Seafood Business articles from May 2009

Seafood Business archives from May 2009

We're dedicated to seafood buyers.(Editor's Note)
May 1, 2009... As is the case with any magazine or other media, we often only hear from readers if they dislike what is written. So I get excited when the magazine commissions a readership survey--typically every other year--the results of which we received...

Alaska sustainability overlooked?(Letter to the Editor)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2009... Lisa Duchene's Sustainability setback (SFB March '09, p. 38) misses two very important points. The article assumes that the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is the sole owner of the concept of sustainable fisheries. Nothing could be...

Trident acquires bankrupt Wrangell Seafoods: despite complications, Alaska court OKs $4.35 million sale.(supply)
May 1, 2009... One week after Trident Seafoods called off its planned acquisition of bankrupt seafood processor Wrangell Seafoods (WSI), an Alaska bankruptcy court in early April approved the sale for $4.35 million. According to court documents, the...

GAO targets seafood fraud: federal agencies need to do more, report finds.(supply)
May 1, 2009... A late March U.S. Government Accountability Office report said federal agencies are not doing enough to prevent economic fraud in the seafood industry. The report said the agencies--the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the National...

Fatty fish lower triglycerides: omega-3 fatty acids increase HDL.(health)
May 1, 2009... Fish rich with omega-3 fatty acids can lower levels of triglycerides, the chemical form in which most fat exists in food and in the body, according to a study by researchers at California's Loma Linda University. Published in the April 1...

United States Cold Storage.(Biz BRIEFS)
May 1, 2009... United States Cold Storage will open a distribution center in Lebanon, Ind., a facility that will feature more than 24,000 variable-height pallet positions in temperatures ranging from minus-20 F to 55 F. The $38 million facility will feature...

Ocean Beauty Seafoods.(Biz BRIEFS)
May 1, 2009... Ocean Beauty Seafoods announced it would close its Los Angeles fish smokehouse this month, cutting about 80 jobs. The 80-year-old facility, which produces smoked Atlantic salmon, became too expensive to maintain and upgrade. Smoked fish...

Preferred Freezer Services.(Biz BRIEFS)
May 1, 2009... Preferred Freezer Services of Newark, N.J., received Sysco's 2008 Warehouse of the Year, Sliver Award. Sysco's monthly performance metrics evaluated 14 participating facilities in its distribution network.

Trans-Ocean Products.(Biz BRIEFS)
May 1, 2009... Trans-Ocean Products of Beltingham, Wash., named B.E.M. Sales & Marketing of Albany, N.Y., as its 2008 Broker of the Year for increasing its Crab Classic sales and successfully introducing the company's smoked salmon product line at Price...

West Coast salmon fishery closed: Sacramento River chinook population still on the mend.(supply)
May 1, 2009... The Pacific Fishery Management Council in early April voted to close all waters south of the California-Oregon border to salmon fishing for the second consecutive year to protect the ailing population of Sacramento River chinook salmon. ...

U.S. restaurant growth slows: key demographic records lowest visits in years.(foodservice)
May 1, 2009... Two restaurant reports released in early spring show that in addition to overall restaurant sales declining, visits by parties with children and by 18--to 24-year-olds experienced the largest drop in five years. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ...

Bon Appetit nears low-carbon goal: chain aims to eliminate air-freighted seafood.(foodservice)
May 1, 2009... Bon Appetit Management Co. announced in early April that it's well on its way to achieving its 2009 carbon-reduction goals, including cutting beef purchases by 25 percent, cheese purchases by 10 percent, tropical fruit purchases by 50 percent...

The Gulf of Maine Research Institute.(Line ITEMS)
May 1, 2009... The Gulf of Maine Research Institute partnered with Hannaford Supermarkets to strengthen the economic and environmental sustainability of New England fisheries. GMRI will create market incentives for local and sustainable seafood to influence...

Simply Good Meals[TM].(Line ITEMS)
May 1, 2009... Supervalu launched its Simply Good Meals[TM] program for time-pressed, value-conscious consumers. Most of its 1,300 stores feature easy-to-assemble meal solutions in the produce, meat and deli departments.

Motivatit Seafoods of Houma, La., and Handy International of Salisbury, Md., have partnered to explore new product forms for both oysters and crab.(Line ITEMS)
May 1, 2009... Motivatit Seafoods of Houma, La., and Handy International of Salisbury, Md., have partnered to explore new product forms for both oysters and crab, and to better support consumers.

Chicken of the Sea International.(Line ITEMS)
May 1, 2009... Chicken of the Sea International invited consumers to complete a marketing challenge for its Healthy Selections tuna product line as part of an ongoing collaboration with "The Celebrity Apprentice" TV show starring real estate mogul Donald...

