Toxic seafood warning

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[draggar]

I hate reports like this. When I ran a seafood department very little of the fresh (non-frozen) stuff was not form the USA. Chilean seabass was the main item and lobsters from Canada (but you could tell those - they had maple leaves on the bands - but they were better anyway since the water is colder).

Most of our salmon was farmed or fished by the US, haddock, cod, flounder, all from the USA. I actually toured the facility in Boston where the boats came in and delivered their catch.

Tuna, marlin, mahi-mahi, swordfish, catfish came from the USA also.

King crab legs are usually from the USA (Alaska)

Most shrimp is not from the USA and if it is you'll be able to tell - we used to sell Maine cold water shrimp (interesting - they're pink raw).

About half of our previously frozen fish came from outside the USA.

But - whenever I could do a side-by-side comparison the fish from the USA always looked better.

[Gerry]

haddock

My fav.

Local NC Shrimp has already gone up $2.00 per pound. I was paying $7.99 lb for large shrimp and now that is $9.99.

[Mike Cruz]

I stopped eating Sushi / Seafood a few months ago... was eating it 2-3 times a week and doctor says no good for you...

[Gerry]

There is a chain seafood/bar around here (I believe it was Shuckers) that was getting 35 cases of oysters a week, then 19, and now none.

This is going to be a HUGE economic impact all across the country in loss revenue and perhaps jobs.

Imagine places like Red Lobster starting to close its doors (not that they are exceptional but their menu is very heavy on Gulf Coast species.

Even the ones from the Chesapeake Bay area are going to the highest bidder.

Can you imagine if there is an auction based system for seafood?

I know Japan has one.

But it would drastically affect the prices of local seafood and it would all go the way of the highest bidder.

I am already paying $2 bucks more per pound on shrimp.

And I am starting to see prices for Flounder starting to creep up in price.

Forget stuff like scallops and oysters.

Cod, Haddock and other North Atlantic species are high as it is per pound.

Now there is a real danger of over fishing to meet the demand trying to make up the loss of seafood.

[Vincent]

doc, careful. hope you won't get killed eating them.

i wonder if they do any kind of testing on seafood before it gets to the market.

[Gerry]

doc, careful. hope you won't get killed eating them.

i wonder if they do any kind of testing on seafood before it gets to the market.

I buy from the same two places I have for years. I know the people behind the counter and they tell me what's fresh and where it is from.

Actually, I think place of origin is now required by state law.

[draggar]

Can you imagine if there is an auction based system for seafood?

Um, what do you mean *if*? There is one and has been one for a very long time. When I ran a seafood department (and we're going back 15-20 years) my company did bid on seafood especially on the "top of catch" quality fish. The places we dealt with also dealt in huge quantities so luckily the bidding didn't go overly too high but some of it did get expensive from time to time - we even took a loss to get the customers into the store.

As for haddock and cod being over fished, I'm not sure when it ended but they were almost fished to the point of extinction. Strict regulations put in place kept them off the endangered species list and allowed them to make a slight comeback.

Salmon and trout aren't in that much of a risk since a lot of it is farm raised now. The same with catfish.

[Gerry]

I knew there was a system for the top catch, but I was thinking along the lines of all fish species now.

Having grown up in the northeast, cod, perch, haddock, trout is pretty much what were raised on.

There is still some awesome fishing spots here in the mountains for some monster sized trout (rainbow, brook, speckled).


But I just have a feeling that seafood demand is going to drive prices sky high and places like the coast of NC are going to see a great deal of bidding going on for the tuna and shrimp catches.

[PRED]

this thread is making me hungry
i love fish
but it's gotta be cooked
none of that sushi crap for me
dream of mine to start fishing again, haven't done any since a boy. on the bank of a river, middle of nowhere, dog next to your side. pure freedom
i know we're singing from same hymnsheet doccy

[Gerry]

i know we're singing from same hymnsheet doccy

Amen!

I love fly fishing.

I can be in the middle of nowhere, standing in the middle of a cold water mountain brook, casting my line, and not catch a thing but it is still a good day.

[draggar]

I knew there was a system for the top catch, but I was thinking along the lines of all fish species now.

Having grown up in the northeast, cod, perch, haddock, trout is pretty much what were raised on.

The northeast or New England (we don't like to associate ourselves with the likes of New Jersey and New York City).

Nothing like very cold water lobsters.

i love fish
but it's gotta be cooked
none of that sushi crap for me

Sushi is good but nothing beats a well seared tuna steak - maybe 2-3 seconds per side (for a 1" steak) on very high heat over a grill.

[Gerry]

Nothing like very cold water lobsters.

It was a circus show watching my mother cook lobster.

But being a family of seven, and from Maine, lobster still was not cheap.

[draggar]

It was a circus show watching my mother cook lobster.

But being a family of seven, and from Maine, lobster still was not cheap.

