Posted in | The Future of New England Seafood
GMO Salmon: Food of the Future?
Members of Congress inserted a provision into the recently-passed omnibus federal spending bill that prohibits the sale of genetically modified salmon until the FDA establishes “labeling guidelines” for the product. Even though this stipulation is only in effect until September 2016, it gets to the heart of the issue with GMO salmon – consumer choice. … More Info
Maine’s Saltwater Crop
Seaweed, which flourishes in the cold water and rocky terrain of the Gulf of Maine, is a vital component for healthy ecosystem functioning. In addition to being an excellent source for productivity, seaweed serves as critical habitat and nursery area for several invertebrate and vertebrate species. Apart from the significant ecosystem value of seaweed in terms of productivity, critical habitat, and nursery area, seaweed also has substantial economic value. For over one hundred years, the people of Maine have been collecting seaweed for personal use. However, this practice is beginning to gain traction as a new and valuable commercial harvest. … More Info
Consider the Lobster Price: How Climate Change Could Affect Your Lobster Roll
Lobster prices are on the higher end this summer, and scientists are pointing to cooler water temperatures as the cause. Don’t let this fool you, though. Ocean temperatures are still on the rise, and our lobster industry is still at risk. … More Info
Red’s Best Charts a Path Forward for Locally Sourced Seafood
Red’s Best is developing innovative technology to change the way fishermen sell to distributors and the way restaurateurs and consumers trace their seafood from boat to plate. And notwithstanding the gloom surrounding some of New England fishing operations, his business is thriving—since beginning six years ago, it’s grown from one employee to about fifty. … More Info
Man, Eating Shark
My plan was to kick off Shark Week by feasting on Squalus acanthias, aka Spiny Dogfish, and reporting my impressions. Spiny dogfish are one of the few fish populations in good biological condition that New England fishermen can still catch, having recovered from a crash back in the early 1990’s. Once a fish despised because of the havoc it caused with fishing gear and its voracious predation on more valuable commercial fish, many fishermen who can no longer find cod or other prime species are turning to dogfish out of financial desperation. … More Info
Local oysters deliver a taste of place
We’ve come across a few oyster-related items so we thought we’d put them together to share today. Maybe we can consider it an early Valentine’s Day post? First comes a new report from our friends at Chefs Collaborative which explores … More Info
Attention shoppers: Finding local sustainable seafood just keeps getting easier
If you’re reading TalkingFish.org, you probably already know how important it is to make sure that the seafood you purchase is from a healthy fishery and was caught in a sustainable manner. But did you know that it’s now easier … More Info
Consumer education is the key to better prices for New England fish
Glen Libby is a second-generation fisherman from Port Clyde, Maine who is currently Chairman of the Midcoast Fishermen’s Association and President of the Midcoast Fishermen’s Cooperative, which started the nation’s first community-supported fishery, Port Clyde Fresh Catch. He also serves … More Info
Sounding out on fish assessment technology
There’s been some buzz lately from luminaries like Senator John Kerry and Legal Seafoods’ Roger Berkowitz about new methods for measuring fish populations using acoustic remote sensing that are being pioneered by a group of scientists from MIT and Northeastern … More Info
Fishing Banks: The state of play in New England
“Fishing Banks” is an exclusive Talking Fish series looking at the use of permit banks to support a diverse groundfish fleet while encouraging sustainable fishing and the continued rebuilding of fish stocks. This post is the third in the series. … More Info