Editor’s picks: Shrimp, tilapia and oil

Here’s a recap of this week’s can’t-miss SeafoodSource news stories and commentaries:

• The Gulf of Mexico oil spill continues to dominate headlines. This week, SeafoodSource Contributing Editor Christine Blank took an in-depth look at the spill’s toll on Louisiana’s shrimp industry, as revolving fishing closures and reduced catches make it difficult for fishermen and processors to get by. She also interviewed Ray Boyer, manager of Maria’s Fresh Seafood Market, about the spill’s economic impact and battling consumer misconceptions. SeafoodSource Assistant Editor April Forristall took another angle, examining the mainstream media’s coverage of the spill’s effect on seafood supplies, prices and safety, which has been overwhelming over the past three weeks.

• It’s not all bad news for U.S. fisheries — the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Monday released its annual Status of U.S. Fisheries report, and, for the first time since the report’s 1997 inception, no stocks were added to the overfishing list. Unfortunately, the report rarely gets the publicity it deserves.  

• SeafoodSource Contributing Editor Mike Urch’s commentary on the emergence of frozen, carbon monoxide-treated tilapia is a must-read. Urch writes that CO-treated tilapia is pushing fresh, additive-free tilapia out of retail seafood cases across the United States. Consumers are being duped, he says, and now fresh tilapia suppliers are pushing back.

• The effort to clamp down on seafood fraud in the United States took a step forward this week, as the City of Los Angeles filed a multi-count criminal case against Ralph’s Grocery Co. after undercover inspections at 14 stores found instances of overcharging and short weighting. In one instance, the retailer sold and advertised jumbo shrimp at an amount greater than the price per unit. In another, the net weight of jumbo shrimp was mislabeled on the packaging.

• A relatively new species is wiggling its way onto the international seafood scene — Amazonian cod, or paiche (Arapaima gigas), a freshwater fish exceeding 2 meters and indigenous to Peru, is being farmed and marketed by Lima, Peru-based Acuícola Los Paiches. SeafoodSource Contributing Editor Chris Dove writes about the species’ potential.

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