You weren't shopping at the right places then. Heck, my college (UMaine - Orono) served lobsters for dinner once a month. You could even head over to Acadia and get them for a couple bucks each (2-3 pounders). Lobster pounds around Portland and Portsmouth sold them pretty cheap compared to supermarkets, too.

[Gerry]

You weren't shopping at the right places then. Heck, my college (UMaine - Orono) served lobsters for dinner once a month. You could even head over to Acadia and get them for a couple bucks each (2-3 pounders). Lobster pounds around Portland and Portsmouth sold them pretty cheap compared to supermarkets, too.

Perhaps along the coast, but we were in Waterville/Winslow area, much more inland.

And, like I mentioned, a family of seven was a big food bill no matter what was purchased and had to go a long way.

Haddock is what I remember most. Huge slabs of that stuff - I love it! Plus, we did a lot of fishing (dad taught me how to fly fish) and it seems we always had fresh perch and trout. I really miss those times.

Mother is a graduate of UMaine-Orono, dad of Naval Academy (having started at Castine).

[Gerry]

Latest computer models have the Oil Spill on the North Carolina coast, most notably the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, by late June or early July.

Unfortunately, there are multiple computer models backing this claim.

It is too early to foresee the devastation of the fishing/shrimping business and our wetlands, nature preserves, and decimate tourism in the Outer Banks.

If you look at the map, Cape Hatteras and the Outer Banks jut out into the ocean where the gulf stream (nature's conveyor belt) is but a few miles off shore.

That is what makes the area one of the top sports fishing destination in the country - the ability to be in the Gulf Stream in less time than anywhere else on the east coast.

[draggar]

Latest computer models have the Oil Spill on the North Carolina coast, most notably the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, by late June or early July.

Unfortunately, there are multiple computer models backing this claim.

It is too early to foresee the devastation of the fishing/shrimping business and our wetlands, nature preserves, and decimate tourism in the Outer Banks.

If you look at the map, Cape Hatteras and the Outer Banks jut out into the ocean where the gulf stream (nature's conveyor belt) is but a few miles off shore.

That is what makes the area one of the top sports fishing destination in the country - the ability to be in the Gulf Stream in less time than anywhere else on the east coast.

They're also expecting some of it to get into the Everglades. Just imagine what it will do as it goes thoug the Florida Keys.

Let's try to keep this on subject - time for some cleaning up.

[Gerry]

Just imagine what it will do as it goes thoug the Florida Keys.

Naturally, that is the route it will take on the way to the Carolinas.

Watching some clips from CNN this am showing the tar balls on Pensecola. Devastating. Some of the whitest, cleanest, sandy beaches there are.

Ocracoke Island, off of Cape Hatteras, was the first spot in the US other than Florida and Hawaii to be named the best beach. Nearly the entire island is a sanctuary for bird and marine life and also for the Wild Horses of the Outer Banks. The main town itself and Silver Lake was Black Beards lair and hideout.

The images I have of the beaches in Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia are some of the greatest beaches in the world. I mention these as not only have I been to many of them, they appear to be the most threatened. We own property on Roanoke Island (Manteo).

Once it makes that northward turn coming out of the keys, it is directly in the Gulf Stream. This is devastating. This is the North/South beltway for some of the rarest and prized marine life on the planet. Chances are Georgia and South Carolina will not see too much of an effect as they are set far from the gulf stream. But the Outer Banks sits so far out there in the ocean. Then it is on up to the Chesapeake Bay area.

If fishing, shrimping, crabbing, and seafood catches are banned in the Gulf, parts of Florida, the Outer Banks, and Chesapeake Bay area, that pretty much wipes out the majority of the seafood industry in regards to the US. It is the Chesapeake Bay and Outer Banks catches right now being shipped (flown and transported) that is making up for a vast majority of the seafood available to the south. That's why shrimp here went up $2.00 pound.

Its all about supply and demand.

My God, imagine when there is no supply to meet the demand.

Yes, there are some great fresh water fish and clams, and stuff like that. But soon after wards comes the overfishing in areas not affected. And many of those species are in dwindling numbers.

As they say in the outer banks, in September/October when the Yellow Fin Tuna are running, they are so thick you can walk across them.

The sad part of all of this is even if right now they were able to cap and stop the leak, that still does nothing to the catastrophe already in progress and its course of spreading.


I'd say for all the seafood lovers, as much as I hate frozen vs. fresh seafood, it may not be a bad idea to buy fresh seafood (shrimp, flounder, etc.) and start packing them away in your freezer.

[draggar]

Watching some clips from CNN this am showing the tar balls on Pensecola. Devastating. Some of the whitest, cleanest, sandy beaches there are.

They're reporting that oil could be on the beach today - it's said it is only about miles away from the coastline in Pensacola.

[Gerry]

They're reporting that oil could be on the beach today - it's said it is only about miles away from the coastline in Pensacola.

Check out CNN. People already finding it all along the beaches in Pensacola. One person was showing a huge bucket of a massive tarball that he just scooped up. Another later related about her kid coming out of the water with streaks of tar (oil) on his body.