From MARION NESTLE
On a tour arranged and paid for by the Alaskan Seafood Marketing Institute (see Note below), I spent last week observing salmon fishing and processing in Anchorage and at remote places 600 miles to the southwest.
I could not help thinking about federal dietary guidelines. The 2010 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee has just filed its report. It recommends consuming two 4-ounce servings of seafood per week, preferably fatty fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids.
Develop safe, effective, and sustainable practices to expand aquaculture and increase the availability of seafood to all segments of the population. Enhance access to… information that helps consumers make informed seafood choices.
This, among other fish, means salmon, particularly wild Alaskan salmon because they have higher levels of omega-3 fats than the farmed fish and because Alaska is working hard to maintain the sustainability of its wild fish.
To be sustainable, fish have to remain in the sea and steams long enough to reproduce. This means controlling the number of people who are allowed to catch fish (through licenses and permits) as well as the number of fish they catch (through restrictions on fishing methods and times and places).
The Alaskan system for doing this works fairly well but is under constant pressure. Commercial fishers want to be able to catch all the salmon they can with no restrictions. Communities that have always depended on salmon for sustenance want to be able to continue doing so, and do not want fish caught before they get to community spawning streams. Hence: salmon politics.
Here are some thoughts about what I observed:
more here
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