Poll to gauge aquaculture, salt-pond use

Shared on behalf of the: Westerly Sun

Researchers at the University of Rhode Island are directing two studies: a statewide survey collecting people’s insights on shellfish farms and another which looks at commercial and recreational activities in Quonochontaug, Ninigret and Point Judith.

The survey has been spread throughout RI to farmers, commercial harvesters and waterfront property owners. The study is led by Tracy Dalton a URI marine affairs professor, and measures how many shellfish farms people are ready to accept in Narragansett Bay and the salt ponds.

David Beutel, aquaculture coordinator for the Coastal Resources Management Council, hopes the study will help Rhode Islanders understand aquaculture and collect information that is hard to acquire. Dalton also anticipates knowledge from the surveyors about how much support they are willing to give.

To read the full article by Cynthia Drummond click here.

Three Simple Rules for Eating Seafood

Shared on behalf of the New York Times

The article form the New York Times by Paul Greenberg considers using author Michael Pollan’s advice “Eat Food.  Not too much. Mostly Plants” and looks to come up with a guidelines for consuming seafood.  Greenberg’s haiku like suggestion is as follows:

Eat American seafood.
A much greater variety than we currently do.
Mostly farmed filter feeders.
Some explanations are in order.

Greenberg goes on to justify his suggestions for consuming seafood.

To access the full article click here.

 

 

Sacred Symbol: Beauty of Wampum

Shared on behalf of Sarah Schumann – Rhode Island Sea Grant

“Allen Hazard, a wampum maker and member of the Narragansett Tribe, carries on an age-old tradition of creating objects of beauty and symbolism with quahog shells. Hazard is one of only three artisans in the world who make wampum in the traditional Eastern Native way. Contrary to popular belief, wampum did not attain the status of currency until after the arrival of Europeans on American shores.

Here, Hazard talks about what the quahog shell represented, and continues to represent, to the Narragansett Tribe:

Wampum is sacred. That’s the word to use when you’re speaking about wampum with a traditional Eastern Native. Why? Because anything that gave its life so that we could continue ours was deemed special. There’s no other way to put it. Money doesn’t do that.”

Please click here to read the full article.

*Photo by Acacia Johnson*

Appreciating the ‘Under Loved’

Shared on behalf of Rhode Island Sea Grant

Appreciating the ‘under loved’

Scup took the spotlight at the second annual Rhode Island Seafood Challenge at Johnson & Wales University (JWU) earlier in April, where three student teams prepared the underutilized, but tasty, local fish.

The goal – to raise awareness among budding chefs – and the public – about local, sustainable seafood products.

The event was a partnership between JWU, the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation and Rhode Island Sea Grant to show just how scrumptious scup, also known as “porgy,” can be.

SAMSUNGScup have an expansive range in the Atlantic, from Maine to North Carolina. They have a mild flavor, making them suitable for a variety of preparations, but the bony, 1-to-2 pound fish is difficult to fillet, and doesn’t yield much meat. These challenges make scup cheap, but that means fishermen don’t always find it profitable to drop nets.

“You’ve heard a lot about scup. It’s sometimes described as underutilized, under eaten, and here’s my favorite one, ‘under loved,’” said Peg Parker, the executive director of the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation. But new technology, especially an innovative machine developed in Michigan that removes the bones from scup, may change all of that.

With this innovation, boneless scup fillets can be easily produced. “Now we need to create the demand for fish like this,” Parker said.

To read the full article, please click here.

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