Imported shrimp bonds discontinued: announcement comes over a year after a WTO mandate.(trade)
May 1, 2009... U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced in the Federal Register on April 2 that it is discontinuing its enhanced bonding requirement (EBR), as mandated by a World Trade Organization ruling. U.S. shrimp importers subject to the...

WWF: bycatch higher than thought: more than 40 percent of global catch is accidental.(environment)
May 1, 2009... More than 40 percent of the global seafood catch is unused or unaccounted for, according to a report the World Wildlife Fund released in April. "Defining and Estimating Global Marine Fisheries Bycatch" estimates that annually more than 38...

Lawsuit seeks crawfish tariffs: U.S. companies seek uncollected duties.(legal)
May 1, 2009... A Louisiana crawfish supplier and other food companies in April sued the U.S. government and several insurance companies for failing to collect antidumping duties on crawfish and other foods from China. The class-action complaint, filed by...

A passion for fish.(Off THE SHELF)
May 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Gary Puetz's cookbook "Cooking with the Seafood Steward" is evidence of his lifelong love of the protein. Puetz, a former SeaFood Business contributor, is a dedicated seafood educator and his enthusiasm is evident...

New bycatch limit to take effect in 2011: fishery will close if salmon bycatch hits 60,000 fish.(whitefish)
May 1, 2009... In mid-April, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council voted to limit the king salmon bycatch in the Alaska pollock fishery by 2011. The cap has two limits: 60,000 fish--which is not a target number, but an emergency backstop for years...

Clam sales on slight upswing: demand for bivalve remains strongest in East region.(clams)
May 1, 2009... Clams are either harvested in the wild or farmed and can be prepared in a variety of ways. Whatever your preference, no doubt you've either heard of or tried a bowl of New England dam chowder, the mollusk's most popular dish. Clams were...

Bottom dollar: the Top 25 North American seafood suppliers had a strong 2008, but the future is in question.(Top Story)(Cover story)(Company rankings)
May 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Recession, recession, recession. The weakened U.S. economy continues to dominate boardroom and dinner table conversations. Businesses are scrambling to generate revenue at a time when consumer confidence is the...

Sales in full blossom: recipe kiosks, 'less is more' attitude drive Bloom's seafood department success.(What's in Store)
May 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Fresh seafood sales are growing at the 64-store Bloom chain, as consumers learn to prepare restaurant-quality foods at home. The chain is fueling this restaurant-at-home trend with recipe kiosks located throughout...

Calories count: nutrition disclosure on menus affects diners' orders.(Behind the Line)
May 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Consumers care deeply about the nutritional information of the food they eat in restaurants, according to a February Technomic survey. New York City restaurants with 15 or more units have had mandated calorie...

Carbon footprints revisited: air freight doesn't always fly with sustainable seafood.(Going Green)
May 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Everything we produce, buy and eat is under scrutiny: Is it carbon-smart? Welcome to the carbon-constrained world, where averting the most severe effects of change means releasing far les carbon dioxide and other...

Bell Aquaculture.(People in the News)
May 1, 2009... Norman McCowan was promoted to VP of operations for Bell Aquaculture of Redkey, Ind., the nation's largest yellow perch farm. Michael Miller, president and COO, says McCowan has worked tirelessly in the start-up phase of the company and is much...

Food Marketing Institute.(People in the News)
May 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Food Marketing Institute of Arlington, Va., promoted Jennifer Hatcher to group VP, government relations. She directs all federal and state public affairs outreach work for the nation's leading supermarket...

The great white fish.(VALUE-ADDED)
May 1, 2009... QVD is re-introducing its pangasius (swai) fillets in 1- and 2-pound retail bags under the BasaVina[R] Pearl and BasaVina[R] Ruby brands. The lean, mild, sweet-tasting freshwater fish is farmed in Vietnam. The Pearl line features swai fillets,...

Addendum.(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2009... Look for a special supplement in SFB's June issue on the 50th anniversary of Alaska's statehood and history of its seafood-processing industry.

Byrd crab product.(Clarification)(Correction notice)
May 1, 2009... To clarify an article on blue crab in the April issue (Top Species, p.32), Byrd International was referencing the red-swimming crab species, Portunus Haanii, which it sells under the Lighthouse Supreme label.

Frank Pabst: executive chef Blue Water Cafe and Raw Bar Vancouver, British Columbia.(One on One)(Interview)
May 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Mastering the art of cooking is not unlike learning a new language--just imagine trying to do both at the same time. That's the challenge Frank Pabst accepted when, after completing his military service in his native...