On his dock along the banks of Bayou Yscloskey, Darren Stander makes the pelicans dance.

More than a dozen of the birds have landed or hopped onto the dock, where Stander takes in crabs and oysters from the fishermen who work the bayou and Lake Borgne at its mouth. The pelicans rock back and forth, beaks rising and falling, as he waves a bait fish over their heads.

At least he's got some company. There's not much else going on at his dock these days. There used to be two or three people working with him; now he's alone. The catch that's coming in is light, particularly for crabs.

"Guys running five or six hundred traps are coming in with two to three boxes, if that," said Stander, 26.
Out on the water, the chains clatter along the railing of George Barisich's boat as he and his deckhand haul dredges full of oysters onto the deck. As they sort them, they're looking for signs of "spat": the young oysters that latch onto reefs and grow into marketable shellfish.
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Bad news for food-obssessed travelers to Japan.

Unagi - the sweet broiled eel dish that's one of Japan's best eats - may soon be going the way of shark's fins and fish balls: it gets overfished (check), it gets put on an endangered list (check) and it gets banned from restaurants (maybe).

The Japanese Ministry of the Environment officially added Japanese eel to its Red List of endangered fish on Friday, reported Yomiuri Shimbun.

Read the full story - Japanese eel becomes latest 'endangered food' - on CNN Travel.

An old wooden carving known as "the Sacred Cod" hangs in the Massachusetts State House.

That figurine has stared down at lawmakers for more than two centuries as a reminder of how important cod fishing has been to New England, where generations have made a living by casting their nets out at sea.

"It's the only job I've ever had," said Al Cattone, a Gloucester fisherman, who - like his father and grandfather before him - spent more than 30 years braving the Atlantic's rough waters and cold winds in search of fish.

"It's not so much a job as it is an identity."
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Previously - Low levels of Fukushima cesium found in West Coast tuna

Chefs with Issues is a platform for chefs and farmers we love, fired up for causes about which they're passionate. Virginia Willis, a graduate of L'Academie de Cuisine and Ecole de Cuisine LaVarenne, is the author of "Bon Appétit, Y’all" and "Basic to Brilliant, Y'all."

I opened up a veritable bucket of bait, not a mere can of worms, back in January with my blog post titled "Wicked Tuna: A Deal with the Devil."

"Wicked Tuna" is a reality series that premiered April 1 on the National Geographic Channel. It follows the lives of bluefin tuna fishermen in Gloucester, Massachusetts, and is produced by the same folks that produce the hit TV shows "Dirty Jobs" and "Swamp Loggers."

By many accounts, including the National Geographic website, bluefin tuna are overfished. This is where I find a huge disconnect with the National Geographic channel hosting a show about Atlantic bluefin tuna fishing.
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5@5 is a daily, food-related list from chefs, writers, political pundits, musicians, actors, and all manner of opinionated people from around the globe.

Seafood lovers are between a rockfish and a hard place: More than 80% of the world’s fisheries are being harvested at capacity or are in decline.

In honor of Earth Day, April 22, what can consumers do to make sure their seafood choices aren’t further depleting the oceans?

Chef Takao Iinuma brings a ray of light to the matter. Iiunuma is the executive chef at Genji Sushi, the purveyors of sushi and Japanese cuisine to Whole Foods Markets.

Selecting Sustainable Fish Options for Earth Month: Takao Iinuma
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5@5 is a daily, food-related list from chefs, writers, political pundits, musicians, actors, and all manner of opinionated people from around the globe.

It's a fishy tale told all too frequently: A restaurant lists a premium fish on the menu; the customer is served a lower-quality catch; the customer pays top dollar for the type of fish they thought they were ordering; and the restaurant eventually gets netted in scandal.

Jeremy Sewall, co-owner and executive chef of Island Creek Oyster Bar in Boston, Massachusetts, wants to make sure you don't get engulfed in a case of mistaken fillet identity ever again.

Five Tips for Buying Fish: Jeremy Sewall
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Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the Gulf of Mexico, a new menace, this one striped like a big cat, is preying on aquatic life: The black tiger shrimp.

The biggest saltwater shrimp in the world, black tigers “are cannibalistic as are other shrimp but it’s larger so it can consume the others,” Tony Reisinger, country extension agent for the Texas Sea Grant Extension Service, told CNN on Friday.

Because of the threat of disease, the predatory intruder poses a problem for the native shrimp and oyster population of the Gulf, Reisinger said.

Read Giant cannibal shrimp worry Gulf Coast watchers

Last September's Food and Drug Administration hearings on the introduction of genetically modified salmon into the consumer food system, and issues around labeling the fish as such gave rise to heated debates in Washington and on this very site.

Consumer protection advocates said food should be labeled as such if it derives from a genetically modified organism. AquaBounty - the creator of the "AquAdvantage® Salmon" at the center of the debate, argued that genetically modified salmon should not be required to display additional labeling as it has the same qualities as the non-GMO Atlantic salmon.

Our friends at the newly launched Gilt Taste asked Paul Greenberg, the James Beard Award-winning author of Four Fish, the Future of the Last Wild Food to weigh in on the matter.
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Celebrity chef Eric Ripert is using a dosimeter to test the level of radiation in the seafood at his restaurant. Radiation ecologist Dr. Timothy Mosseau says that may be a bit of overkill. Supply chain expert Gene Tanski of Foresight Demand says there's no real way that even affected food could get into the food supply in the U.S. and World Health Organization spokesman Peter Cordingley says he believes that it's a good idea to keep paying close attention.

It's not just the experts expressing opinions about the potential for radiation ingestion following the damage to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. Our commenters have weighed in as well.

The same government that said the BP oil spill is contained and that there are no long lasting health concerns. Eat Japanese sushi at your own peril folks. Use common sense and believe the exact opposite of what the government tells you - Jonx

The reactor in Japan didn't melt down as it did in Chernobyl, and if it didn't up until now, it won't. Any real danger for the rest of the world is OVER. What we are reading in the media are the products of the anti-nuclear power crowd trying to scare the daylight out of people. Don't buy it. - Gabor47

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