"seafood" news and stories

There's more grim news coming out of Japan this morning as officials there widen the evacuation band near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant over concerns that additional radiation may leak from the damaged facility. Earlier this week, Tokyo parents were warned not to give infants tap water, which has tested positive for radioactive iodine; and despite import bans, some Japanese vegetables that have tested positive for radiation found their way to Singapore.

Radiation fears are also migrating to seafood. Japanese officials said they have detected higher levels of radiation in ocean waters near the damaged nuclear power plant, fueling fears on the impact this may have on Japan's fishing industry. The catastrophe has left the famed Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo reeling.

Should the situation at the Fukushima plant worsen, the fallout from the disaster could have complications for some of our own seafood. Philadelphia science blogger Bix Webber posted a troubling graphic on her website earlier this week: a New York Times interactive map that shows travel projections should a plume of radiation head east towards the U.S. Underneath it, Webber shows another graphic illustrating the migratory patterns for Pacific salmon. They're eerily similar.

Which leaves us with the money question: Could salmon stocks (and other species) be impacted should the situation worsen in Japan?

Gulf seafood is still suffering from a lingering black eye. So much so, that earlier this month, 30 members of Congress sent a letter to President Obama urging him to disclose more information on the federal government's seafood safety work.

"Louisiana is suffering from a serious perception problem regarding its seafood, despite the fact that the fish we harvest is consistently being proven to be safe by several federal and state testing agencies," said Ewell Smith, executive director of the Louisiana Seafood Promotion & Marketing Board.

As recently as December, the seafood board's survey found that 71 percent of consumers still indicated a level of concern about the safety of consuming Gulf seafood.

In their letter to the President, congressional members write: "This lack of public confidence results not from a shortage of government data, but from an ineffectiveness in reporting this complex information to the American public."

"Seafood coming out of the Gulf of Mexico is one of the most tested food products in the world, and the results consistently prove that Gulf seafood is entirely safe to eat," Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana told Slashfood.

Politicians aren't the only ones beating that drum.

Just as worldwide fish consumption has reached an all time high, a bevy of new labels are in the works to provide consumers with even more information about the seafood they're buying. Whether that will clarify fish-buying decisions or muddle an already complicated purchase remains to be seen.

Starting in April, Fair Trade International -- the same folks who certify items like coffee, tea, cocoa and bananas -- will begin work to establish standards for small-scale shrimp farmers, mostly located in Southeast Asia, where roughly 70 percent of farmed shrimp is produced.

We know that purchasing seafood can be fraught with complicated decisions. We're right there with you at the fish counter, flipping through our pocket guides, fumbling with our iPhone apps, or eyeing some of the new labeling -- all designed to help us make better, more informed choices about supper. But environmental watchdog group Food & Water Watch said yesterday that the bevy of seafood eco-labels may be causing more confusion for consumers, not less.

"Our push is to make consumers aware of the labels out there and what they might, or might not stand for," Marianne Cufone, director of F&WW's fish program told Slashfood.

Specifically, the group criticizes certification organizations like the Marine Stewardship Council, Global Aquaculture Alliance, Friends of the Sea, Global Trust Certifications, Ltd., International Fishmeal and Fish Oil Organization, and the yet to be launched Aquaculture Stewardship Council.

"People often think that if they buy seafood with an eco-label, it's automatically a good choice," said Wenonah Hauter, F&WW executive director in the press release. "Unfortunately, those certifications don't assure that the product consumers are getting is actually eco-friendly."

If you look solely at the fish we consume here in America, we're a predictable crowd. Since at least 2001, shrimp, canned tuna and salmon have placed first, second and third on the "Top 10 Consumed Seafoods" list published by the National Fisheries Institute every single year. Yawners. (Plus, tuna used in canning, other than albacore and skipjack, is overfished.) But according to a Wall Street Journal story, chefs are increasingly turning to undervalued species as a way to keep the menu interesting, and possibly quell demands placed on other overfished species.

Take cuttlefish, for example, which is cut into strips and paired with a flatiron steak at Miami's Area 31, while sheepshead (a fish known for its human-like teeth) is on the board at nearby AltaMare. Other chefs are turning to finfish like pompano, golden tilefish, triggerfish or hogfish. The BP oil spill played a role in the fish swapping as well. At New Orleans-based Cafe Atchafalaya, North Carolina rockfish was used as a substitute for their traditional redfish and crawfish-stuffed flounder.

"In general, expanding the base of fish from which we choose from is a very good idea," says Tim Fitzgerald, marine scientist with the Environmental Defense Fund. "One caveat, though, is if we switch a lot of our sourcing to less common or overfished species, or those that are farmed in destructive ways, that's not a good thing. But if we can identify species of fish that have healthy populations and can withstand the extra demand, that's wonderful."