Black Grouper and Bluefin: Save the Fishermen 9/22/10

Black Grouper: Tastes good, seasonal product, looks dumb on a shirt.

Your customers will not be able to resist the tantalizing flavors of the Black Grouper. Some say it is the most delicious fish in the sea. The best thing about black grouper is that is not being over fished, populations in the Charleston Bump are healthy and the season just opened. For all of you trying to get your seasonal ideas together, here is a delicacy to add to your menu and not feel stressed out about. 6.95/lb

Black Grouper are protogynous hermaphrodites, meaning that predominately they start off as female and then become male as they get older. Whether or not you include this "fun fact" on the specials board is totally up to you.

Although I do recommend eating black grouper, I do not believe that wearing a shirt with a grouper image will do anything for your sex appeal. As a matter of fact, I'd have to call it is a fashion "DON'T" for Fall 2010.





 Where do people come up with this stuff?

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Save the fishermen.  
A debate is going on within congress as to whether or not bluefin tuna should be added to the ESA (Endangered Species Act) as of May 2011. Many of you are aware of this. I hope that you are also aware that there are two sides to every story.

Maine's U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe (a member of the Senate subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries and Coast Guard) is opposed listing the bluefin tuna as an endangered species.

Here is what she has to say on the matter:

"No one disputes that bluefin tuna is overfished...for years, U.S. fishermen have led the world in efforts to conserve highly migratory fish stocks such as bluefin tuna. It would be inappropriate and counter-productive to repay them for their stewardship by blocking access to the lucrative foreign markets, particularly when those markets will be filled with bluefin tuna harvested from weaker stocks."

Senator Susan Collins and Maine's two congressional Reps. Mike Michaud and Chellie Pingree also agree that putting the Maine fishermen at an even further disadvantage after years of compliance with the rules would be cruel.

I feel that this is an important issue that must be driven home.  If you DO decide to purchase bluefin, you should be supporting the domestic fishery. At least then you know that these fish were harvested in a sustainable manner.

Scientists who come up with statistics and graphs based on simulated fishing trips are still only human. They are capable of making mistakes and may err on the side of environmentalists, the same people who advocate to save the species. Theirs is just like any other business. People have an agenda. If scientists are not utilizing the correct gear, if their net is faulty, if they went out on a bad weather day, or they just didn’t hit the spot where the fish are, it will likely appear as though the biomass of a species is more exploited than it really is. I know from experience that this happens because my own father was involved in the Trawlgate debacle of 2000.

To read more about Trawlgate click here:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2003/10/27/scientists_fishermen_in_standoff/
  
Also, remember that fishermen have families to support. Think about this: Why would fishermen want to deplete the stocks of a fish that their livelihood depends on? Save the tuna, yes, but shouldn’t we also save the fishermen?