WASHINGTON — The Catfish Farmers of America says it welcomes streamlining U.S. government regulation of America’s food supply chain, but warns that back-peddling on critical seafood safety inspections and regulations will put consumers at greater risk. In a new report, the Government Accountability Office questions the cost of transferring the regulation of catfish from the [...] [...]
ITTA BENA — Heartland Catfish has announced that employees at its plants in Mississippi and Alabama will face temporary layoffs or reduced hours over the next four months. Danny Walker, CEO for Itta Bena-based Heartland, told the Greenwood Commonwealth that the company, like others in the industry, is being squeezed by a shortage of live [...] [...]
WASHINGTON — The Catfish Farmers of America are applauding the U.S. Department of Agriculture for recommending implementation of a law requiring tough new inspections and regulation of all catfish sold in America. “We are extremely pleased that the USDA has recommended stricter regulation of catfish which will mean greater protection for American consumers,” said Joey [...] [...]
WASHINGTON — The Agriculture Department has delayed a decision on a new catfish inspection program that threatens to derail U.S. trade relations with Vietnam. The agency released a proposed rule Friday seeking more comment on the key question of whether Asian catfish will be subject to a new inspection regime that Congress passed in 2008 [...] [...]
GULF OF MEXICO — President Barack Obama’s administration said yesterday it supports the farming of fish in federal waters, but that the practice needs to be done in a safe and scientifically sound manner. In the Gulf of Mexico, businesses have proposed growing fish on unused oil and natural gas platforms. Farming fish along the [...] [...]
WASHINGTON — Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) and Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) recently testified before the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) that existing antidumping duties must be extended to promote an even playing field for U.S. shrimpers “besieged by unfair foreign imports.” The ITC is in the process of determining whether conditions within the U.S. shrimp [...] [...]
WASHINGTON — The catfish industry is pointing to a recent airing of NBC’s “Today Show” as more proof the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s inspection system for imported seafood is weak. Many Americans are eating foreign catfish and other seafood tainted with chemicals that could cause cancer, birth defects and other serious health problems, according [...] [...]
OCEAN SPRINGS — About 3,000 pounds of shrimp have been harvested from an aquaculture project at the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory’s Cedar Point site. The harvest of saltwater shrimp Aug. 10 was the largest since the program began in the mid-1980s, said Jeff Lotz, chairman of the University of Southern Mississippi Department of Coast Sciences [...] [...]
The Catfish Farmers of America (CFA) last week released the findings of a study evaluating the risks associated with eating catfish. The report, conducted by Exponent, backs CFA’s prior claims that imported fish bring greater risks to public health than domestic aquaculture and that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) should conduct catfish inspections. Based [...] [...]
MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST — The Mississippi Commission on Marine Resources (CMR) decided in a special session held April 6 to authorize a special management season for oyster harvest in selected areas of the Mississippi Sound. The adopted motion states that Conditionally Approved Area II “A” and Conditionally Approved Area II “B” will be opened to [...] [...]
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