RE: shrimp season dates? was:shrimp

[Guest guest]

Aren't shrimp dangerous? Or are they? Are they deep water critters?

On Jan 23, 2006, at 7:23 AM, zanyzingzap wrote:

> When is the season this year Suze? If it doesn't coincide with my

> upcoming

> trip, hopefully I can at least get someone in my family to get some and

> throw it in the freezer for me, I have been have a wicked craving for

> shrimp

> and not liking what I see in the commissary.

>

> Thanks

Parashis

artpages@...

zine:

artpagesonline.com

portfolio:

http://www.artpagesonline.com/EPportfolio/000portfolio.html

[Guest guest]

They sure are!!!! Last time I took a walk on the beach I was mugged by one!

One of those JUMBO shrimp!! Thing made off with ALL my algea (or whatever it

is that shrimp eat LOL)!! Sorry, I think I've been drinking a tad too much

kombucha LOL.

On 1/25/06, Parashis <artpages@...> wrote:

>

> Aren't shrimp dangerous?

--

D. Siemens

WAPF Chapter Leader

http://www.freewebs.com/wapfontario/index.htm

Wife of Tim, Mother of Zack and Lydia, Child of God.

[Guest guest]

Although WAP was very strongly pro-shrimp because of their

vitamin/mineral content, there is a good reason to avoid them.

Farming of shrimp is destroying the fish hatcheries for lots of

species as the shallow mangrove swamps where the shrimp farms are

located in lots of countries are also important breeding grounds for

hundreds of other sea animals, most if not eaten by people are at

least important in the food chain of ocean fish. Also the shrimp

farms are often putting out of work entire villages who used to make

their livings by fishing as they destroy then pollute the area, then

hire those same people for a dollar a day or less to work in the

shrimp farm where all the profit goes to a few at the top who often

don't even live there.

Wild shrimp are just as bad, as most are caught by trawlers who drag

weighted nets across the ocean floor, destroying coral and delicate

ecosystems. Only about 10% of what they catch are shrimp, the rest

usually die in the netting/sorting process (including sea turtles)

and are thrown back into the ocean as bycatch.

It's a hugely destructive and wasteful industry and many are now

saying irresponsible seafood practices like these can damage so much

of the ocean ecosystem that our children's generation may not be

able to eat many of the kinds of seafood we now enjoy. For more,

look at the Monteray Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch Program:

www.seafoodwatch.org

>

> Aren't shrimp dangerous? Or are they? Are they deep water critters?

>

[Guest guest]

Please forgive me for interrupting - I'm new here - but I've just

finished my supper of shrimps and I would like to say that it depends

a lot which country you're talking about. I've certainly heard about

the damage done by shrimp farming in mangrove swamps, and I wouldn't

touch anything from a fish farm of any sort. But there are countries

where there are good practices - crayfish in vast flooded fields in

Spain, for example - or catching wild shrimps and prawns in creels in

other areas. And we have used a small beam trawl for our own

shrimping - being very very careful to throw back the small flatties

we've caught by accident.

Jane from Scotland

> >

> > Aren't shrimp dangerous? Or are they? Are they deep water

critters?

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the warning - I'll make sure I have a piece of kelp with me

next beach trip.

On Jan 25, 2006, at 7:28 AM, Siemens wrote:

> They sure are!!!! Last time I took a walk on the beach I was mugged by

> one!

> One of those JUMBO shrimp!! Thing made off with ALL my algea (or

> whatever it

> is that shrimp eat LOL)!! Sorry, I think I've been drinking a tad too

> much

> kombucha LOL.

Parashis

artpages@...

zine:

artpagesonline.com

portfolio:

http://www.artpagesonline.com/EPportfolio/000portfolio.html

[Guest guest]

I'll never eat another shrimp!

On Jan 25, 2006, at 7:56 AM, haecklers wrote:

> Although WAP was very strongly pro-shrimp because of their

> vitamin/mineral content, there is a good reason to avoid them.

