Nutrition

May 1, 2013 — UMass Dartmouth students sampled four seafood species often described as under-appreciated by conservation groups and which a Plymouth company is trying to bring into university dining halls.

"They're fish (that) consumers should know more. They've never really been marketed here," said Keith Flett, founder and CEO of Open Ocean Trading, a Plymouth firm hoping to bring "focus fish" — Flett does not like the more colloquial term "trash fish" — into university and school dining halls.

The species — pollock, hake, redfish and dogfish were featured at Tuesday's taste test — are popular overseas in many cases but still lag behind cod and haddock in the U.S. But as cod quotas take a beating and prices rise on other fish, advocates think it's time for a cultural shift toward lesser-eaten species.

"Fishermen haven't had to rely on these lesser-known species to support their businesses" in the past, said Tim Fitzgerald, who directs the Environmental Defense Fund's sustainable fisheries program.

Fitzgerald called the alternative species a potential "economic windfall" for fishermen besieged by falling quotas for staple fish, noting that quotas for redfish or dogfish are higher than those for cod or haddock.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

 

 

April 15, 2013 — Despite the controversy concerning the possible sale of genetically modified (GM) salmon in the United States — NGOs are now lobbying supermarkets not to carry it — consumers there are already eating farmed fish fed genetically modified ingredients.

Species such as tilapia and pangasius imported from Southeast Asia, and quite possibly other species from other parts of the world as well, have in all likelihood been fed manufactured diets containing GM soya.

According to industry sources, the use of GM soya in fish feed is widespread and is generally, if quietly, accepted. One fisheries consultant says it is very difficult to obtain non-GM soya anyway. “There is no natural (non-genetically modified) soya to be found anywhere.”

However, Skretting, which claims to be the world leader in the production and supply of feed for farmed fish and shrimp, says it is able to source the non-GM soya it needs from Brazil. Although it appears that this could only be required for European customers.

According to Marit Husa, communications manager, Skretting companies in Europe do not use GM ingredients in feed whenever it is requested by customers.
Norwegian aquaculture feeds manufacturer, EWOS said more or less the same.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

 

 

April 8, 2013 — One of the most common questions we encounter is, "How do I know what fish is ok to buy?" Polls show that most Americans want sustainable seafood, and over half are willing to pay more for it, yet navigating the waters of eating better fish remains baffling for many of us. To make matters more complicated, sustainability labels are confusing, and fish fraud runs rampant. So how do we do the right thing?

One simple step we can all take is to buy wild domestic seafood. 91 percent of the seafood consumed in the U.S. is imported, and over half of what we catch here is sent overseas. Talk about a broken food chain. With our own traditional fishing communities struggling for better access to the marketplace, it's nonsensical that we eat so much imported fish. In fact, American fisheries are actually the world leader in terms of sustainability. When the Magnuson-Stevens Act was passed in 1976, it became federal law that no U.S. waters could be overfished. Though it has taken time, around the country wild fish stocks are rebuilding, management is improving, and independent fishermen have a better chance at passing their work down to the next generation.

Atlantic Spiny Dogfish is one recent example of an American seafood success story. Unappreciated here in the U.S, no rules were put in place to protect the species, and increased demand for the fish in Europe led to declining stocks. Strict management was implemented, and the fishery was declared rebuilt in 2010, receiving MSC certification in 2012. Dogfish is somewhat of a Cinderella story in the fish world: it's gone from an undervalued species to a sustainable, delicious, affordable option. What is more, it supports the Northeast fishermen who are looking for new fish to catch after recent cuts to the Atlantic cod quota.

Read the full story at the Huffington Post

 

 

April 8, 2013 — Scientists have turned up ample evidence that consumption of seafood high in omega-3 fatty acids may help protect against cardiovascular disease. But the data have usually been indirect, gleaned from food questionnaires used to estimate consumption.

But now a new analysis relying on blood tests and years of clinical exams confirms that higher blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids may reduce the risk for heart disease and death in people older than 65.

The blood tests were used to track the levels of three types of omega-3 in 2,692 randomly selected people, average age 74 at the start of the study, for 14 years. All were generally healthy and without previous heart disease. None used fish oil supplements.

