According to a recent press release,

The streamlined process of creating reports and recommendations has the potential to assess more species of interest, and a new numerical scoring system allows for finer-scale recommendations for seafood buyers, while maintaining the straightforward green-yellow-red “traffic light” rating approach for consumers who rely on popular Seafood Watch pocket guides and smartphone apps.

The revised assessment criteria will not result in significant changes to current Seafood Watch recommendations as they incorporate the same guiding principles, said Senior Science Manager Dr. Tom Pickerell. The new science reports will, however, make it easier to see, at a glance, why each item earned a Best Choice, Good Alternative or Avoid ranking, he said.

We’re also excited to share with you two other major changes that Seafood Watch will be making this year. According to Dr. Pickerell, they will also be working on:

1. An evaluation of certifications schemes (such as the Marine Stewardship Council and the Global Aquaculture Alliance) to see if the Seafood Watch program can use their rankings “determine if any or all are “credible – that is, adhere to a robust process – and equivalent to at least a Seafood Watch ‘Good Alternative’ yellow ranking or above,”

2. Launching of “pilot projects examining strategies to enable stakeholders to utilize our criteria and methodology to assess fisheries and aquaculture operations that are not being assessed by Seafood Watch,”

We’re excited to continue our partnership with Seafood Watch, and we can’t wait to see how these changes help us improve not only our purchasing habits, but how we recommend responsible choices to you.

According to this great info-graphic from OpenTable, diners are going to be reserving tables early, spending at least at much as last year, and they aren’t going to be limiting their Valentine’s Day dining to traditional dates, with 76% of respondents noting they would be more than happy to dine out with a group of friends…

Get ready for a busy holiday! But, keep in mind that since the 14th falls on a Tuesday, you might see increased traffic on Saturday the 11th as well. According to the OpenTable survey, 26% of diners are planning their romantic dates for Saturday (with 47% aiming to celebrate on the 14th).

So, what kind of seafood are you putting on the menu?

Sure fire sellers like live Maine lobster, dry pack u/10 scallops and of course, oysters on the half-shell are always great options, but don’t stop there! With celebrating couples (and groups) out to have a good time keep them happy with lobster tails, caviar and other luxury items.  Sushi is a fun, light and gorgeous way to feed your guests, get creative!  What about some menu items that are designed to encouraging sharing like a gorgeous seafood tower with plenty of options for accidental hand grazing… try some snow crab claws, shrimp or oysters.

Valentine’s Day is also a fun day to play with the idea that seafood is “heart healthy”! Serving fish with good omega-3 fatty acids like wild Alaska king salmon is a great way to literally show your customers you care!

Your Santa Monica Seafood Sales Representative is here to help you with getting your pre-orders in to make sure you have a successful and stress-free Valentine’s Day!!

A look at restaurants around Orange County shows a wide range of promotions in the works…

Tons of Televisions! Obviously the first thing to do in order to get customers in for the game is to show it… Whether you have 1 big screen or 300 of them, make it easy for customers to cheer on their favorite team (or commercial).

Give-aways are also hot; big prizes like televisions (maybe like that awesome one you just bought to show the game on!) or smaller hourly drawings will keep customers entertained during the game…why not raffle off some gift cards so customers come back?

Food and Drink specials; from all-you-can-eat buffets to free shots for touchdowns, restaurants are pulling out all the stops. Kitchens will be turning out casual football favorites like chili, wings, nachos and hot dogs, or more elegant fare. Whether you give it away or offer it at special price, keep the food coming!

Of course we want to be sure you’re serving plenty of seafood during the game! Shrimp cocktail, smoked fish dips and spreads, fried calamari, oysters on the half-shell, stuffed clams… and don’t forget big bowls of New England Clam Chowder for those Patriot fans! Check in with your Santa Monica Seafood Representative to find out what other items will work to help keep customers happy on Super Bowl Sunday.

This yearly roundup “pinpoints top trends driving global culinary innovation in the coming years,” and showcases six growing trends:

• Honoring Roots
• Quest for the Ultimate
• Veggies in Vogue
• Simplicity Shines
• Flavorful Swaps
• No Boundaries

Although we had a good laugh imagining those as chapters in some long-forgotten Home Economics text book, the team over at McCormick has a good record seeing their predictions come true, so we thought it was worth looking further into.

