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Does Alaska's Crab Competitor Meet Consumer Requirements For Sustainability?
- By Collaborative INSIGHTS
- Published 11 February 2007
- Global Food Alaska Conference and Show
- Unrated
Does Alaska's Crab Competitor Meet Consumer Requirements For Sustainability?
Or Does It Slip Under the Radar
I just read your editorial on the crab. I think there are 2 points that are of concern. First and foremost is the environmental side. If the Russian resource could sustain a nearly 3 fold increase in harvests, they would have been doing it in prior years. The Kamchatka resource is virtually decimated. That fact is supported by the Minister of fisheries in Russia who asked 2 years ago for a complete closure of the fishery, to no avail. In light of the economic impact of that resource, they start working on Barents Sea. The Barents Sea resource will ultimately fall under the same demise as they hammer that crab as hard as they can. Why should our Domestic market be the primary absorber of that crab? We might as well be harvesting the crab ourselves with complete disregard for the health and future of the resource. Why should our government allow the importation of a resource that is virtually harvested in a free for all fishery? The fact is if the Russians did not have this market to absorb their production, they would have no home for the crab. Plain and simple. The recent attempts at MSC certification of the Barents Sea fishery is simply a way for the importers and retailers who have benefited from this over-harvesting to attempt to make themselves look good and cover their ass. It doesn't appear that theory will come to fruition. Deep down, they know what they are doing, and are blessed with the opportunity to fly just below the radar on the COOL laws, to make themselves a bunch of money with complete disregard for the future health of the oceans, and the allegiance to American harvested and produced product. Money talks.
The second point of relevance is the downward spiral of revenue generated for Alaska product. Harvesters who operate under some of the most stringent regulations for a sustainable resource pay the price, along with all of us who are tied into the Alaska fishery. The complete disregard by the importers and retailers who elect to purchase this product ultimately prevents Alaska crab from getting both the market presence and the well deserved price that goes along with a sustainably managed fishery. Both restaurants and retailers portray that they are selling Alaska Crab when in fact they are selling Barents Sea product. When are Americans going to support American produced product? You watch, when the facts actually come to the forefront and the potential for negative publicity is realistic these same importers and retailers are going to start jumping like rats from a sinking ship, while someone else inside their company is counting all the $ they made off a fishery which they all know is being depleted daily by over-harvesting and the harvesting of juvenile, recruit and female crab
Keep pounding away! Your publication is a great vehicle to get the facts out. We ( the seafood industry) need to educate foodservice operators, retailers and the public. We have a moral and ethical responsibility to do so, or we are just as bad as the rest of the outlaws out there.
All the best,
Eric Donaldson
The Crab Broker
941.926.1062
941.926.1063 fax
941.266.8461 cell
eric@crabbroker.com
Or Does It Slip Under the Radar
I just read your editorial on the crab. I think there are 2 points that are of concern. First and foremost is the environmental side. If the Russian resource could sustain a nearly 3 fold increase in harvests, they would have been doing it in prior years. The Kamchatka resource is virtually decimated. That fact is supported by the Minister of fisheries in Russia who asked 2 years ago for a complete closure of the fishery, to no avail. In light of the economic impact of that resource, they start working on Barents Sea. The Barents Sea resource will ultimately fall under the same demise as they hammer that crab as hard as they can. Why should our Domestic market be the primary absorber of that crab? We might as well be harvesting the crab ourselves with complete disregard for the health and future of the resource. Why should our government allow the importation of a resource that is virtually harvested in a free for all fishery? The fact is if the Russians did not have this market to absorb their production, they would have no home for the crab. Plain and simple. The recent attempts at MSC certification of the Barents Sea fishery is simply a way for the importers and retailers who have benefited from this over-harvesting to attempt to make themselves look good and cover their ass. It doesn't appear that theory will come to fruition. Deep down, they know what they are doing, and are blessed with the opportunity to fly just below the radar on the COOL laws, to make themselves a bunch of money with complete disregard for the future health of the oceans, and the allegiance to American harvested and produced product. Money talks.
The second point of relevance is the downward spiral of revenue generated for Alaska product. Harvesters who operate under some of the most stringent regulations for a sustainable resource pay the price, along with all of us who are tied into the Alaska fishery. The complete disregard by the importers and retailers who elect to purchase this product ultimately prevents Alaska crab from getting both the market presence and the well deserved price that goes along with a sustainably managed fishery. Both restaurants and retailers portray that they are selling Alaska Crab when in fact they are selling Barents Sea product. When are Americans going to support American produced product? You watch, when the facts actually come to the forefront and the potential for negative publicity is realistic these same importers and retailers are going to start jumping like rats from a sinking ship, while someone else inside their company is counting all the $ they made off a fishery which they all know is being depleted daily by over-harvesting and the harvesting of juvenile, recruit and female crab
Keep pounding away! Your publication is a great vehicle to get the facts out. We ( the seafood industry) need to educate foodservice operators, retailers and the public. We have a moral and ethical responsibility to do so, or we are just as bad as the rest of the outlaws out there.
All the best,
Eric Donaldson
The Crab Broker
941.926.1062
941.926.1063 fax
941.266.8461 cell
eric@crabbroker.com
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