Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
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117 while still allowing a reasonable harvest of that species." NOAA Fisheries estimates that 80 percent of the seafood Americans consume is im- ported. Most fish follow a puzzling chain of distribution from the initial catch. "A signifi- cant portion of imported seafood is caught by American fishermen, exported overseas for processing, and then reimported to the United States," according to a NOAA Fisheries report. "In some cases," Ferreira says, "it is cheaper to send product overseas to be processed and have it shipped back here. You need enough infrastructure and a consistent supply to make processing here economically viable." In Maine, efforts are under way to set up a facil- ity to process lobster. Of course, fish and shellfish are renewable resources. U.S. fisheries are big business. ey provide jobs and keep coastal communities vibrant. In 2016, U.S. commercial fishermen landed 9.6 billion pounds of fish, valued at $5.3 billion. Still, approximately half the seafood consumed around the world, including in the United States, is farm-raised through aqua- culture. Farm-raised seafood presents a viable way to meet demands for increasing popula- tions. It's the fastest growing form of food production in the world. In Massachusetts, in the South Coast Region of the Massachusetts Department of Marine Fisheries, aquaculture is in the infancy stage, where most operations are owner/operator small producers who culti- Gloucester Harbor bustles with fishing activity. Allison Ferreira is the spokesperson for NOAA Fisheries in Gloucester. Below, Fishermen are catching a variety of different species to sell to fishmarkets including hake and monkfish. vate shellfish. While the South Coast, South Shore, Cape Cod, and the Islands have 1,200 acres of "Shellfish Regions," the North Shore has 10 total acres, or less than 3 percent of total cultivation. But will New England consumers opt to dine on dif- ferent species? Solviletti says, "High-end restaurants are buying monkfish, skate wings, cusk, and hake that you didn't even think about back in the day when it was only cod and haddock. Now everything is getting introduced, and I think it's a good thing and only getting better." It will be a challenge to change people's eating choices. But Ferreira believes that chefs and the media will be the agents of change to steer interest in less utilized species. "e City of Gloucester is trying to promote redfish as a healthy, delicious choice," she says. NOAA Fisheries, along with seafood organizations, reaches out to inform the public through Fish- Watch, promotional events, and at the Boston Seafood Expo, and works with chefs around New England to promote other species. Kathy Milbury, chef and co-owner of My Place by the Sea in Rockport, is dedicated to sustainable seafood. "I serve a lot of haddock because there seems to be a bountiful supply. Most of it is local and sustainable. And I use some farmed salmon out of Canada. I do pay at- tention to what is sustainable and what is not." NOAA Fisheries encourages public par- ticipation for consideration when fisheries' management actions are developed. Staying involved means staying informed, comment- ing at meetings, and commenting on proposed regulations, either electronically or by mail. greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov PHOTOGRAPHS BY, TOP TO BOTTOM, EFSC/NOAA, SHUTTERSTOCK