How can you incorporate tons (literally) of seafood from your favorite wholesale seafood provider (that would be us)? It’s easy! Here’s a few ideas:

Honoring Roots; really, just buying from us honors some deep roots in world of California family-owned business… since 1939! The Cigliano Family has been bringing great seafood to the West Coast for decades, these roots are deep!

Quest for the Ultimate; this one’s a little vague… McCormick describes it as:

For flavor fanatics, what satisfied yesterday will not do for tomorrow. Those searching for the pinnacle of fulfillment in food are on an endless quest to achieve ever-greater sensory heights. Culinary explorers are seeking out combinations that create powerful, harmonic bursts of elemental flavors—be it zesty, refreshing, umami or pungent—for the ultimate taste experience.

The combos they list in this section are simply made for seafood! Dill with mint, melon and cucumber and Meyer lemon with lemon thyme, Limoncello and lemon peel… add some Santa Barbara spot prawns or a nice piece of wild Alaska halibut come spring and you’re set!

Simplicity Shines offers two more no-brainers for your seafood section: Ginger with coconut (we’re thinking mussels or corvina – although McCormick offers recipes for a shrimp po’boy and braised cod ) and Vanilla with butter – what about lobster or Mano de Leon scallops? Mouth watering! McCormick has some additional ideas for shrimp and grilled snapper which also look fantastic.

No Boundaries asks us to “shed the rules”! Okay! But how to incorporate Sweet Soy with Tamarind & Black pepper? What about a thick wild Alaskan king salmon steak? And Blueberry with Cardamom & Corn Masa? We’re thinking that one might just be for your dessert menu…

Check out McCormick’s website for the full meal deal including recipes.

Since we carry (and promote) this locally caught, nutritious and carefully managed species, we are especially glad to be able to share this news with you!

According to the Seafood Watch website;

A small number of shark populations in North America are managed more responsibly and have healthier populations. These “Good Alternatives” are common thresher and shortfin mako sharks caught in California and Hawaii, and spiny dogfish from British Columbia. However, unless these shark species can be sourced from these specific regions, we recommend that consumers “Avoid” all other shark products.

We can’t say we’re surprised by this news; we’ve been championing CA Thresher Shark for a while now…

For the last 6 months or so, we’ve been battling the perception that all sharks are endangered because of finning and that all shark fisheries are destructive. This is just not the case with the California drift net thresher shark fishery. Despite healthy thresher shark populations, strong regulations, and little to no by-catch issues a high profile southern California retailer was pressured to stop selling the species. This unfairly devastated the California drift gillnet fishery with unintended impact to fishing communities up and down the coast. No one would buy the catch despite its affordability, great eating properties (especially in fish and chips) and its nutritional benefits.

NOAA’s FishWatch clearly states that the California common thresher shark is not overfished but because shark finning and by-catch are so contentious, we wanted to study the issues further before stocking it again. After attending a NOAA workshop at the Aquarium of the Pacific and a swordfish workshop in San Diego we concluded the population was healthy and the management plan effective. Between area and temporal closures and new gear designs, endangered species and marine mammal by-catch has all but been eliminated. By-catch of other species, including pregnant female and juvenile threshers themselves, has been greatly reduced. Shark finning is illegal in the United States and shark fin sales in many states are now illegal.

To further shore up our position, we also donated RSVP funds to a leatherback turtle restoration project in New Guinea where some of the endangered leatherbacks encountered in this fishery originate from.

It’s been a difficult position to maintain, and we’re glad to be joined by the team at Seafood Watch in our support of this local fishery. Check in with your Santa Monica Seafood Representative on availability of fresh (and frozen) California Thresher Shark and get it on the menu today!

According to the Global Aquaculture Alliance’s website:

Best Aquaculture Practices is an international certification program based on achievable, science-based and continuously improved global performance standards for the entire aquaculture supply chain — farms, hatcheries, processing plants and feed mills — that assure healthful foods produced through environmentally and socially responsible means.

This is great news about an already great product.  In case you aren’t familiar with Skuna Bay Salmon, this is a perfect opportunity for us to let you know what sets it apart from other farmed salmon (in addition to the BAP logo you’ll start to see on their boxes…)

Raised by craftsman farmers with a passion for producing great fish, Skuna bay salmon thrive in the natural ocean waters of Nootka Sound.  Strong tidal currents help Skuna Bay Salmon grow strong and healthy.  The farmers live on site, constantly monitoring fish and the conditions of the farm.  But we don’t need to tell you all this; BAP certification speaks for itself!