>

> Farming of shrimp is destroying the fish hatcheries for lots of

> species as the shallow mangrove swamps where the shrimp farms are

> located in lots of countries are also important breeding grounds for

> hundreds of other sea animals, most if not eaten by people are at

> least important in the food chain of ocean fish. Also the shrimp

> farms are often putting out of work entire villages who used to make

> their livings by fishing as they destroy then pollute the area, then

> hire those same people for a dollar a day or less to work in the

> shrimp farm where all the profit goes to a few at the top who often

> don't even live there.

>

> Wild shrimp are just as bad, as most are caught by trawlers who drag

> weighted nets across the ocean floor, destroying coral and delicate

> ecosystems. Only about 10% of what they catch are shrimp, the rest

> usually die in the netting/sorting process (including sea turtles)

> and are thrown back into the ocean as bycatch.

>

> It's a hugely destructive and wasteful industry and many are now

> saying irresponsible seafood practices like these can damage so much

> of the ocean ecosystem that our children's generation may not be

> able to eat many of the kinds of seafood we now enjoy. For more,

> look at the Monteray Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch Program:

Parashis

artpages@...

zine:

artpagesonline.com

portfolio:

http://www.artpagesonline.com/EPportfolio/000portfolio.html

[Guest guest]

,

>When is the season this year Suze? If it doesn't coincide with my upcoming

>trip, hopefully I can at least get someone in my family to get some and

>throw it in the freezer for me, I have been have a wicked craving

>for shrimp

>and not liking what I see in the commissary.

I just found out that it's going to be longer than I was first told. It will

go till the end of March this year, I believe.

Suze Fisher

Lapdog Design, Inc.

Web Design & Development

http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze3shjg

Weston A. Price Foundation Chapter Leader, Mid Coast Maine

http://www.westonaprice.org

----------------------------

" The diet-heart idea (the idea that saturated fats and cholesterol cause

heart disease) is the greatest scientific deception of our times. " --

Mann, MD, former Professor of Medicine and Biochemistry at Vanderbilt

University, Tennessee; heart disease researcher.

The International Network of Cholesterol Skeptics

<http://www.thincs.org>

----------------------------

[Guest guest]

Haecklers,

Do you have a name? Or is Haecklers your actual name? It always feels funny

talking to someone whose name you don't know and who doesn't sign their

posts.

>Although WAP was very strongly pro-shrimp because of their

>vitamin/mineral content, there is a good reason to avoid them.

<snip>

>Wild shrimp are just as bad, as most are caught by trawlers who drag

>weighted nets across the ocean floor, destroying coral and delicate

>ecosystems. Only about 10% of what they catch are shrimp, the rest

>usually die in the netting/sorting process (including sea turtles)

>and are thrown back into the ocean as bycatch.

If you're basing this on the website you linked to below, then this

information appears to be outdated by several years.

>It's a hugely destructive and wasteful industry and many are now

>saying irresponsible seafood practices like these can damage so much

>of the ocean ecosystem that our children's generation may not be

>able to eat many of the kinds of seafood we now enjoy. For more,

>look at the Monteray Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch Program:

>www.seafoodwatch.org

It seems like the aquarium should update their website. Or at least provide

more detailed and accurate information. They write:

" There are environmental problems with how most shrimp are caught or farmed.

Wild shrimp are usually caught in trawl nets. These nets catch everything in

their path, including endangered sea turtles, juvenile fish and other marine

life, which are thrown overboard as bycatch. Shrimp trawling has the highest

bycatch of any commercial fishery-for every pound of shrimp hauled in, three

to 15 pounds of unwanted animals die in the process. U.S. shrimp trawlers

outfit their nets with devices to let sea turtles and some fish escape from

their nets to reduce the amount of unwanted animals caught. "

http://www.mbayaq.org/cr/SeafoodWatch/web/sfw_factsheet.aspx?fid=44

Apparently the nets no longer catch everything in their path. See below. And

that last sentence almost appears to be a footnote, but from what I

understand the reality is that MOST fish escape through an opening in nets

fitted with a grate, at least with the Nordmore grate mentioned below. I

asked my shrimp guy about this and he said that grates are required. It

looks like that is the case, at least here in New England:

http://www.nero.noaa.gov/nero/fishermen/gom/Exemptions.htm

" Nordmore grate Mesh funnels shrimp and fish to the bottom of the net.

