<![CDATA[Grist - Comment Feed for Food writers and the state of the oceans]]> Grist Comment Feed en Comment #1 by Tom Laskawy http://www.grist.org/article/2009-food-writers-and-the-state-of-the-ocean/ Thu, 09 Apr 2009 11:26:39 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/2009-food-writers-and-the-state-of-the-ocean/1 Amen! All hail the mighty sardine!

]]> Amen! All hail the mighty sardine!

]]> Comment #2 by oceanrev http://www.grist.org/article/2009-food-writers-and-the-state-of-the-ocean/ Thu, 09 Apr 2009 12:17:39 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/2009-food-writers-and-the-state-of-the-ocean/2 Just remember

 

www.ShrimpSuck.org

 

(well, most shrimp sold/eaten in the US)

]]> Just remember

 

www.ShrimpSuck.org

 

(well, most shrimp sold/eaten in the US)

]]> Comment #3 by Passionfish http://www.grist.org/article/2009-food-writers-and-the-state-of-the-ocean/ Fri, 10 Apr 2009 15:22:00 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/2009-food-writers-and-the-state-of-the-ocean/3 Mr Bittman has obviously never had a well prepared Tilapia, nor completely understands the world of aquaculture. There are many aquaculture farms who are raising the fish in a manner that does not impact the environment, is beneficial for the surrounding communities, healthier than wild fish, and not prone to high levels of PCB's or antibiotics.  If you compared the environment of much of the wild fish to a sustainable aquaculture farm you would find that the fish being grown in a sustainable, land contained pond, is a healthier choice to the wild fish, whom are swimming in an environment riddled with high levels of pollution from agriculture and plastic just to name a few. Asking the Fishmonger where the fish are harvested and the method of harvest is crucial to the promotion of a healthy ocean.  The information is available for the retailer & restaurateur who take the time to ask these questions. If your fishmonger can't answer them then you need to find a new fishmonger.  The Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch program has an incredible amount of input from the science community, and rightfully so.  Our oceans are currently managed by a science based management program.  They also have the knowledge to evaluate the aquaculture farms, testing water quality, use of herbicides, pesticides, antibiotics, fish meal, and the impacts on the environment.  There is also an advisory council made up of educators, restaurateurs, scientists, ect... who has valuable input on the Seafood Watch Cards.  The card can carry only so much information, so its important for the consumer, the retailer, and the restaurateur to understand the basic's of the issues and make purchasing choices that will benefit the health of the ocean.  

]]> Mr Bittman has obviously never had a well prepared Tilapia, nor completely understands the world of aquaculture. There are many aquaculture farms who are raising the fish in a manner that does not impact the environment, is beneficial for the surrounding communities, healthier than wild fish, and not prone to high levels of PCB's or antibiotics.  If you compared the environment of much of the wild fish to a sustainable aquaculture farm you would find that the fish being grown in a sustainable, land contained pond, is a healthier choice to the wild fish, whom are swimming in an environment riddled with high levels of pollution from agriculture and plastic just to name a few. Asking the Fishmonger where the fish are harvested and the method of harvest is crucial to the promotion of a healthy ocean.  The information is available for the retailer & restaurateur who take the time to ask these questions. If your fishmonger can't answer them then you need to find a new fishmonger.  The Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch program has an incredible amount of input from the science community, and rightfully so.  Our oceans are currently managed by a science based management program.  They also have the knowledge to evaluate the aquaculture farms, testing water quality, use of herbicides, pesticides, antibiotics, fish meal, and the impacts on the environment.  There is also an advisory council made up of educators, restaurateurs, scientists, ect... who has valuable input on the Seafood Watch Cards.  The card can carry only so much information, so its important for the consumer, the retailer, and the restaurateur to understand the basic's of the issues and make purchasing choices that will benefit the health of the ocean.  

