With Labor Day on Monday, it was an abbreviated work week here in the United States. But there was no lack of worldwide news on SeafoodSource. Here’s a rundown of this week’s can’t-miss stories:
• Does a week go by without a news story about the plight of bluefin tuna and the effort to halt overfishing? Probably not. On Tuesday, the European Commission — including Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Commissioner Joe Borg and Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas — backed a proposal to suspend international trade of Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna. It appears that European Union members will support listing bluefin tuna on CITES Appendix I — France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany and Austria have already pledged to do so. “EC backs bluefin tuna trade ban” was by far this week’s most-read story.
• This week’s second most popular story was SeafoodSource Assistant Editor April Forristall’s Q&A with Tom Orbe, the new VP of the franchise program at Wahoo’s Fish Taco. The trendy fast-casual chain has helped popularize the Baja-style fish taco, and the Temecula, Calif., company’s aggressive five-year, 100-restaurant expansion just may push the menu item into the mainstream. Orbe talked about everything from expanding in a difficult economic climate to adding wild salmon to the menu to Wahoo’s “Taste it, Name it” contest.
• If bluefin tuna is the global seafood industry’s most talked-about topic of 2009, illegal fishing isn’t far behind. On Thursday, British Fisheries Minister Huw Irranca-Davies backed a campaign to prevent illegal fishing worldwide, calling on consumers to eat only legally caught fish from their local chippies and look for the Frozen at Sea Fillets Association’s “Ocean Wild” label.
• Norway continues to flex its seafood-producing muscles. According to the Norwegian Seafood Export Council, the value of the country’s seafood exports topped NOK 3 billion for the eighth consecutive month in August, up 26 percent from August 2008. Farmed salmon led the way — Norwegian salmon exports reached NOK 1.9 billion in August, up 39 percent from August 2008.
• On Monday, SeafoodSource Contributing Editor Lindsey Partos caught up with Pascale Etrillard, director of marketing for Connétable, one of the world’s oldest fish canneries, to find out more about its involvement with the Marine Stewardship Council and its drive to raise consumer awareness of the MSC eco-label in France and abroad. The company’s MSC-labeled products, including longfin tuna, wild salmon and mackerel, are available in Carrefour, Géant, Monoprix, Système U and some Leclerc stores.
