ecosse in Peterhead.
Bates will continue to work with the SSA through a transitional period, and thereafter will continue in his separate role as group manager of the SSA's chain of custody scheme. To read the full article click here. Source Daily Record.
Aquaculture Technologies Asia saves FinFish Enterprise project, workers
A HONG Kong-based company has saved up to 30 jobs after deciding to buy a struggling Far North aquaculture and fish export company.
Portsmith-based Finfish Enterprise Pty Ltd has been taken over by The Company One.
The Aquaculture Technologies Asia subsidiary director Don Wong signed off on a contract to manage the facility yesterday. To read the full article click here. Source Cairns Post.
Vietnam to boost shrimp exports
The Vietnamese government has said it aims to massively upgrade the country's shrimp industry with a view to boosting exports. It called for investments from commercial banks to help raise output considerably.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc called on the country's fish-farming industry to boost shrimp exports, state media reported Tuesday.
Speaking at a conference in the southern province of Ca Mau, he pushed for $10 billion (9.35 billion euros) in shrimp exports by 2025. To read the full article click here. Source DW.
Australia relaxes ban on shrimp import
Accordingly, dried prawns, shelf-stable prawn-based food products, irradiated bait for aquatic use, pet fish food, aquaculture feed, and uncooked prawns caught from the exclusive economic zone of Australia are subject to the ban lift.
The lift came after the department found out that the risk of white spot virus outbreak is low.
The ban took effect on January 9, 2017 after the white spot virus outbreak was found to erupt in shrimp farms in the southeast of Queensland state in December 2016. To read the full article click here. Source Vietnamnet.
Coal ash selenium found in fish in North Carolina lakes
A new Duke University study has found high levels of selenium in fish in three North Carolina lakes receiving power plants' coal ash waste.
"Across the board, we're seeing elevated selenium levels in fish from lakes affected by coal combustion residual effluents," said Jessica Brandt, a doctoral student in environmental health at Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment, who led the study. To read the full article click here. Source Science Daily.
New Zealand whales: Hundreds refloat on high tide at Farewell Spit
More than 200 whales stranded on a remote beach in New Zealand on Saturday have refloated themselves and returned to sea.
But conservation officials have warned that they could still turn back to the beach at Farewell Spit, South Island.
Earlier, volunteers managed to refloat some 100 of the more than 400 pilot whales which beached on Thursday. To read the full story click here. Source BBC News.
Hawaii May Be Breaking Law by Allowing Foreign Men to Fish
Hawaii authorities may have been violating their own state law for years by issuing commercial fishing licenses to thousands of foreign workers who were refused entry into the country, The Associated Press has found.
About 700 of these men are currently confined to vessels in Honolulu without visas, some making less than $1 an hour. They work without most basic labor protections just a few miles from Waikiki's white sand beaches, catching premium tuna and swordfish sold at some of America's most upscale grocery stores, hotels and restaurants. To read the full article click here. Source ABC News.
Belarus, Ecuador discuss joint agrarian, seafood processing companies
Belarus and Ecuador discussed setting up joint companies to process seafood and agricultural products. The matters were talked over at a meeting between Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus and Ecuador Igor Poluyan and Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade of Ecuador Humberto Jimenez Torrez, BelTA learned from the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The parties considered the state and prospects of boosting bilateral trade and economic cooperation, including the setting up of joint companies to process seafood and agricultural products, and also cooperation of the two countries in international organizations. Special attention was attached to the organization of forums between entrepreneurs of the two countries, the setting up of the Belarus-Ecuador Business Cooperation Council. To view the original article click here. Source BETA.
Pescanova changes its logo for the first time in six decades
The fishing company Pescanova has changed its image for the first time in its almost 60 years of history, with the renewal of its current logo.
The new logo retains the red colour and capital letters, to maintain the essence of the previous one and take advantage of the positioning that already had Pescanova in the memory of the consumers, explained the company in a statement.
"The new logo is inspired by the freshness of the marine environments and the dynamism that the flags transmit when they fly in the wind," the note stresses. To read the full article click here. Source FIS.
