Macgregors Seafood Notes

This week we are making the transition from Polystyrene fish packaging to Recyclable Plastic. All of our processed seafood will now be packed in Plastic tubs with a snap-on lid. These plastic tubs are 100% recyclable and should go in your Blue Box and not the garbage - or wash them out and re-use them!

We are working towards other packaging changes to make our fish arrive to you in better condition and last longer. We'll keep you posted as we continue to re-invent the way people sell fish.

Paul

Regional, Seasonal, Unique
Fresh, Wild, Natural

Women who eat seafood while pregnant may be boosting their children's IQ in the process, according to new research published Friday in The Lancet.
The results of the study were surprising, say the authors, and contradict American and British recommendations that pregnant women should limit seafood and fish consumption to avoid potentially high levels of mercury. The study relied on mothers' observations of their children's development and their reports of their food intake while pregnant.
Mercury is found in small concentrations in fish and seafood, but can accumulate in the body. High amounts of the metal can damage the human nervous system, particularly those in developing fetuses. On the other hand, seafood – including fish – is also a major source of omega-3 fatty acids, essential to brain development.
While experts believe further research is necessary to confirm these conclusions, the study's failure to find evidence of increased harm from eating fish is significant. Because seafood contain both nutrients and toxins, it remains a dilemma for regulatory authorities what kinds of recommendations should exist for pregnant women.
The study, led by Dr. Joseph Hibbeln of the United States' National Institutes of Health, tracked the eating habits of 11,875 pregnant women in Bristol, Britain.
At 32 weeks into their pregnancy, the women were asked to fill in a seafood consumption questionnaire. They were subsequently sent questionnaires four times during their pregnancy, and then up to eight years after the birth of their child. Researchers examined issues including the children's social and communication skills, their hand-eye coordination, and their IQ levels. As with any study based on self-reporting methods, however, the results cannot be considered entirely definitive.
The study was primarily funded by Britain's Medical Research Council, the Wellcome Trust, the University of Bristol, and the British government.
Hibbeln and his colleagues concluded that women who ate more than 340 grams per week of fish or seafood – the equivalent of two or three servings a week – had smarter children with better developmental skills. Children whose mothers ate no seafood were 48 percent more likely to have a low verbal IQ score, compared to children whose mothers ate high amounts of seafood.
"These results highlight the importance of including fish in the maternal diet and lend support to the popular opinion that fish is brain food," wrote Dr. Gary Myers and Dr. Philip Davidson of the University of Rochester Medical Center, in an accompanying commentary. Myers and Davidson were not connected to the study.
Eating even more than three portions of fish or seafood a week could be beneficial, Hibbeln suggests. "Advice that limits seafood consumption might reduce the intake of nutrients necessary for optimum neurological development," he and his colleagues wrote.

GENEVA – A UN panel said Monday it has lifted an export ban on three types of caviar, including the highly prized beluga variety.
Willem Wijnstekers, head of a UN-sponsored conservation body, said countries bordering the Caspian Sea had improved their monitoring of caviar trading and would release millions of young fish into the body of water, allowing limited trading in the highly prized delicacy to resume.
Nevertheless, he said the decision to grant Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Iran and Russia permission to export 3.8 tonnes of beluga must be accompanied by further moves to combat declining sturgeon stocks.
The UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, known as CITES, "will be using all the tools at its disposal to bring this trade onto a more sustainable footing," Wijnstekers said.
The move was condemned by environmentalists as "irresponsible."
"We're extremely disappointed in this decision by CITES," Julia Roberson of the conservation group Caviar Emptor told the Associated Press. "We view this as another nail in the coffin for this species."
"The most recent information that we had was that the populations of beluga sturgeon from 2004 to 2005 had declined by 45 per cent, so it's very irresponsible of CITES to be reopening trade," she said.
The Caspian's overall sturgeon population has declined by more than 90 per cent in the last century, according to CITES, which sets annual quotas for caviar exports that are recognized by many countries.
Last year, CITES refused to provide export quotas for caviar from the Caspian Sea in order to help protect the endangered fish from which the eggs are taken.
In January, CITES loosened restrictions on three other types of caviar than beluga, which can cost upward of $5,000 (U.S.) for less than 500 grams, depending on taste and quality.
At the time, the UN panel said the income earned from the sale of sturgeon products throughout 2007 "should provide both an incentive and the means to pursue the long-term recovery of this commercially and ecologically valuable natural resource."
Monday's announcement will also permit China and Russia to export about 3.1 tonnes of Amur sturgeon roe and 4.2 tonness of Kaluga sturgeon roe caught in the Heilongjiang-Amur River basin shared by both countries.