Newsletter Home     Industry Bite     Wild Watch     Featured Articles     Featured Recipe     Order Materials New Resources Offer Consumers Valuable Information on Choosing Healthy Fish More and more, consumers are gaining interest in eating healthier and are looking to seafood as a nutritious and delicious option. This growing interest in seafood is threatened by warnings about methylmercury and other contaminants, so it is important to arm your customers with information about where and how to source healthy fish. Several new resources are being developed to educate consumers, including the new Oceana report, "Hold the Mercury: How to Avoid Mercury When Buying Fish," and the new "Fish Kids" website by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). For example, the EPA's "Fish Kids" website is designed to help children and parents choose healthy seafood. Located at www.epa.gov/fishadvisories/kids, this site contains interactive games and narratives to educate kids and adults on which fish are low in mercury. Using scenarios in which families might typically obtain the seafood that they eat (such as camping trips, shopping trips and sport fishing trips), the website explains why certain seafood species such as shark and tilefish should be avoided due to their high level of mercury. It also calls out which fish are healthy and should be eaten at least twice a week, such as salmon and pollock. Another helpful resource is a new paper issued by the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute. Written by Dr. Joyce Nettleton, "Seafood: Weighing the Benefits and Risks" details why seafood is critical for the healthy development of infants and children and essential for continued lifelong health. It then goes into an in-depth explanation of methylmercury and contaminants, lists who may be at a higher risk, and offers recommendations on how to choose fish wisely in order to gain the most benefit from seafood nutrition. To order "Seafood: Weighing the Benefits and Risks" by Dr. Joyce Nettleton, visit www.alaskaseafood.org or call (800) 806-2497. Source: SeafoodSource News, August 4, 2008 ASMI Launches New Video on Sustainability Featuring Alton Brown of the Food Network The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) and Food Network's Alton Brown have joined forces to help clear up consumer confusion on what sustainability really is, and explain how this concept has guided the Alaska seafood industry for more than 50 years. The five-minute video can be viewed online at www.alaskaseafood.org. Shot on location in the pristine wilds of Alaska, the video provides viewers with an insider's look at one of the best-managed fisheries in the world. Viewers will learn about the many types of seafood harvested in Alaskan waters, the history of sustainability in Alaska and the important state, federal and international agencies that regulate all aspects of the Alaska seafood industry. "Sustainability has been the cornerstone of Alaska's seafood industry for fifty years. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to help them tell that tale," says Brown, host of Food Network's Good Eats, Feasting on Asphalt and Iron Chef America. "Now, more than ever we need to understand how quality seafood makes it to our markets and ultimately onto our plates." In the video, Brown explains that the framers of the Alaska Constitution recognized the importance of protecting Alaska's abundant natural resources, and included in their landmark document a mandate that "fish...be utilized, developed, and maintained on the sustained yield principle." This dedication to sustainable management has resulted in an ever-replenishing supply of wild seafood for markets around the world. Brown's distinguished scientific style boils down the concepts that set Alaska's fisheries apart, like science-based policy decisions, laws, enforcement, gear restrictions and in-season management. Brown even shows off his flair for the dramatic by cooking a colossal meal of Alaska king crab legs along with whole fillets of halibut, king and sockeye salmon, and cod over an outdoor grill.