Thursday, March 5, 2009

Boston Seafood Show

I've read about it for years and I am finally going! I'll be there all day on Sunday, March 15. If you are a blogger or a food enthusiasts and want to get together at the show, let me know.

If you have no idea what I am talking about, let me back up. The International Boston Seafood show is a yearly event that brings together fishermen, distributors, retailers, chefs, food writers, and anyone interested in the seafood industry. I hear there'll be a lot of food, and was warned not to eat for 3 days.

If you had a chance to meet seafood distributors, what would you ask them? Do you have seafood questions that don't let you sleep at night? Leave me a comment and I'll try to find out the answers.

Here are some questions I thought of so far. This is a dynamic list, so I'll be updating it over the next week and a half.
  • What are the recent advances in the field of aquaculture? Which farms have more environmentally friendly practices?
  • How can sustainably raised and terribly delicious kampachi and hiramasa become more affordable and accessible to home cooks?
  • I'd like to learn more about Individual transferable quotas (ITQs), and other economic devices to control overfishing.
  • What are the recent advances in the field of transportation?
  • Previously frozen fish: how long can different fish be kept frozen without their texture suffering? When distributors package the fish, how do they decide on expiration date and how close do the stores adhere to these dates?
  • What are the recent advances in freezing technologies?
  • Is there such a thing as lean previously frozen fish that tastes good?
  • How much of the seafood served raw in US is previously frozen? How do people in the industry deal with HACCP regulation that seafood intended for raw consumption needs to be previously frozen? Is there some seafood that doesn't?
  • What are the most up to date sources for finding out which fish are endangered and which ones aren't?
  • What are the most up to date sources for finding out the amount of mercury in different fish?
  • What does MSC certification involve?
Reader's Questions:
  • Is mercury an issue for oysters and is there a limit on how much a person should eat? Are there any other health issues like parasites or something else because you eat them raw?
  • How long are oysters good for after they have been taken out of the water and what is the best way to keep them once they are out?
  • Which farms are feeding fish (rather than grain) to their farmed fish?
  • How is the relationship between fishermen and fisheries management doing in the current economy? Is the trust between the two groups better or worse than in previous years?

4 comments:

Helen said...

just got an e-mail from my fellow Boston cook, Galya, with the following questions:

Is mercury an issue for oysters and whether there is a limit on how much a person should eat? Are there any other health issues like parasites or something else because you eat them raw?

How long are oysters good for after they have been taken out of the water and what is the best way to keep them once they are out?

Thanks Galya! I'll try to find out.

Anonymous said...

Hmmmm... All interesting questions! Have fun at the show.

Paz

Anonymous said...

I wish I lived up in the area or had the time to take off. Some day I will get to Boston, I'll have to make sure I schedule it around the time of the show.

My brother loves seafood and fishing it could be a good trip if I can get him to come.

Mia
http://www.easy-recipes.me

Nadira said...

Ooh, it's tempting, but I have dance class on Sunday that usually turns into a four-hour class-plus-coffee event with the teacher and some of my classmates.

In addition to environmentally-friendly practices, I'd be interested in which farms are feeding fish (rather than grain) to their farmed fish.

And since you mentioned ITQs, I'd be interested in hearing how the relationship between fishermen and fisheries management is doing in the current economy. Is the trust between the two groups better or worse than in previous years?

(It's a long story, but I did my degrees in ocean engineering, and am curious about whether a paper I did in grad school was on the ball or not...)