EDFish

‘Fish on Fridays’: Gulf of Mexico Red Snapper, a tasty sustainability success story

By / Published: March 8, 2013
Gulf Wild Red Snapper

Gulf Wild tagged Red Snapper. GulfWild allows the consumer to trace their fish back to the boat and captain who caught it

Welcome to a blog series on sustainable, locally sourced seafood for Lent! This week, we are featuring Gulf of Mexico red snapper which is managed under the Gulf of Mexico Commercial Red Snapper IFQ program. We are also presenting a delicious recipe for snapper tacos from Chef Chris, the head chef at Yaga’s in Galveston.

Meet a Fisherman: Bubba Cochrane

Bubba Cochrane is a commercial fisherman and business owner in Galveston, TX. He began his career as a deck hand and saved enough to purchase a permit and boat of his own. His business is doing well now, but he remembers when red snapper were on the brink of collapse. At that time, he was restricted to fishing in just the first 10-15 days of each month, in a derby-style competition in which everyone got on the water at the same time and tried to catch as many fish as possible.

He told National Geographic, “A derby is really stressful – you’re worried about the weather or if you get sick or even hurt,” he said. “And it means you miss a lot of birthdays and holidays with your family, because when fishing is open you’d better be on the water.”

Cochrane was skeptical of the IFQ program until he went to a workshop and learned he could buy or lease additional quota if he didn’t have enough. Now, his business is doing well and he hopes that one day, his son will follow in his footsteps. “Catch shares taught me about stewardship. I know what sustainability means and I believe in it,” said Cochrane. “There’s a future for the fishery.” Read More »

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‘Fish on Fridays’: Chefs Collaborative shines the spotlight on underappreciated New England groundfish

By / Published: March 1, 2013

Trash Fish Dinner Invitation Today’s ‘Fish on Friday’ post will be a little bit different. Rather than focusing on a single species or fisherman, we want to highlight a growing movement and event to celebrate lesser known fish species and support New England fishermen—who need the support now more than ever.

With substantial catch reductions looming for Atlantic cod and several other popular species, you might think that buying sustainable, local seafood would be more challenging than ever. However there are many other healthy fish populations in New England’s waters, and with a little creativity, they could become staples of your seafood repertoire.

Sometimes called “trash fish,” underutilized fish species such as redfish, hake, Atlantic pollock and sea robin, have long taken a back seat on fishing vessels and restaurant menus to more popular species, such as cod. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t worth your attention. Read More »

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‘Fish on Fridays’: Pacific Sablefish

By / Published: February 22, 2013
Sablefish Recipe

Sable with Pickled Jerusalem Artichokes and Sherry Vinaigrette. Recipe from Chef Kerry Heffernan

During this season of Lent, we know people are shopping for seafood more frequently and we wanted to help guide sustainable seafood purchases, because buying fish that is caught responsibly is important to consumers. With more reports of seafood mis-labeling, and conflicting sustainability standards, we hope that this series will help consumers choose fish that is local, fresh, and guaranteed to be caught sustainably.

Knowing where your seafood comes from can help support local fishermen who work hard to supply us with the seafood that we all love. 

This week, we are featuring Pacific Sablefish (also known as black cod) which is managed under the Pacific Groundfish Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) Program. We are also presenting a tasty recipe from Chef Kerry Heffernan: Sable with Pickled Jerusalem Artichokes and Sherry Vinaigrette.

Read More »

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‘Fish on Fridays’: Sustainable Fish Choices for Lent

By / Published: February 13, 2013
Pike Place Seafood Market

Pike Place Seafood Market
Photo Credit: Joey Brookhart/Marine Photobank

During this season of Lent, millions of people are replacing meat with fish on Fridays.  And as they shop for seafood more frequently, many are also striving to avoid eating fish caught in a manner that further depletes the world’s fish stocks. With 87 percent of the world’s fisheries already fully or overexploited, buying sustainably caught seafood has become increasingly important to consumers.

Today, the best way to ensure you are buying sustainable seafood — and supporting American fishermen and fishing communities — is to buy from a US fishery managed under a system known as a “catch share.” Catch shares reduce overfishing by enforcing annual catch limits and increased monitoring, while granting fishermen a guaranteed share of the catch and greater flexibility in how they run their businesses. Read More »

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EDF on the Radio: The California Fisheries Fund Helps West Coast Fishermen

By / Published: February 11, 2013

CFF Director, Phoebe Higgins with Steve Fitz, a loan recipient

Last week, Phoebe Higgins, Director of our California Fisheries Fund, appeared on the John Young KUIC Hometown Morning show to discuss the productive work the fund is doing to help West Coast fishermen finance their transition to more sustainable fishing practices, improve the profitability of their fishing businesses and provide seafood consumers with the fresh and sustainably caught fish that they love.

Phoebe also discussed with John a new sustainable management program that is helping fishermen on the West Coast grow their fishing operations as well as allowing fish populations to rebound.  The Fund coupled with the Pacific Groundfish catch share program, is helping to maintain and grow California’s highly-valued ocean economy —worth $43 billion and contributing more than 474,000 jobs to the state. Fishermen have more time to fish carefully which improves their safety and dramatically reduces the amount of bycatch and discarded fish. In turn, fishermen are able to bring in higher quality fish to seafood consumers and market their fish at higher prices.

Listen to Phoebe discuss the California Fisheries Fund project and catch share programs on the show and see how one fisherman is benefitting from his loan.

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McDonald’s to Use Eco-Labeled Fish: We’re Lovin’ It

By / Published: January 29, 2013
McDonald's Filet O Fish Made from Alaskan Pollock

A McDonald’s Filet o Fish sandwich, made from Alaskan Pollock. Photo from McDonald’s

Recently, McDonald’s USA announced that it would become the first national restaurant chain to serve fish sporting an eco-label from the Marine Stewardship Council at all of its locations across the country. The new label will make its debut in conjunction with the launch of the restaurant’s new Fish McBites next month, although it’s already selling MSC-certified wild-caught Alaska pollock in its fish filet sandwiches and has been using certified fish in the US since 2005.

According to the Chicago Tribune, McDonald’s audits its fish supply to ensure both sustainability and traceability – the ability to trace the fish all the way through the supply chain from the restaurant back to the fishery. As one of the largest buyers of fish in the United States, McDonald’s decision to promote sustainable fish in its marketing and sales will help raise the visibility of this issue and the ability of consumers to choose sustainably caught fish over those that continue to be overfished.

The Alaskan pollock fishery has one of the strongest catch share management programs in the country, which has resulted in a halt to overfishing. The management program also provides for 100% monitoring, which leads to excellent data collection, allowing fishery managers to track compliance with quotas, record bycatch, assess habitat and ecosystem impacts, and generally improve the conservation and management of marine resources in Alaska. Read More »

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