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News strories from the industry.
HEALTH officials in Massachusetts health have pledged to crack down on the mislabelling of seafood. The Boston Globe newspaper reported last year that DNA analysis of fish sold at more than 130 restaurants, stores and seafood markets in eastern Massachusetts found that in almost half the cases it was not the species on the label or the menu. Public Health Commissioner John Auerbach told a legislative committee that the state was launching a pilot project in co-operation Legal Seafoods to use bar coding to track fish products from the port all the way to the dinner table.He also promised to issue reminders to seafood wholesalers and retailers that they could face stiff federal penalties for mislabelling.
THE Hong Kong based Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts group has said that it plans to stop serving shark fin dishes in its 72 hotels and resorts as part of its "sustainable seafood policy." The chain said it would also phase out blue fin tuna and Chilean sea bass in all its operated restaurants within the year. "The new policy is a continuation of Shangri-La's journey toward environmental support," Shangri-La said in a statement. "Shangri-La will continue to review and refine its overall programs including environmental and sustainable issues," it added. Shark fin is usually added in soup -- aptly called shark fin soup -- and is considered a delicacy in China, Hong Kong and other parts of Asia including the Philippines. It has been banned in several parts of the world due to moral and environmental issues.
A 53-year-old man was stopped by a grocery store detective in the US city of Corpus Christi, Texas with a lobster tail hanging out of his pants, local police reported. An employee said the man ordered some shrimp at the seafood counter before walking to the lobster display. The employee said the man took something from the display and then walked around the store. As the man walked toward the store exit, the employee said the man no longer had the shrimp he ordered and the man was stopped. The man was found with lobster and shrimp hidden in his pants valued at $57.91, police said. The man was arrested on suspicion of theft.
A PLAN to police the Ribble estuary cockle beds has been put forward to the fishing authority. Fylde council met the North West Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority earlier this week to discuss cockling. Proposals include reducing the number of permits and daily catch quotas. The beds off the Lancashire coast were closed in November for safety concerns after 26 lifeboat rescues in what was described as a "gold rush" for cockles. Up to 400 fishermen were cockling daily at Foulnaze Bank last year in the two months that the beds were open.
THE average price of fish in the UK rose by 6.4 per cent last year, according to the latest official figures from the Office for National Statistics. This compares with an inflation rate of 3.1 per cent for bread and cereals. Tea and coffee was the fastest food riser at around nine per cent.
Should people be 'stimulated' to eat white fish alternatives to cod?
