May 25, 2012 by Samantha Caravello | Bio | Leave a Comment
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Soon, Boston residents will be able to buy day-boat-caught fish at farmers markets like this one. Read about this and other interesting fish-related news on TalkingFish.org. (Photo credit: Commonwealth of Massachusetts)
Monday, May 21 – “Congress, Catch Shares, and the Councils” – An opinion piece by Nick Battista of the Island Institute and Ben Martens of the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association on the effort by some members of Congress to prohibit NOAA, NMFS and the councils from developing new catch shares management plans on the East Coast and in the Gulf of Mexico.
- Tuesday, May 22 – “Taking Stock of New England Fish: Part 1” – TalkingFish.org interviews Mike Palmer, Research Fisheries Biologist in the Population Dynamics Branch of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center. In this post, the first in the series, Mike Palmer talks about his background and interest in fisheries science and the types of data used in stock assessments.
- Thursday, May 24 – “A Small ‘Catch’ in Recent Fisheries Coverage” – Lee Crockett of the Pew Environment Group writes to “make an important distinction between catch limits and catch shares, a difference that has been inadequately explained by NOAA and has resulted in some understandable confusion.”
- Friday, May 25 – “Fish Talk in the News – Friday, May 25” – Interesting stories this week: Boston brings local and fresh fish to its farmers markets; disconcerting news about Thailand’s seafood export industry; and recipes for healthy fish stocks.
May 18, 2012 by Samantha Caravello | Bio | Leave a Comment
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Photo credit: Sean Cosgrove
May 17 – “Slinging Mud” – The mud in Casco Bay, Maine, is changing. According to an article last fall in the Bangor Daily News, areas that used to contain vast quantities of economically valuable clams are now “dead mud.” Local clammers are finding that sites of former abundance are now completely devoid of shellfish. Even efforts to seed the formerly thriving areas with shellfish larvae are not yielding results. Some scientists think that the increasing acidity of the mud, due partly to the increased carbon dioxide being absorbed from the atmosphere, is making conditions unsuitable for shellfish larvae to form, well, shells. We may not yet be able to quantify the damage ocean acidification will cause in New England waters – although researchers are trying. But we don’t want to sit on our hands and wait to see how bad it will get.
- May 18 – “Fish Talk in the News – Friday, May 18” – This week’s interesting fishing and seafood-related stories: the ethics of seafood; NOAA’s annual status of the stocks report; making sure funding for ocean programs stays in the federal budget; CLF’s Peter Shelley talking about seafood on WGBH; and what local seafood to keep and eye out for at the market this summer.
May 4, 2012 by Samantha Caravello | Bio | Leave a Comment
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The NOAA Fisheries Northeast Regional Office in Gloucester (photo credit: NERO website).
Monday, April 30: “Penny wise and politically foolish” – Two weeks ago, a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee determined that federal dollars would be better spent by closing down the Northeast Regional Office of NOAA Fisheries in Gloucester, MA and moving almost all operations to the NMFS headquarters in Silver Spring, MD. This move was proposed as a cost-saving measure, but we believe it is a short-sighted proposal.
- Friday, May 4: “Fish Talk in the News – Friday, May 4” – Interesting stories this week: a New York chef takes a trip to the Boston fish market; the Boston Globe supports NERO staying in MA; more confusion over which sustainable seafood guides to trust; a new stock assessment confirms that river herring populations are depleted; and upcoming trips to take a look at herring runs.
Apr 13, 2012 by Samantha Caravello | Bio | Leave a Comment
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Bluefin Tuna in the Mediterranean Sea off Spain.
Wednesday, April 11 – “Bluefin Tuna: Value Beyond Measure” – National Geographic photographer Brian Skerry writes, “I’ll never forget the first time I saw a bluefin tuna in the wild for I knew instantly that I was seeing a supreme ocean creature…I suppose I should have been afraid of being hit by something so large and powerful, but rather than fear I was struck with awe instead.”
- Thursday, April 12 – “Sustainable Seafood Teach-in April 29″ – Over the last few years, Boston’s Museum of Science has stepped up to the plate and sponsored some great programming on all aspects of food: the science, policy and reality of making healthy and sustainable food choices in our daily lives. As part of that conversation, the Museum is putting together a day of sustainable seafood discussions on Sunday, April 29.
- Friday, April 13 – “Fish Talk in the News – Friday, April 13″ – This week’s roundup of interesting fish stories: Legal Sea Foods to make supermarket seafood traceability easier with a new label; climate change could drastically reduce the economic value of the services oceans provide; the reasons behind and economic consequences of eating or not eating fish on Fridays; and taking a lesson from ancient Hawaiian fish stock protection.
Mar 9, 2012 by Samantha Caravello | Bio | Leave a Comment
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This week, TalkingFish.org interviews Mark Usewicz, chef and Co-Owner of Mermaid’s Garden, a Brooklyn-based sustainable seafood consultancy (Photo credit: Mark Usewicz).
“Mark Usewicz helps chefs bring sustainable and adventurous seafood to your plate” – Brooklyn-based sustainable seafood consultant Mark Usewicz talks with TalkingFish.org about how he helps chefs make the right decisions about what seafood to serve their customers. Plus, he shares a great shell bean and clam stew recipe.
- “Ready to hear about herring?” – A rundown of the main concerns with the industrial Atlantic herring trawl fleet and the solutions available in the upcoming amendment to the herring fishery management plan, as well as a schedule of public hearings where you can voice your opinions on the new plan.
- “Fish Talk in the News – Friday, March 9” – Some interesting news we’ve been reading this week: Senator Kerry introduces a bill to fund fishery research, the government and CLF support Amendment 16 in the Court of Appeals, author Paul Greenberg shares his current fish choices, and a roundup of this weekend’s ocean and fish-related events.
Feb 3, 2012 by Samantha Caravello | Bio | Leave a Comment
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Monkfish with apple butter and shaved vegetables prepared by Chef Matt Jennings of Farmstead & La Laiterie - get his recipe on TalkingFish.org! (Photo credit: Matt Jennings)
“Ask an Expert: Chef Matt Jennings never compromises on serving fresh and local seafood” - TalkingFish.org interviews Matt Jennings, Executive Chef, Co-owner and Master Cheesemonger of Farmstead & La Laiterie, who buys locally-caught whole fish from dependable sources he knows personally and trusts wholeheartedly – and he has a great recipe for monkfish as well!
- “Talking Eeelgrass” – When we talk about fish, it’s good to remember that they not only come from somewhere but that that somewhere makes the fish. Habitat is essential; without it even many migratory fish won’t have a place to call home. Many North Atlantic fish spend an important part of their life cycles in coastal eelgrass habitat, and eelgrass is declining.
- “Fish Talk in the News – Friday, February 3″ – A weekly roundup of stories we think will interest readers. This week: a new system to estimate recreational catch, Massachusetts’s new Commercial Fisheries Revolving Loan Fund and its efforts to brand Massachusetts seafood, raising tilapia in garbage bins in the Bronx, the latest in CLF’s work to protect estuaries and fish habitat, and updates on Gulf of Maine cod.
Jan 27, 2012 by Samantha Caravello | Bio | 2 Comment »
- “Bottom Line: Historic Anniversary for Fishing in America’s Oceans”: Lee Crockett of the Pew Environment Group discusses the 2007 reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and the progress that has been made because of its strict limits on overfishing.
- “Fish Talk in the News – Friday, January 27″: This week’s news roundup: discussion of NOAA’s potential move from the Department of Commerce to the Department of the Interior, talking fishery management with Maine fisherman Glen Libby, and updates on menhaden conservation and the Gulf of Maine cod stock assessment.