FishWise attended the Seafood Choices Alliance Seafood Summit in Paris which wrapped up early last week.

Seafood Source reported directly from the conference and here are two of the top stories;

Farmed salmon was a focus of the Seafood Summit. Fish feed was discussed early on - reducing the fish content in the feed has been a primary focus of some feed manufacturing companies – all the industry is eager to make gains in this field as it will make farming salmon much more sustainable. The industry is trying to move in the right direction, however there is a fine line between maximizing yield of the farmed salmon while minimizing the amount of wild fish they are fed, and trials are still being conducted to determine the best feed ratio. Read more about salmon here.

Chefs were also in attendance at the conference, and want to have more access to sustainability information about the seafood they source. A program called Pisces Responsible Fish Restaurants (Pisces-RFR) is trying to link small groups of fisherman to restaurants. While seafood is a global industry, more and more groups are trying to promote local and sustainable seafood. This project ranks the menus of restaurants on a scale, from the poor to the most sustainable. It will take restaurants a while to get to a “most sustainable” mark, but improvement is possible over the long term. Read more about this program here.

Although the ruling, if passed, won’t come into effect until 2011, California state water officials want to curtail the use of diverted water from the Russian River and its tributaries for grape frost protection, thereby ensuring juvenile salmon and steelhead aren’t left stranded on their yearly migration routes.

Both federal officials and environmental groups have urged the state Water Resources Control Board to approve new rules to ensure there is adequate water in the river system for salmon and steelhead during frosty spring nights when many grape growers spray water over their vines to freeze the green buds in ice, which keeps the plant tissue safe at a constant 32-degree temperature.

Efforts are being made to determine the minimum flow rate required for the endemic salmonids to move up and down stream unabated.  When flow rates are below this level, all water diversion must be halted and water from storage reservoirs, for example, be used.

Alexander Valley grape grower, David Fanucchi says he “will cooperate to save fish, but we want to save our industry”. If his sentiments are widely held, the path to reform could be a bumpy one.

The United States is looking to place an official ban on vessels involved in illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing from entering its ports.

The rule, proposed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) would allow authorities to deny entry to a ship that had been listed for engaging in IUU fishing by one of the world’s eight international fishery management organizations.

Currently there are around 90 officially blacklisted vessels and whilst small in number, a representative from the NOAA claims that these ships have had a “significant impact on the populations of Patagonian toothfish (Chilean Sea Bass), Bluefin Tuna and other high-demand fish."

Up to this point, IUU fishing vessels were discouraged from entering U.S. ports, but the new law would also make it illegal for any person or company to provide services or do business with a ship that had been engaged in defined IUU fishing activities.

These new laws aim to leave illegal fishing vessels at sea, quite literally.

Worldwide media phenomenon, Oprah Winfrey, recently announced her list of “25 Superfoods to Eat This Year” placing a well-deserved spotlight on one of our favorite fish, the humble sardine.

Sardines, like many other “small fry” found towards the bottom of the oceanic food chain are packed with heart-healthy omega-3 oils and are lowest in mercury and other pollutants that collect in the fatty tissue of large, old predators. Add to the fact that they are extremely high in vitamin D, calcium and protein and you begin to see why sardines are an excellent choice for the health conscious.

The eating of sardines is not only healthy for the body, but also healthy for the oceans.

Reproducing rapidly and prolifically, and characterized by a very high growth rate and abundance, sardines are a “best choice” in terms of sustainability. In addition, catch methods for the fish are recognized for low levels of bycatch and habitat destruction.