Free Republic

I watched the second installment of a certain documentary TV series Sunday evening. As a result, I am now craving a delicious halibut steak. I love fish. I love seafood. I'm sure a lot of you here do. Forget politics for the time being. It would be great to share your favorite halibut recipes, and I know a lot of you folks are great chefs.

A Press-Register examination of the process used to reopen state waters around the Gulf to commercial fishing suggests that the Food and Drug Administration used an imprecise testing method, less protective standards than after past oil spills, and seafood consumption estimates that may not account for the dietary habits of Gulf Coast residents. (Snip) For the Gulf spill, the FDA assumed an adult eats about 3 pounds of fish per month, and about 1.6 pounds total of shrimp, crabs and oysters. Such consumption rates offer a built in-safety net, the FDA says, because the agency believes only 10 percent

Delray man in custody after hacking tail off for foodA Delray Beach man is in custody after he reportedly tried to cut the tail off a whale that washed ashore early Thursday morning. Florida Fish and Wildlife agents are questioning James Hogan after he was found hacking away at the tail end of the whale, estimated to be between 10 and 12 feet long, according to the Palm Beach Post. "I didn't know it was illegal," Hogan told the Post, before he was hauled away. Hogan said he was fishing early Thursday morning when a passerby told him about the...

After 10 years of careful breeding and research, scientists have developed what could be the world’s most perfect prawn. CSIRO scientists and the prawn industry have bred an improved Black Tiger prawn which is producing record yields in aquaculture farms and winning awards. So good are these prawns that they have won five gold medals at the Sydney Royal Easter Show in the past two years, including ‘Champion of Show’, the highest award possible. The scientists from CSIRO's Food Futures Flagship have used DNA technology to ensure the breeding program captures the very best Black Tiger prawn stocks that nature...

The Newport Aquarium has upgraded its exhibit of bizarre sea creatures to include more than a dozen new species. Some of those include Japanese spider crabs, electric flame scallops and spotted garden eels. Chris Pierson, the aquarium's husbandry director, said the purpose of renovating the Bizarre and Beautiful Gallery is to make things "more family-friendly, more kid-friendly." The gallery re-opened Friday with a new configuration allows more visitors. It also gives children better access to the exhibits by putting some tanks closer to the floor. The aquarium also used the renovation to upgrade equipment and reduce energy costs.

(Reuters) - The first heavy oil from a giant Gulf of Mexico spill sloshed ashore in fragile Louisiana marshlands on Wednesday and part of the mess entered a powerful current that could carry it to Florida and beyond. The developments underscored the gravity of the situation as British energy giant BP Plc raced to capture more crude gushing from a ruptured well a mile beneath the surface. The spill is threatening an ecological and economic disaster along the U.S. Gulf Coast and beyond. "The day that we have all been fearing is upon us today," Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal said...

Obama cabinet members urged Coast residents Thursday to remain calm about the approaching oil spill and, along with state and local officials, allayed fears about the safety of eating seafood or visiting the Coast. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, speaking at Keesler Air Force Base, plugged Gulf seafood, saying it’s still safe to eat because fishing has been shut down in contaminated areas. Frustrated fishermen breathed easier after state Sen. David Baria, D-Bay St. Louis, assured them they will have a chance for subcontract cleanup work. Long Beach paid tribute to its fallen officers Thursday, the 12th anniversary of the...

Ingredients: 1 1/2 pounds jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined 1 large red bell pepper, chopped 1 large yellow bell pepper, chopped 1 onion, chopped 1 stick (8 tbsp) butter 2 tbsp. minced garlic 16 oz. angel hair pasta

Today’s Wall Street Journal has a piece from former U.N. ambassador John Bolton congratulating Google for its decision to fight back against objectionable policies by the Chinese government with respect to intellectual property. Bolton’s piece, excerpted below, makes the case for American businesses – and our government – to vigorously defend our interests in dealing with China, lest the fears of Chinese economic supremacy prove true in a self-fulfilling manner. The lessons Bolton asks us to draw from the Google-China imbroglio apply to a broad range of issues, one of which hits close to home here in Louisiana.

