Daily Archives: August 19, 2015
Lawsuit accuses Costco of selling shrimp fed by slave labor
A lawsuit filed Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2015, in San Francisco accuses retail giant Costco of selling giant shrimp that was produced by slave labor in Thailand. The suit seeks a halt to the imports and refunds for California customers. “Costco, as one of the largest companies in the world, is able to dictate the terms by which shrimp are produced and supplied to it,” the suit said. Costco “publicly represents that it does not tolerate human trafficking and slavery in its supply chain,” the suit said, and should be held to its words. No one at Costco was available for comment. Read the rest here 19:4
Fish, shellfish recovered from Katrina faster than fishermen
As Hurricane Katrina lashed everything above ground, it also caused problems for seafood in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. With the exception of oysters, seafood does OK during hurricanes,” Caffey said. “The sediment can smother an oyster bed and cause short-term losses. Long term, fishermen don’t do well.” That’s because fishermen rely on boats, processing plants and docks that get walloped by the hurricanes, and that leaves livelihoods in danger. Read the rest here 17:06
Southwest Florida Sustainable seafood venture proposes processing whole fish
If you are killing a fish mostly to get its valuable eggs and turn them into an expensive delicacy, what do you do with the leftovers? Healthy Earth intends to prove its case in Southwest Florida, building on two fishy acquisitions started here: The Anna Maria Fish Co., which makes bottarga from mullet roe, and Mote Marine Laboratory’s multi-year success story growing Russian sturgeon in tanks to create a sustainable source of caviar. A more profitable and more ecologically sound solution, is to make fish chow, fish oil and maybe some fertilizer out of what is left after taking the fish’s roe and its fillets. Read the rest here 15:31
Ag Giant Cargill Is Spending More Than $1 Billion to Get Into Fish Farming
Cargill, one of the largest agricultural companies in the world, is making big investments in aquaculture. On Monday, it announced a 1.35-billion-euro deal (roughly $1.5 billion) to purchase the salmon-feed-manufacturing company EWOS. This large purchase is just one of many for Cargill, which became part of a $30-million joint venture to build shrimp-feed facilities in July and has “aquaculture capabilities” in Mexico, Central America, China, United States, Southeast Asia, India, and Ecuador, according to the company’s press release. Read the rest here 14:25
SECURE THE BOARDER! Asian carp discovery in Toronto prompts swift response
Canadian officials have moved quickly after an invasive species of fish was spotted in ponds in Toronto. It’s one of the largest responses ever against Asian carp. “We’re seeing an invasion happening in the U.S., so we can see the devastation that these species are having. We’re seeing native species pushed out for food and space, we’re seeing loss of habitat in wetlands areas and we’re seeing declines in commercial fishery values,” said Becky Cudmore, manager of the Asian Carp program. “Those are the type of impacts that these Asian carp species are,,, Read the rest here 14:03
Don’t blame fishermen for fishery problems
After many years of listening to debates over our declining environment and fisheries, I think I have come up with a simple solution to these complex problems. We need to start killing off as many manatees and groupers as we can, as soon as possible. Let’s start with manatees; there are simply too many of them for areas like the Indian River Lagoon. In fact, it is the cute cuddly manatee that has caused the environmental collapse of the lagoon. Of course the estimated 300,000 septic tanks, leaky sewer lines, approximately 545,000 human residents in Brevard County, run-off from agricultural operations, golf courses, lawns, etc.,,, Read the rest here 13:43
P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association is happy the province is seeking to become ‘Canada’s Food Island’
A proposal to brand P.E.I. as “Canada’s Food Island” has the full support of the P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association. Under the plan, announced recently by Premier Wade MacLauchlan, the province hopes to expand on the Island’s growing reputation as a food destination. The proposal includes an expansion of fresh lobster holding capacity through expansion of existing facilities and the establishment of new ones. Read the rest here 12:59
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 43′ Lobster/Crab/Gillnetter – John Deere 6081 Diesel
Specifications, information and 15 photo’s click here To see all the boats in this series, Click here 12:10
Winlock, Washington – Fish die as vegetable oil runoff from fire enters creek
An oil spill of a different sort appears to have killed hundreds if not thousands of small fish in a Lewis County creek on Tuesday, said a spokesman for the state Ecology Department. Officials believe vegetable oil and shortening that had recently been delivered to a food warehouse in Winlock washed into Olequa Creek, a tributary of the Cowlitz River, as firefighters doused a fire that destroyed the warehouse early Tuesday. The spill killed fish as far as 7 miles downstream, with what appeared to be a “100 percent kill for 5 miles,” Ecology spokesman Chase Gallagher said. Read the rest here 10:11
P.E.I. Lobster fishermen are going to some extreme lengths to keep the crustaceans cold
Like the rest of P.E.I., the lobster industry, now into its fall season, has had to adjust to this week’s hot, sunny weather. Lobsters suffer in the extreme heat and can die off if they get too warm, so fishermen and buyers have been taking extra measures to keep their catches cool. “Lots of ice,” said Shelby Ellsworth, a Miminegash fisherman. “Ice, and we always measure in the tank. We never leave out lobsters out on the open. Always measure it with ice.” Sandra Gaudet, a buyer with L&S Marketing, says the fishermen are going to some extreme lengths to keep the crustaceans cold. Read the rest here 09:26
710-lbs. Atlantic Bluefin tuna caught in Conception Bay with rod and reel
Greer Hunt Jr., 23, landed his first Atlantic bluefin tuna Tuesday, using just a rod and reel to haul in the massive fish. He shares the only licence to catch Atlantic bluefin tuna in Conception Bay with his father, Greer Hunt Sr. They are also the only fishermen in Newfoundland allowed to catch them using a rod and reel. The Hunts have a quota of a tonne and half per year, but they can also take part in the commercial fishery as well. Read the rest here 09:12
David Goethel: Fishermen’s anger justified
Recently, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker called the requirement for fishermen to pay $710 per day for catch monitoring “the most perfect example of an unfunded mandate” and continued on to call the policy “ridiculous” and “outrageous.” As a fisherman with close to 50 years experience in the fishery, I could not agree more but think your readers and editors need more context to understand the fishermen’s anger. Read the rest here 08:41