]]> Comment #4 by Clifford Wells http://www.grist.org/article/2009-food-writers-and-the-state-of-the-ocean/ Fri, 10 Apr 2009 20:17:52 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/2009-food-writers-and-the-state-of-the-ocean/4 I've been watching the Gulf of Mexico "red snapper wars" for quite some time now and I disagree that at present it isn't a sustainable fishery.  There are more red snapper off Texas than ever in history.  The NMFS says it is not sustainable and is "severely overfished" but that is not true off the coast of Texas.  There are so many snapper you can hardly catch anything else when bottom fishing.

I know, some people will read that and ask if I'm a troll or a silly goombah.  I'll try to explain the situation without digging a deeper hole.  What happened was that Florida decimated it's red grouper and red snapper fisheries years ago.  Since there was little other than some reefs off Florida, the snapper tended to migrate westward, where they did well around 14,000 oil & gas rigs.  And boy did they!  The population exploded.  But since the NMFS has to guage the entire red snapper fishery, Key West to the southern tip of Texas, it was forced to find that on average, the red snapper were over-fished.


The truth is that in one area there are few to no snapper (northeast Gulf) and in another, almost too many (northwest Gulf).  Not only have the red snapper population numbers off Texas been getting stronger but the average fish size is dramatically increasing - years ago, one would never see red snapper over 10 pounds; now here are many.  It is a true success story here (and off Alabama, a wonderful artifical reef program) but Magnuson (the fish law), NMFS regulations, and court orders say "the red snapper is endangered, over-fished, and nearly extinct.

I fear the worst, especially when I read the above that suggests that Pacific Cod is a joke, even though it is one of the few sustainable fisheries without any doubt in the least.  Apparently, people don't WANT to know the truth but would rather stay with their mainstream media opinions without the benefit of any education.  But you joke around and say "gee, isn't aquaculture, trash fish, sardines, and mackerel so GOOD to eat!"  Bleah.  I think that's a sign that our civilization is in the final stages of collapse, and has lost its collective mind.  -sam well


]]> I've been watching the Gulf of Mexico "red snapper wars" for quite some time now and I disagree that at present it isn't a sustainable fishery.  There are more red snapper off Texas than ever in history.  The NMFS says it is not sustainable and is "severely overfished" but that is not true off the coast of Texas.  There are so many snapper you can hardly catch anything else when bottom fishing.

I know, some people will read that and ask if I'm a troll or a silly goombah.  I'll try to explain the situation without digging a deeper hole.  What happened was that Florida decimated it's red grouper and red snapper fisheries years ago.  Since there was little other than some reefs off Florida, the snapper tended to migrate westward, where they did well around 14,000 oil & gas rigs.  And boy did they!  The population exploded.  But since the NMFS has to guage the entire red snapper fishery, Key West to the southern tip of Texas, it was forced to find that on average, the red snapper were over-fished.


The truth is that in one area there are few to no snapper (northeast Gulf) and in another, almost too many (northwest Gulf).  Not only have the red snapper population numbers off Texas been getting stronger but the average fish size is dramatically increasing - years ago, one would never see red snapper over 10 pounds; now here are many.  It is a true success story here (and off Alabama, a wonderful artifical reef program) but Magnuson (the fish law), NMFS regulations, and court orders say "the red snapper is endangered, over-fished, and nearly extinct.

I fear the worst, especially when I read the above that suggests that Pacific Cod is a joke, even though it is one of the few sustainable fisheries without any doubt in the least.  Apparently, people don't WANT to know the truth but would rather stay with their mainstream media opinions without the benefit of any education.  But you joke around and say "gee, isn't aquaculture, trash fish, sardines, and mackerel so GOOD to eat!"  Bleah.  I think that's a sign that our civilization is in the final stages of collapse, and has lost its collective mind.  -sam well