Commercial Rock Crab Fishing OK'd North to Bodega
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife on Friday extended the open area of the commercial rock crab fishery north to Bodega Bay.
The move extends the fishery from the Mexican border to Bodega Bay.
Recreational anglers are advised to avoid consuming the viscera of rock crab north of Bodega Bay.
The commercial rock crab fishery was closed north of Pigeon Point in San Mateo County on Nov. 8 because of the presence of domoic acid levels in crab viscera. To read the full article click here. Source Pacifica Patch.
Every time you eat seafood, you’re probably eating fleece fuzz
A recent report from NPR explains that teeny tiny microfibres are making their way into our fish – and into our diets as a result.
When we cook and eat seafood, those microfibres don’t just disappear. So we end up eating them.
How is this happening? It’s down to how often fleece-lovers of the world (AKA your mum, campers, and people who prioritise warmth and comfort over all else) washing their jackets and jumpers. To read the full article click here. Source Metro.
Marel launches new high-speed linerless labeler at Seafood Expo North America 2017
Marel announces the U.S. launch of its new M360 high-speed labeler. This state-of-the-art labeler employs the latest technology in flexible linerless labeling. It offers premium presence on the retail shelf with full wraparound labels, as well as C-wrap partial wraparound labels and top labels. Live demonstrations will exhibit the M360’s first-class labeling of all popular tray sizes and skin packs. To read the full article click here. Source Marel.
Vietnamese fishing vessel apprehended at Lihou Reef
A Vietnamese fishing vessel suspected of illegally fishing in Australian waters has been apprehended off the coast of Cairns.
Maritime Border Command (MBC), a multi-agency task force within the Australian Border Force (ABF) working in cooperation with the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) and Parks Australia apprehended the vessel and its 15 crew near Lihou reef in the Coral Sea.
The vessel was initially sighted on 3 February 2017 by an MBC surveillance aircraft, approximately 325 nautical miles east of Cairns, Queensland and 172 nautical miles inside the Australian Exclusive Economic Zone (AEEZ). To read the full article click here. Source Australian Fisheries Management Authority.
Fishing vessels are required to carry cameras on board
A new regulation published today in Chile's official gazette requires industrial and artisanal fishing vessels of 15 meters or more in length to use image recording devices to detect and probe discarding and by-catch activities.
The measure responds to the current Act 20,625 of Disposal of Hydrobiological Species, which seeks to reduce the impact of non-selective fishing on the different species.
Javier Rivera, head of the fisheries department of the Undersecretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture, explained that the current Chilean regulation on discarding "is internationally recognized for its purpose of transparently understanding and mitigating, in a coherent way, the realities of the different fisheries, fleets and gears that exist in the country, while advancing in the incorporation of modern and effective control elements such as electronic monitoring systems.” To read the full article click here. Source FIS.
Sernapesca evaluates declaring state of plague emergency due to toxic microalgae
The National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service (SERNAPESCA) evaluates the possibility of declaring a state of plague emergency due to the blooming of toxic algae in the waters of southern Chile, in order to prevent its dispersion towards the North.
Sernapesca reported this week that salmon farms Australis and Nova Austral informed the death of more than 170,000 fish over the last few days, possibly affected by the emergence of microalga Karenia mikimoto. To read the full article click here. Source FIS.
Creed Announces €28m in Funding for Capital Projects at Ireland’s Six Fishery Harbour Centres and at Local Authority Owned Small Harbours
On Monday the 6th of February 2017 the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed TD, announced details of a €28m Capital Investment Package for the ongoing development of Ireland’s Local Authority owned small harbour network. (see Table 1 below for details )
In announcing the initiative the Minister said “The €28m I am allocating for the 2017 Fishery Harbour and Coastal Infrastructure Capital Programme represents a significantly increased capital investment in the six Fishery Harbour Centres and other fisheries related marine infrastructure. It is testament not only to this Governments ongoing commitment to the Seafood sector, but also to the success of the sector in terms of increased activity levels.” To read the full article click here. Source Our Ocean Wealth.