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October 17, 2014 —  Before daybreak one drizzly October morning, 44 boats representing 31 colleges organized themselves around a marina at Mattawoman Creek, a tributary of the Potomac River. Light from the GPS navigation systems was all that illuminated the faces of the drivers, who wore wool caps and camouflage hoodies.

By 7 a.m., after a recited prayer and a playing of the national anthem, the teams were off, zipping across the water to their fishing spots.

The winning team would take home $4,000, a handsome sum, at least by the standards of college students. The top 10 teams would automatically advance to a national championship tournament in April with a grand prize of $30,000. And unlike contestants in events sanctioned by the N.C.A.A., many of the participants could not only accept the earnings but also do what they wanted with them: invest in equipment, support future fishing teams or buy whatever they desired, be that textbooks or beer.

Given that approach, those looking for a glimpse of what college sports might look like when athletes can collect paychecks might find a template in the teams that are traversing the nation’s rivers and streams rather than those on fields or courts.

As the N.C.A.A. works to reform its rules amid severe criticism that they are outdated and that they exploit the athletes who play the games, it has taken steps, sometimes grudgingly, to loosen its grip on the administering of athletics. In August it voted overwhelmingly to give its five most powerful conferences greater autonomy to make their own rules, a move that could pave the way for amateur athletes to receive a portion of the enormous revenue that college programs take in.

Read the full story at the New York Times

October 3, 3014 — A U.S. Airways flight from New York to Charlotte, North Carolina, was delayed after a shipment of crabs escaped in the plane’s cargo area, an airline spokesman told ABC News.

Flight 890 was scheduled to leave LaGuardia Airport at 6:59 p.m. Thursday, but instead left at 7:25 p.m. because of “some seafood cargo problems,” the spokesman said.

Passengers tweeted about the situation, writing that crew members were forced to round up the crabs.

Read the full story and view passenger tweets about the event

 

September 24, 2014 — Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is a day when everything tastes like dessert. In symbolic hope of a sweet year to come, the table is positively sticky — honey marinades, honey cakes, raisin-studded challah bread. And, depending on where your family is from, sweet gefilte fish.

Gefilte fish, those oft-reviled patties packed in jelled broth, can be a hard sell even in its standard savory form. And with a big dose of sugar stirred in? It can be hard to swallow. But for Jews with roots in Poland, gefilte fish was always sweet. Always.

"I like to think of the gefilte fish sweetness variation as the Jewish version of the great European olive oil/butter divide," jokes Jeffrey Yoskowitz, co-founder of the Gefilteria, which makes small batch gefilte fish out of Brooklyn. On one side of the divide: sugared sweet gefilte. On the other — the side whose gefilte became standard in American Jewish cuisine — the fish is savory, seasoned with salt and lots of pepper.

Both Yoskowitz and his co-founder, Liz Alpern, have family roots in Poland and grew up with the sweet version. But in a nod to prevailing tastes (and to not mask good-quality fish), they settled on a bit of a hedge: a bit sweeter than the standard, but dialed back from the versions of their childhoods.

"Of everything we considered when making our gefilte fish, sweetness was among the top considerations. It's so contentious," Yoskowitz acknowledges. Which raises the question — why?

It turns out this difference in gefilte fish comes down to the explosion of a new industry in early 19th-century Poland: sugar beets.

Imported sugar was a highly valued commodity in Europe — "the oil of that time," jokes culinary historian Gil Marks, author of The Encyclopedia of Jewish Food. And in the face of this pricy import, the first sugar beet factory opened at the turn of the 19th century, in what is now southern Poland. And from there, the industry (with heavy Jewish involvement) took off. And sugar made its way into everything.

Read the full story at Jefferson Public Radio

SEAFOODNEWS.COM —September 15, 2014 — "Lobster Festival weekend in San Pedro is unlike any other."

Putting heroes first, the Port of Los Angeles Lobster Festival, the World's Largest Lobster Festival, in partnership with San Pedro Fish Market and Restaurant presented checks totaling $5,000 to veteran's groups including the Wounded Warrior Project last night, the opening evening for the three day Festival.

"Lobster Festival weekend in San Pedro is unlike any other. To see the families come out to support veterans was really special," said Mike Ungaro, Senior Vice President of San Pedro Fish Market & Restaurant. "Hats off to Jim Hall and his entire team at the Port of Los Angeles Lobster Festival. Every year they go out of their way to make it the world's best as well as largest festival of its kind."

The Port of Los Angeles Lobster Festival is sponsored by the Port of Los Angeles and produced by International Lobster Festivals, Inc.. It is the largest event of its kind in the world and has earned Guinness World Records for The Most Seafood Prepared at an Outdoor Event (2009), The Most Lobster Cooked and Served in Eight Hours, The Most Lobster Cooked at Once in a Single Cooker and The Largest Serving of Lobster (2013). It is also known as “the best tasting music festival in Los Angeles.” The Lobster Festival has raised over a quarter of a million dollars for numerous San Pedro civic organizations.

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

 

FORT PIERCE, Fla. — September 5, 2014 — Bargeron described the creature to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission as being about 18-inches-long, and striking its own tail.

This shrimp isn't an average crustacean.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission posted several photos on Facebook from fisherman Steve Bargeron, who watched a fellow fisherman hook a massive crustacean at a dock in Fort Pierce, Fla.

