17/04/2013: Federation touts sustainable land-based operations; is GM-salmon be coming to a plate near you?; Contentin and Jersey lobsters proclaim their sustainable identity

More than 300 members of the Atlantic Salmon Federation, were planning to dine on Arctic char in Halifax to support the organisation’s promotion of land-based aquaculture.

“Ocean-farmed Atlantic salmon is typically one of the cheaper meals to serve at big dinners,” Bill Taylor, federation president said in an interview. “We’re looking to make the point we can serve a large crowd fresh Arctic char from a sustainable land-based aquaculture operation for about the same price as ocean-farmed Atlantic salmon.”

Arctic char at the federation fundraising event came from a land-based aquaculture operation at Millbrook First Nation near Truro, developed in partnership with Sustainable Blue Centre, Burlington, Hants County.

Smoked salmon from a land-based aquaculture operation in West Virginia was also served at the annual fundraiser, being held in co-operation with the Nova Scotia Salmon Association.

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Could GM-salmon be coming to a plate near you? I love it when an aquaculture story gets national coverage so I was really pleased to hear this story on BBC radio this morning.
The feature is about the likelihood of GM foods, including fish, receiving approval for human consumption. The fish part focuses on AquaBounty's ongoing drive to get the go ahead from the FDA for its AquAdvantage salmon.
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Certified as sustainable since June 2011 by the Marine Stewardship Council  (MSC), Anglo-Norman lobsters now wear an identity 'bracelet'. Stamped with the blue MSC ecolabel, this bracelet indicates that the lobster is derived from a fishing practice that respects the environment and natural resources. From boat to plate, their sustainable traceability is now clearly visible.

This is unprecedented: for the first time in the world, a seafood product sold live bears the MSC ecolabel from the moment it is captured until it reaches the consumer. What is more, the Normandie Fraîcheur Mer (NFM) specifications mean that MSC-ecolabelled Cotentin and Jersey lobsters are also 100 perecnt guaranteed to be extra fresh.

"This new bracelet gives the Cotentin and Jersey lobster fishermen and the MSC ecolabel visibility", confirms Edouard Le Bart, manager of MSC France.

English: Arctic Char (Photo credit: Wikipedia)