The study was published online in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Read the full story at the Sarasota Herald-Tribune

 

 

SEAFOOD.COM NEWS [Seafoodnews.com] — April 4, 2013 — Trader Joe's issued one of its periodic updates on its efforts to convert its sourcing to sustainable seafood. Following is the March 27 update:

Related to work done in support of our seafood goal of shifting to sustainable sources, below are some product specific updates. (Going forward, we will provide monthly updates on the following products as well as new products fitting the goal.)

Frozen Swordfish: We have stopped sourcing swordfish caught in Southeast Asia and are evaluating sources from US Pacific waters. As we work through existing inventory, it's possible that we will have gaps in supply before being able to offer swordfish fitting our goal.

Canned Tuna

Canned Yellowtail Tuna in Olive Oil: We have switched our sourcing from long-line catch methods to pole and line catch methods. We are working through existing inventory; and while we may have gaps in supply as we make the transition, we are working to stay in stock on this item. The new, pole & line caught product will have updated packaging reflecting the change.

Canned Albacore Tuna: Our canned Albacore Tuna items are transitioning to sources using a circle-hook and nylon lead catch method; this is being done to help reduce bycatch. We are working through existing inventory and once we move into a supply of product caught with the new method, the packaging will be updated to reflect the catch method.

Farmed Shrimp

We are in the process of developing a set of standards for our suppliers of farmed shrimp to cover concerns ranging from environmental impact of the aquaculture to the use of antibiotics to safety and traceability from the farms to our stores.

Farmed Salmon

In keeping with our approach of not using GMO ingredients, we will not be offering genetically engineered salmon. We are in the process of developing a set of standards for our suppliers of farmed salmon to cover concerns ranging from environmental impact of the aquaculture to the use of antibiotics and hormones, to prevention of escape of farmed fish into the wild.

This article originally appeared on Seafood.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

April 2, 2013 — Eating fish could slash an older person's risk of dying prematurely by more than a quarter, and their risk of dying from heart disease by more than a third, a new study from the Harvard School of Public Health and the University of Washington has found.

Indeed researchers discovered that older adults with the highest blood levels of the fatty acids found in fish lived, on average, 2.2 years longer than those with lower levels.

"Although eating fish has long been considered part of a healthy diet, few studies have assessed blood omega-3 levels and total deaths in older adults," said lead author Dariush Mozaffarian, associate professor in the Department of Epidemiology at Harvard, in a press release. "Our findings support the importance of adequate blood omega-3 levels for cardiovascular health, and suggest that later in life these benefits could actually extend the years of remaining life."

Researchers have long linked the consumption of unsaturated fats in fish with a reduced risk of dying from heart disease. And the American Heart Association recommends eating fish — especially fatty fish — at least twice a week.

But this is the first time researchers have linked levels of fish consumption with death rates.

Read the full story at the Huffington Post

 

 

April 1, 2013 — Scientists have turned up ample evidence that consumption of seafood high in omega-3 fatty acids may help protect against cardiovascular disease. But the data have usually been indirect, gleaned from food questionnaires used to estimate consumption.

But now a new analysis relying on blood tests and years of clinical exams confirms that higher blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids may reduce the risk for heart disease and death in people over age 65.

The blood tests were used to track the levels of three different types of omega-3 in 2,692 randomly selected people, average age 74 at the start of the study, for 14 years. All were generally healthy and without previous heart disease. None used fish oil supplements.

The study was published online Monday in Annals of Internal Medicine.

There were 1,625 deaths over the 14-year study period. The highest blood levels of the three kinds of omega-3, individually and combined, were associated with the lowest total mortality, and there was a dose-response relationship — that is, as blood levels of omega-3 went up, the risk for death declined.

After adjustment for a number of variables, those in the highest 20 percent in omega-3 blood levels were 27 percent less likely to die of any cause than those in the lowest fifth. Those with blood levels in the highest fifth were also 40 percent less likely to die of coronary heart disease, and 48 percent less likely to die of an arrhythmia than those in the lowest fifth.

There were fewer deaths from stroke in those with the highest levels of omega-3s, but the difference was not statistically significant. Over all, the researchers calculated that those with the highest omega-3 blood levels lived an average of 2.22 more years than those with lowest.

