EDFish

Head to Tailfin: Sustainable, Locally-caught Seafood

Recently, I had the pleasure of joining the “Head to Tailfin” dinner organized by Slow Food Boston at Boston’s 606 Congress restaurant.  The seven-course menu paired original seafood creations crafted by Executive Chef Rich Garcia, a former chef in the U.S. Marine Corps who has been featured in the culinary magazine Star Chefs, with Spanish wines selected by sommelier Jack Guinan.  And, wow, was the meal something special!

Chef Garcia’s aim was to show how the whole animal can be used, from the head all the way to the tailfin.  Consistent with the slow food philosophy, Rich used locally caught seafood, with one exception: The fifth course featured shrimp from the Gulf of Mexico as a show of support for the region’s seafood industry recovering from the detrimental ecological and public perception effects of the Deepwater Horizon blowout.

Among the dishes of New England origin, my favorite was a toss-up between deep-fried cod tongue and cheeks, and sous vide long fin squid with Hill Farms pork belly.  The cod was caught under the sector management system implemented in the New England groundfish fishery last year, one of the newest catch share systems in the nation.  The squid was caught by the same fishermen who created and operate Rhode Island’s fluke sector out of Point Judith.  Diners were able to learn which captain caught their squid, and where and when it was caught, using QR codes provided during the meal as part of the new “Trace and Trust” program.   Read More »

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Maryland Waterman Turns Vision into Opportunity for Chesapeake Fishing Communities

Johnny Shockley, business partners and member of the Dorchester County, MD Chamber of Commerce.

The Chesapeake commercial fishing community is full of practical, hard-working businessmen and women who overcome weather, regulatory challenges, and market obstacles every day.  Some go even further to combine their grit and drive with innovation and vision to create a business that leverages the allure of Chesapeake seafood and new market opportunities.  Johnny Shockley, a career waterman from the Eastern Shore of Maryland, is doing just that.

Johnny began oystering with his dad and grandfather at the age of 12.  For the last 35 years, he has worked on the water making his living by harvesting the Chesapeake’s blue crabs, fish and oysters.  Recognizing the growing challenges to his industry and family heritage, Johnny realized that he needed to “think outside of the box” to create new business opportunities for his family.

After over three years of hard work and planning, Johnny and his business partner, Ricky Fitzugh, officially launched Hooper’s Island Oyster Aquaculture, Inc., home of Chesapeake Gold Oysters.  Last year, Hooper’s Island Oyster Aquaculture, Inc. bought 1 million oyster larvae, grew them to market size over the past 12 months and is now selling the seafood delicacy throughout the Washington, DC area.  This year, they expanded to four million more larvae. Read More »

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EDF and Howard University Announce Partnership for Environmental Leadership

Howard UniversityLast week, EDF announced a new alliance with one of the nation’s premier historically black institutions, Howard University of Washington, DC. The “Partnership for Environmental Leadership” is an initiative that aims to provide an innovative introduction and unprecedented access to environmental careers for Howard students while providing diverse and premiere academic candidates to EDF and the greater environmental community.

The “Partnership for Environmental Leadership” is comprised of a recurring internship and graduate level fellowship for Howard students at EDF in addition to the collaborative development of sustainable curricula at the university and ongoing participation in EDF’s climate corps program. EDF’s Oceans program will be the first in the organization to offer a fellowship as a part of the collaboration. Read More »

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Recent Op-Eds in NE Media Share Successes and Next Steps for Groundfish Sectors

After more than a year under the new groundfish sector management system, stakeholders in New England are examining what progress has been made and what refinements to the system are needed.  Emilie Litsinger, EDF’s NE Groundfish Project Manager, recently authored two op-eds that examine why sectors are better than the old system, and how sectors will work even better for fishermen by making some improvements, such as reducing at-sea monitoring costs, setting accumulation limits and allowing for unused quota to carry over into future fishing seasons.

Read Emilie’s op-eds:

Reviewing a year of fishing-sector management
The Providence Journal
October 7, 2011

A perfect time to talk about groundfish solutions
New Bedford-Standard Times
September 29, 2011

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New Dungeness Crab Law Protects Permitted Fishermen and Crab Habitats

Fresh Dungeness crab catch of the day

California’s Dungeness crab fishery is one of the state’s largest and most important commercial fisheries and is an economic foundation for many of California’s ports. A bill recently passed by the California Legislature, SB 369 (Evans), that will cap the number of traps that individual fishermen can use. This will not only protect crab populations for generations to come, but will protect the economic viability of the fishery and the coastal communities that rely on it.

The problem is that the number of crab traps being used in the fishery escalates each season as fishermen race to catch crab. This “arms race” creates unnecessary ecological impacts and threatens the long-term economic health of the fishery. This frenzied derby effect leads to a glut of crab on the market at the beginning of the season and correspondingly depresses the value of crab. It also leads to significant safety risks as the intense pressure to compete during the initial weeks of the season can lead fishermen to go out in dangerous winter weather. This resulted in broad recognition among fishermen that trap limits are needed, but until now, agreement on what those limits should be could not be reached. Read More »

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One Year of Sector Management in New England Fisheries

Emilie Litsinger, EDF Oceans NE Groundfish Project Manager

Emilie Litsinger, EDF Oceans NE Groundfish Project Manager

A report by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) released Wednesday highlights results of the first year of the groundfish sector management program in New England. The dramatic management shift appears to be helping the fishery turn the corner to a more economically and environmentally sustainable fishery.

With the first full year of operation under sectors now complete, results of the program’s performance are encouraging. Sector fishermen stayed within their allowed catch levels, groundfish revenues were essentially stable, overall revenues were up, fishermen received higher prices for fish, and  the amount of wasted fish dumped overboard was substantially reduced.

The report highlights a number of continuing trends. For example, the number of active groundfish vessels has been declining for over a decade.  The eight percent decline in the 2010 fishing year was similar to the decline from 2007 to 2009. Read More »

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