What we do want to tell you more about is the impeccable quality of this product.  There’s no certification standard for “Craft Raised”, but you can count on getting some of the most carefully handled seafood on the market.   Skuna Bay Salmon is harvested in small batches, whisked off to processors and once it meets strict quality standards is packed into patented Thermaseal boxes, sealed with a tamper proof seal and never touched again until it reaches your kitchen!

We’d love to work with you to get this innovative salmon option on to your menu; check in with your Santa Monica Seafood Sales Representative to learn more!

With funding support from RSVP the AKCRRAB project will continue their work towards understanding how best to hatch, rear and introduce red and blue king crab stocks into the wild in an effort to reverse depressed wild king crab populations throughout Alaska.

The most recent developments for the AKCRRAB program is the arrival of 19 female blue king crabs at the Alutiiq Pride Shellfish Hatchery in Seward AK, caught by the crew of the fishing vessel Seabrooke near St. Matthew Island during the 2011 commercial fishing season. The small geographic range of blue king crab, hazardous weather, and limited shipping opportunities have made acquiring blue king crab broodstock difficult in previous years, which makes their successful delivery this year especially important. Blue king crab larvae have been a challenge to rear at the hatchery compared to the red king crab, but AKCRRAB biologists are optimistic that conditions customized to blue king crabs will yield improved survival and growth rates in 2012. Blue king crab larvae are expected to hatch in winter/spring 2012 and will be used in large-scale experiments focused on improving culture techniques.

If you’ve got King Crab Legs on your New Year’s Eve menu (or even if you don’t) take a minute to learn more about what The AKCRRAB Program is doing to ensure these tasty crustaceans have a bright future!

Despite the many values of Bristol Bay, it faces real threats from proposed mining development that foreign companies want to move forward in the headwaters of Bristol Bay’s most productive salmon rivers and lakes. Trout Unlimited, along with local Bristol Bay native tribes and corporations, commercial salmon fishermen, seafood processors and chefs are working together to ensure that Bristol Bay’s fishery gets the protection that it deserves so that future generations may enjoy this irreplaceable source of healthy and delicious wild salmon.

Critical to managing and protecting this last remaining wild salmon fishery is sound scientific data and research. With funding support from the RSVP program, Trout Unlimited has partnered with one of Alaska’s top fishery biologists, Dr. Carol Ann Woody of Fisheries Research and Consulting, to conduct essential research that documents, maps, and characterizes essential salmon habitats in the Bristol Bay region of southwest Alaska which will inform best management practices and help to ensure a viable and sustainable wild salmon supply into the future.

We’re glad to have this opportunity to help protect one of Alaska’s valuable natural resources!

Although we’re cheered by this information “scientists caution that the long-term picture is still cloudy — and that much could depend on factors far from Maine”, the article noted.

John F. Kocik, a research biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s fisheries service, told the Times

…in recent years salmon have been faring poorly during their time at sea. Waters have been too warm for salmon in some places and too cold in others, partly influenced by periodic weather patterns known as the North Atlantic oscillation and the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation. “Both of those seem to be coming into play,” Dr. Kocik said.”

He added that there was more to be learned. “There are also, we believe, some more complex food-chain issues going on that we are trying to understand,” he said.

Climate change may be the biggest issue wild salmon are faced with in the decades to come as even minute changes in temperature can wreak havoc with ecosystems. So, although we’re happy to read about improved returns, we’ll take the information with a grain of sea salt and keep our eye on the issues.

According to the Coalition of Legal Toothfish Operators, the Australian Heard Island & McDonald Islands Patagonian toothfish fishery is now approaching the final stages of Marine Stewardship Council review.

According to COLTO,

“If successful, HIMI will be the third toothfish fishery to achieve the gold standard of the MSC, determining it a sustainable and well managed fishery, following the South Georgia and Ross Sea toothfish fisheries.”

An earlier press release from COLTO applauded results from the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources announced at their annual meeting which show continued reduced Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) catches of toothfish, and which demonstrated the success of protection measures to avoid accidental catch of seabirds during fishing operations.

We’ll keep you updated on how the MSC certification progresses.  As always feel free to share your good news with us here on the blog!