Here's a look back at this week's can't-miss SeafoodSource news stories:
• Economic fraud, whether it's species substitution or short-weighted product, is one of the U.S. seafood industry's biggest fights. This week, the battle came to Connecticut, where the state's Department of Consumer Protection tested 52 seafood products to see if the actual weight matched the label. Half of them failed due to excessive use of ice glazing. Connecticut has adopted National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards for verifying the net weight of seafood, and ice glazing is not allowed to count in the product's net weight.
• Lent is here, and U.S. retailers wasted no time promoting seafood, with a few getting a head start by discounting seafood over Valentine's Day weekend. Heinen's Fine Foods, Safeway, Hannaford and Kroger are among the supermarket chains pushing seafood for Lent.
• Have there ever been so many fishermen in Washington, D.C., at the same time? Approximately 3,000 fishermen rallied in front of the U.S. Capitol to voice their disapproval of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, which they say sets unrealistic fish-stock recovery goals based on questionable science and forces fisheries managers to impose harsh fishing restrictions. They were joined by several lawmakers, including U.S. Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, both of New York. The National Marine Fisheries Service's new head, Eric Schwaab, was quick to respond to the rally.
• Two stellar columns appeared on SeafoodSource this week: SeafoodSource Contributing Editor Jason Holland asked why European restaurateurs are being cut considerable slack when it comes to scrutinizing their sustainable seafood purchasing policies, while SeafoodSource Contributing Editor Nicki Holmyard explained that poor presentation and a lack of mass-audience marketing are hurting sales of locally harvested coldwater prawns in the United Kingdom.
• Finally, SeafoodSource Assistant Editor April Forristall checked in on the status of the global swordfish market and found that low supplies are keeping prices moderately high, although economic conditions are keeping prices lower than they usually are this time of year.
February 25, 2010