Read the full story at the New York Times

 

 

April 3, 2013 — Let’s take a closer look at how seafood fraud pulls some tricks of its own. But what is seafood fraud, you ask? To put it simply, anytime consumers or buyers purchase a seafood product that is not what they are paying for—is fraud.

The most common form of seafood fraud is short-weighting, which happens when processors overglaze, soak, and/or over bread seafood to manipulate or misrepresent its weight. Products might also be mislabeled to avoid higher import tariffs. However, the practice of “seafood substitution” is what has made recent news. Seafood substitution occurs when a species is mislabeled and substituted in whole or in part for a different species—disguising a low valued species as a more expensive one. The good news is that the seafood industry, academia, and federal and state governments are proactively developing solutions to protect consumers from fraud.  The Better Seafood Board , formed by members of the National Fisheries Institute in 2007, helps restaurants, retail operations, and manufacturers report suppliers who commit economic fraud. The board encourages seafood buyers who have unresolved issues with suppliers for selling short weight or otherwise mislabeled products to contact their hotline at 1-866-956-4272 to document these issues.
 
In our digital age, technology is helping fight fraud in more ways than one. Many companies are using QR codes—digital codes that redirect consumers to a website—where they can learn specific details about their seafood. One California sushi joint is even serving their fish labeled with a QR code printed on edible rice paper, which directs diners to sustainability information from yours truly—FishWatch.gov.
 
Seafood distributors and retailers are busily investing in new ways to increase our ability to track seafood from ocean to plate. Through Washington, D.C.-based ProFish, restaurants that purchase ProFish seafood can provide diners with QR codes linking to the supplier’s FishPrint program , which shows when and where the seafood was harvested, who caught it, and how sustainable it is, along with the Latin genus of that species and nutritional information for good measure.

Tagging fish is another way to trace seaood products from origin to market. By tagging red snapper and grouper harvested in the Gulf of Mexico with unique numbers, Gulf Wild™  tracks each fish back to its fishermen and resolves any fraud issues from the start. Chefs and consumers can look up a product’s tagging number on a website displaying a photo and bio of the fishermen who caught it, as well as a map of where and when the fish was caught. And yet another program, Gulf Seafood Trace , uses electronic trip ticket systems to find and confirm data about a multitude of fisheries products—from their harvest location all the way to the consumer’s dinner plate.

Read the full story at NOAA FishWatch

 

 

April 1, 2013 — Something about the limited amount of fresh, sustainable seafood in Brooklyn smelled fishy to Samantha Lee, Dennis O’Connor and Sean Dixon. The trio decided to put their own spin on that old proverb about giving a man a fish, by starting Village Fishmonger, a community supported fishery that functions like Community Supported Agriculture for seafood–a CSF.

“Seafood’s been this black hole where there’s only very few spots in the city that average consumers have access to,” says Lee, who lives in Brooklyn Heights. “It’s not a high-margin business, so I think it gets really hard for mom-and-pop stores to supply it, and people want the ability to choose something that’s not packaged in styrofoam and plastic at a national chain. It kind of just seemed like a problem that we could try and help solve.”

A variety of businesses based in and serving Brooklyn are dedicated to filling that sustainable seafood void. Sea to Table helps restaurants source good fish, and there are a variety of CSFs delivering fresh, sustainably-caught fish to our borough.

Village Fishmonger sources mainly finfish, but sometimes shellfish, from small fisherman co-ops off the coasts of Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey, and membership ranges from $90 to $360 for a 12-week commitment. Of its current 150 members, Lee says half pick up their fish at one of three Brooklyn sites–Huckleberry Bar, Choice Greene or Brooklyn Commune. A fourth pick-up spot opens tomorrow, April 2, at Four & Twenty Blackbirds. There are also six pick-up spots in Manhattan, and future CSF locations in Queens and the Bronx are a possibility.

Read the full story at Brooklyn Based

 

 

March 29, 2013 — McDonald’s bet on their new Fish McBites to help lift the company out of financial doldrums this winter. The gamble didn’t pay off: The new product didn’t sell very well, and it’s going to be pulled from the menu at the end of the month.

But as KUCB’s Lauren Rosenthal reports, the McBites experiment wasn’t a total flop — at least, not for Alaskan fishermen.

Listen to the full story at Alaska Public Media