Read the full story and view the photos at USA Today

 

September 4, 2014 — Members of the Passamaquoddy Tribe this week narrowly defeated two incumbent officers and elected new leaders for its reservations at Indian Township and Pleasant Point.

The tribe’s new chiefs-elect immediately said that Passamaquoddy fishing rights will be a high priority for the new administrations.

The tribe has been embroiled in an on-again, off-again dispute with state officials in recent years over fishing rights for elvers — baby eels.

The tribe at Pleasant Point on Tuesday ousted incumbent chief Clayton Cleaves in favor of Fred Moore, who has served in the past as the Passamaquoddy representative to the Maine Legislature.

The tribe at Indian Township on Wednesday replaced incumbent vice chief Clayton Socabasin and also chose a new chief to take the place of Joseph Socobasin, who did not seek re-election.

Moore narrowly defeated Cleaves, 204-171. Vera Francis received 297 votes to handily defeat vice chief Kenneth Poynter, who got 80 votes in his re-election bid.

Billy Nicholas was elected chief at Indian Township and his brother, Leslie, was elected vice chief although both races were close. Billy Nicholas received 201 votes to 178 for Wade Lola, and Leslie Nicholas received 200 votes compared to 175 for incumbent Clayton Socabasin.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

August 25, 2014 — Tyler McLaughlin, 25, of Rye, N.H., captain of the Pin Wheel, speaks with Capt. Dave Dave Marciano of the Hard Merchandise during filming of the second season of "Wicked Tuna."

More than a million viewers tuned in for the premiere of the Wicked Tuna spinoff show “Wicked Tuna: North vs. South” when it made its debut last Sunday.

Now, the second episode this Sunday night will feature another Gloucester fishermen — Capt. Paul Hebert.

The first episode was subtitled “Yankee Invasion.” That’s because, after three seasons —and the highest rated season of the hit series — of the Gloucester-based “Wicked Tuna,” the producers created this spin-off pitting the New England captains against those in Wanchese, N.C., who fish for giant tuna using different tactics.

“It was National Geographic Channel’s highest rated August premiere since 2011,” said Chad Sandhas, NatGeo’s director of media relations. “The network was very pleased with the rating, especially since the show airs at 10 p.m., an hour later on Sunday nights than the original Wicked Tuna series aired earlier this year,” he added.

The success of the National Geographic Channel’s “Wicked Tuna” spawned the idea of pitting the New England captains against southern fishermen in the Carolina waters.

Read the full story at The Gloucester Daily Times

 

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — July 30, 2014 — Fish don't usually swim through the trees, but that's exactly what the cod are doing in the North End.

The cod featured in one of the city's newest murals, that is.

"School of Cod" is the name of the design along the large walls under the Interstate 195 overpass that crosses Belleville Avenue at the corner of Kenyon Street. It was the winning design in a contest organized by the New Bedford Public Art Committee, submitted by city artist Alex Jardin.

The design features a school of cod and bluefin tuna swimming through a sea of elm trees.

Jardin said he isn't an artist, per se — he just likes to draw and paint.

Read the full story from The New Bedford Standard-Times

July 20, 2014 — The classic New England clambake is alive and well — and gluten-free upon request.

The traditional meal features steamed clams and lobster with drawn butter, plus sides including corn on the cob. It is served on a platter in many area seafood restaurants. But the best way to enjoy a clambake is outdoors at water’s edge, with sand or at least grass underfoot, sun in your face, and a salt breeze. For most people these days, that means a catered event.

“They’re looking for a whole experience,” said Sarah Pulsifer, store and catering manager for the Ipswich Shellfish Fish Market. “They want the Maine lobsters — lobsters are huge right now. They want the Ipswich clams, which we’re famous for. The potatoes, the corn, the old-fashioned New England clambake.”

“Their main goal is to have a casual party that’s a New England tradition and have a lot of fun, but no work for the host. That’s what we get the most,” said Wendy Viator, sales office manager at Woodman’s of Essex, the landmark restaurant billed as the birthplace of the fried clam.

Woodman’s caters perhaps 400 events a year, said Viator, who is the first-born of the fourth generation of the Woodman family. A few years ago, Woodman’s added mobile deep-frying equipment, and it now offers fried clams and other items in addition to steamers and lobster.

Read the full story from The Boston Globe

July 18, 2014 — National Geographic’s “Wicked Tuna: North vs. South” Premieres August 17th

It’s a whole new battlefield and the Northern captains must conquer new styles of fishing, treacherous waters and the wrath of the Outer Banks’ top fishermen. They’re gambling on what could be a massive payday … or a huge financial loss.

The long, cold winter has just hit New England, and while the bluefin tuna season has come to an end in Gloucester, Mass., it’s just getting started in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

After a disappointing season, several of Gloucester’s top fishermen head south to try to salvage their finances by fishing for the elusive bluefin tuna in unfamiliar Carolina waters before the experienced locals beat them to the catch.

On the heels of its third and highest-rated season for hit series Wicked Tuna, National Geographic Channel pits Gloucester’s finest against good ol’ Southern fishermen in an exciting new series, Wicked Tuna: North vs. South, premiering Sunday, Aug. 17, at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.

In order to succeed, the Gloucester rod-and-reel veterans will need to master the different method of fishing — greensticking, in which artificial squid are trolled from a 30-foot fiberglass pole in order to entice bluefin swimming near the surface — and best a fleet of North Carolina captains battling for the same catches.

Read the full story at MonstersandCritics.com