Raw Emotions Over Raw Oysters The FDA's proposal to treat raw oysters had sparked an outcry among diners. Legend has it that raw oysters are good for love — but they're also worth fighting over, as the Food and Drug Administration has learned. Facing political pressure from the Gulf Coast oyster industry, the FDA has backed off a plan to require raw oysters from the Gulf of Mexico to be treated to rid them of Vibrio vulnificus, a potentially deadly bacteria found in warm-water oysters. Harvesters and politicians had warned that the plan could devastate the industry. The outcry was...

U.S. scientists in the Gulf of Mexico unexpectedly netted a 19.5-foot (5.9-meter) giant squid off the coast of Louisiana, the Interior Department said on Monday, showing how little is known about life in the deep waters of the Gulf. Not since 1954, when a giant squid was found floating dead off the Mississippi Delta, has the rare species been spotted in the Gulf of Mexico. The squid, weighing in at 103 pounds (46.7 kg), was caught July 30 in a trawl net more than 1,500 feet underwater as it was pulled by a research vessel. The giant squid, which did...

You can substitute shrimp or use a combination of crabmeat and shrimp for this tasty seafood dish.

Here's a recipe for jambalaya that's sure to please your family and bring out the Coonie in you! This one has been handed down for a few generations and comes straight from Granny's kitchen in Louisiana and the gulf coast of Mississippi. It don't get no better than this!

Fearing a crash of prices, lobster fishermen and processors in eastern Canada are looking for bridge financing from the federal government similar to that being offered other industries around the world. Processors and fishermen made presentations on the troubles in the industry to the federal fisheries standing committee in Charlottetown Tuesday. With lobster season opening in about a month, processors still have large inventories in their warehouses. The industry fears the opening of the spring season will take the bottom out of prices. "Lobsters are going to be worth nothing," said fisherman Wayne Campbell. "Hate to say that. I preached...

A favored method of preparing fresh crabs is to simply boil them alive. A longstanding related question: Do they feel pain? Yes, researchers now say. Not only do crabs suffer pain, a new study found, but they retain a memory of it (assuming they aren't already dead on your dinner plate). The scientists say its time for new laws to consider the suffering of all crustaceans. The study involved using wires to deliver shocks to the bellies of hermit crabs, which, being hermits, often take up residence in left-behind mollusc shells. The crabs that were shocked scampered out of their...

Lobster to regain his freedom at age 140 01/01/09 NEW YORK (Reuters) - A lobster thought to be about 140 years old will be returned to the ocean after briefly becoming the mascot for a New York City restaurant, an animal rights group said on Friday. The 20-pound (9-kg) lobster was caught off the coast of Canada about two weeks ago and bought for $100 (65 pounds) by City Crab and Seafood to become its mascot, said manager Keith Valenti. "We bought a big lobster, started taking pictures with kids and it worked out real well," said Valenti, adding it...

Industry experts and businesspeople in China say that the industrial chemical has been routinely added to fish and animal feed to artificially boost protein readings. Reporting from Los Angeles and Shanghai--Melamine in Chinese-produced milk powder has sickened hundreds of thousands of children and added to a growing list of made-in-China foods banned across the globe.Now, some scientists and consumer advocates are raising concerns that fish from China may also be contaminated with the industrial chemical. China is the world's largest producer of farm-raised seafood, exporting billions of dollars worth of shrimp, catfish, tilapia, salmon and other fish.The U.S. imported about...

JUST as household trash tells you a lot about a family, so mankind’s rubbish heaps reveal much about the species. One of the best lies in the waters around Manhattan. There, archaeologists have found mounds of oyster shells, known as middens, dating back to 6950BC.

BOSTON - More than 80 years ago, the Hook brothers started trucking their catch of lobsters from Maine and Canada to Boston's fish piers, selling them directly to the city's top restaurants. Ever since, four generations of Hooks have kept their seafood wholesale business in a squat wooden building with a corrugated steel roof, resisting multiple offers from developers as luxury hotels, gleaming office towers and the Big Dig highway project dwarfed and surrounded them. On Friday, a seven-alarm fire gutted their landmark waterfront location, causing $5 million in damage that included the loss of 60,000 pounds of lobster, but...