Dave Casmi has made his living fishing for lobsters along the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, for 40 years. But he and other lobster fishermen are asking themselves if it’s even worth untying their boats from the dock anymore.

In today’s market, they are suffering from an economic triple whammy: High fuel prices mean it’s more expensive to trap lobsters, and the recession finds fewer people splurging on their catch. Plus, a lobster’s market value begins depreciating the moment it’s caught.

“I’m getting what I got 15 years ago,” he said, referring to the amount distributors are paying for his catch. “Just how long would you spend $3 to make $4?”

The situation is particularly painful for Casmi and his fellow lobstermen due to their inability to mark up the price to cover the cost of fuel: Distributors aren’t going to pay more for a product that is selling less. And because lobster needs to be sold shortly after being caught, Casmi can't hold out for higher bidders.
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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.

One fish, two fish, red fish, dinner.

Chef Brandon McGlamery of Luma on the Park and the soon-to-open Prato in Winter Park, Florida, has reeled in five enticing preparations for today's catch.

Five Fish Preparations: Brandon McGlamery
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A Chinese delicacy may soon disappear from California restaurants if a bill to ban the sale of shark fins makes it through the state Senate.

A symbol of wealth and luxury, shark fin soup was once prized by Chinese emperors for its rarity. Today, it's typically served at weddings and banquets to demonstrate a host's good fortune.

But it comes at a high price, for one's wallet and the environment. Shark fins, which fetch up to $600 per pound, are sometimes acquired through the controversial practice of finning: a shark's fins are cut off and the rest of its body is tossed into the ocean.

California, home to 1.1 million Chinese-Americans, is one of the largest importers of shark fins outside Asia. The California Shark Protection Act would make it illegal to possess, sell or trade shark fins.

The state Senate is expected to take up the legislation next week.

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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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Chef Eric Ripert is assuaging diners' radiation angst by mechanically testing the seafood he serves. An ecologist who's closely studied radiation's impact at Chernobyl thinks that going to those lengths in the U.S. just might be overkill.

Read more about the measures the Japanese government is taking to ensure that its seafood remains safe.

In light of health concerns, celebrity chef Eric Ripert is employing radiation detection equipment to allay the fears of nervous diners, but he's not giving up on Japanese seafood.

Read more about the measures the Japanese government is taking to ensure that its seafood remains safe.

Previously – The man behind Eric Ripert's seafood empire – fish butcher Justo Thomas

Read Fishermen: Utility's actions in Japan nuclear crisis 'unforgivable'

Previously – Japan's gonna need some bigger regulations

Japanese fishermen have taken the offensive in their fight against the owner of the stricken Fukushima Daiichi power plant, angrily calling the utility's actions insulting, incompetent and "unforgivable" over the course of the weeks-long nuclear crisis.

The National Fishery Corporative Joint Association, a trade group for Japan's fishing industry, issued a scathing statement on Wednesday just hours after meeting with officials from the Tokyo Electric Power Company, which runs the crippled plant.

In it, the group demanded that the utility and Japanese government "compensate all parties (that have) indirectly or directly suffered" as a result of the situation.

"Tokyo Electric has not been capable of understanding the damage at the plant and (contaminated) water. That led to this serious situation," the group said in the statement.

Read Fishermen: Utility's actions in Japan nuclear crisis 'unforgivable'

Previously – In light of radioactive eel catch, Japan instills seafood regulations

The eels didn’t manage to slip through.

After a haul turned up last Friday off the coast of Ibaraki Prefecture, with levels of radioactivity double the current standards set for vegetables, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano announced that the nation’s authorities would begin regulating the radiation levels in seafood.

Water samples taken Tuesday from concrete pits outside the reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station showed radiation 5 million times the legal limits – down from a Saturday reading of 7.5 million, according to an official with the Tokyo Electric Power Company, which runs the plant. Groundwater outside reactor No. 6 was similarly affected. The levels dropped steeply just several dozen meters out, but still remained several hundred thousand times above legal limits.

Radioactive iodine-131 is at the center of health experts’ concerns. The element iodine, in its non-radioactive isotopic form, is an essential part of thyroid regulation in the human body. Chronic exposure to its radioactive form, such as iodine-129 or iodine-131, can, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, cause thyroid problems such as nodules or cancer. Iodine-131 loses half its radiation every eight days and is further diluted by active ocean waters. Still – it’s making its way into seafood at levels exceeding those the Japanese government have deemed safe for consumption.
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