]]> Comment #5 by kmp http://www.grist.org/article/2009-food-writers-and-the-state-of-the-ocean/ Fri, 10 Apr 2009 21:57:46 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/2009-food-writers-and-the-state-of-the-ocean/5 Comment #6 by kmp http://www.grist.org/article/2009-food-writers-and-the-state-of-the-ocean/ Fri, 10 Apr 2009 22:00:34 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/2009-food-writers-and-the-state-of-the-ocean/6 Comment #7 by kmp http://www.grist.org/article/2009-food-writers-and-the-state-of-the-ocean/ Fri, 10 Apr 2009 22:04:10 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/2009-food-writers-and-the-state-of-the-ocean/7 Comment #8 by Mark A Powell http://www.grist.org/article/2009-food-writers-and-the-state-of-the-ocean/ Mon, 13 Apr 2009 13:23:49 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/2009-food-writers-and-the-state-of-the-ocean/8 Mark and Tom,

You CAN feel good about buying American red snapper, thanks to new responsible fishing rules for red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico.  These rules mark the transition from unsustainable fishing to sustainable fishing.

Red snapper are not yet rebuilt, but they are rebuilding. Buying red snapper from the Gulf of Mexico this year is support for a broad coalition of fishermen, managers, seafood businesses, and environmentalists who drove the management process towards responsible fishing. 

This red snapper success story represents, to me, THE new model of productive action on unsustainable fisheries. Rather than walking away from the problem, many people have invested their time, money, and energy in helping place American red snapper, once again, at the top of everyone's menu of favorite fish. This model can be applied anywhere a favorite fish is in trouble.

Ethical eating is always a challenge, and keeping up with the latest info may seem impossible.  That's why we need to stay focused on the ultimate goal of fixing fisheries so that every fish is a sustaianble fish. 

For more details, stop by http://www.oceanconservancy.org/seafood

Mark Powell
VP Sustainability Partnerships/Fisheries
Ocean Conservancy

]]> Mark and Tom,

You CAN feel good about buying American red snapper, thanks to new responsible fishing rules for red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico.  These rules mark the transition from unsustainable fishing to sustainable fishing.

Red snapper are not yet rebuilt, but they are rebuilding. Buying red snapper from the Gulf of Mexico this year is support for a broad coalition of fishermen, managers, seafood businesses, and environmentalists who drove the management process towards responsible fishing. 

This red snapper success story represents, to me, THE new model of productive action on unsustainable fisheries. Rather than walking away from the problem, many people have invested their time, money, and energy in helping place American red snapper, once again, at the top of everyone's menu of favorite fish. This model can be applied anywhere a favorite fish is in trouble.

Ethical eating is always a challenge, and keeping up with the latest info may seem impossible.  That's why we need to stay focused on the ultimate goal of fixing fisheries so that every fish is a sustaianble fish. 

For more details, stop by http://www.oceanconservancy.org/seafood

Mark Powell
VP Sustainability Partnerships/Fisheries
Ocean Conservancy

]]> Comment #9 by BenL http://www.grist.org/article/2009-food-writers-and-the-state-of-the-ocean/ Fri, 08 May 2009 22:23:53 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/2009-food-writers-and-the-state-of-the-ocean/9 Passionfish, you write that:" There are many aquaculture farms who are raising the fish in a manner that does not impact the environment, is beneficial for the surrounding communities, healthier than wild fish, and not prone to high levels of PCB's or antibiotics."

This assertion is great news! Unfortunately, I've read and heard numerous in-person reports to the contrary. Can you direct me to these aquaculture farms? Names and addresses would be great. Do they have visiting hours open to the public? Thanks!

]]> Passionfish, you write that:" There are many aquaculture farms who are raising the fish in a manner that does not impact the environment, is beneficial for the surrounding communities, healthier than wild fish, and not prone to high levels of PCB's or antibiotics."

This assertion is great news! Unfortunately, I've read and heard numerous in-person reports to the contrary. Can you direct me to these aquaculture farms? Names and addresses would be great. Do they have visiting hours open to the public? Thanks!

]]>