October 31, 2014 — To commemorate National Seafood Month, on October 22, an insert entitled Seafood 101 was published in the Boston Globe. The insert was sponsored by the New England Fishery Management Council, NOAA Fisheries and the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries.
Seafood 101 features information on local, abundant Northeast seafood, how fish are managed, the role of fishermen in science, recipes for preparing seafood and information on key fishing ports.
In 2011 on the heels of the news that quota cuts were necessary for several key groundfish stocks, NOAA Fisheries Regional Administrator, John Bullard, created the Northeast Groundfish Economic Coordinating Committee. The group was charged with looking for creative ways to help struggling commercial groundfish fishermen. You can read more about the committee's work and view the resource document for the fishing industry that was produced through this effort by clicking here.
Also out of this broader effort, the region’s Seafood Marketing Steering Committee was formed. The steering committee is comprised of fishermen, restaurant owners, state agencies, non-government organizations and NOAA Fisheries staff from Maine to Virginia, all of which are working to raise awareness about available, abundant U.S. caught and farm-raised seafood.
At present, discussions by the committee have focused on information sharing and strategic opportunities for collaboration – Seafood 101 was one such collaboration among three participants that stemmed from this effort. Stay tuned for more on the Seafood Marketing Steering Committee in the coming months …
For more information on healthy abundant seafood from the Northeast visit Fishwatch!