Month: June 2014

For the first time in its 100-year-plus history, one of New Orleans' biggest oyster dealers has resorted to importing oysters to subsidize demand for the shellfish delicacy, which in recent years, dealers say, has become hard to harvest in the northern Gulf of Mexico. …

Ten Asian and Pacific nations have told the Office of the United States Trade Representative that the Agriculture Department’s catfish inspection program violates international law, and their objections could hamper Obama administration efforts to reach a major Pacific trade agreement by the end of next year. The complaints are outlined in a May 28 letter signed by diplomats from the 10 countries. The letter does not threaten retaliation, but it stresses that the American catfish program stood in the way of the trade talks. …

An international group of Atlanto-Scandian herring fisheries has come together to take their fisheries through the MSC re-certification process. The fisheries from the UK, Denmark and The Netherlands are already MSC certified, they will be joined in the assessment process by Swedish and Irish fisheries. In total the group catches over 40,000 tonnes of herring each year. …