Shrimp go through the grate; almost all fish escape through an opening in

the net above the grate § §. "

http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/OCEAN_PLANET/HTML/peril_bycatch.html

Here's a picture of the Nordmore grate:

http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/OCEAN_PLANET/IMAGES/I-723.gif

Better grates are also in the works, with one goal being eliminating

groundfish bycatch completely:

http://www.northeastconsortium.org/flexible_grate.shtml

So, while it certainly isn't the most environmentally-friendly form of

commercial fishing, and may indeed do some damage to the ocean floor, it's

much less destructive to other species than it was years ago, and there is

still ongoing work to improve it even more. The other issue is that the

destructiveness to environment and other species seems to vary *widely*

depending on which part of the world we're talking about as some countries

have regulations requiring the grates while others don't. Same for the

requirements for a TED (turtle excluder device) and perhaps other devices

that reduce the bycatch.

Suze Fisher

Lapdog Design, Inc.

Web Design & Development

http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze3shjg

Weston A. Price Foundation Chapter Leader, Mid Coast Maine

http://www.westonaprice.org

----------------------------

“The diet-heart idea (the idea that saturated fats and cholesterol cause

heart disease) is the greatest scientific deception of our times.” --

Mann, MD, former Professor of Medicine and Biochemistry at Vanderbilt

University, Tennessee; heart disease researcher.

The International Network of Cholesterol Skeptics

<http://www.thincs.org>

----------------------------

[Guest guest]

Suze, My name's Renate. I usually don't sign because on another site

that seemed to invite trouble with spammers.

I didn't know that was outdated, but maybe that explains why they said

American shrimp are a better choice - our shrimpers use the right

kinds of nets while foreign ones may/may not.

>

> Haecklers,

>

> Do you have a name? Or is Haecklers your actual name? It always

feels funny

> talking to someone whose name you don't know and who doesn't sign

their

> posts.

>

[Guest guest]

My daughter studied bottom trawling for a science project this year. While

Americans seem to be dedicated to finding solutions to the problem (the

amount of cold-water coral destroyed each year is the equivalent of North

America), other countries are finding " creative " ways around laws and

regulations meant to protect cold-water coral. Norway, for instance, when

told they must limit the number of bottom-trawling vessels that could be out

at the same time, simply went with larger ships that could carry double to

triple the number of nets, further damaging cold-water coral. If anyone

wants more links, I'll check my daughter's bibiolography and forward them to

you. It's a fascinating topic, to be sure.

Sharon, NH

On 1/27/06, haecklers <haecklers@...> wrote:

>

> Suze, My name's Renate. I usually don't sign because on another site

> that seemed to invite trouble with spammers.

>

> I didn't know that was outdated, but maybe that explains why they said

> American shrimp are a better choice - our shrimpers use the right

> kinds of nets while foreign ones may/may not.

>

>

[Guest guest]

Renate-

>Suze, My name's Renate. I usually don't sign because on another site

>that seemed to invite trouble with spammers.

My thanks for offering your name. I'm hardly about to establish any

kind of identity policy, but in general I find that real names

encourage more serious discussion. People seem more inclined to

throw stones, act like trolls and generally behave immaturely when

they have the security blanket of total anonymity. Obviously that's

far from an absolute rule, and I'm certainly not commenting in any

way on your posts, but the greater the percentage of posters

identifying themselves with real names, the more mature and useful

discussion tends to be. This seems to hold true pretty consistently

in all online venues.

-