Seafood

How much fish and crab can be sustainably caught by fishers in the Bering Sea next year? The annual process to set total allowable catch levels for various groundfish and crab species in the Bering Sea took a big step forward this week, when NOAA scientists from the Alaska Fisheries Science Center completed calculating the initial biomass estimates from the 2011 eastern Bering Sea survey. …

Mariculture could be the next big job and economic booster for remote Alaska regions, with 33,000 miles of coastline. The Oceans Alaska Marine Science Center at Ketchikan aims to be the state's go-to place for mariculture research and development for farmers wanting to grow oysters, mussels, scallops, seaweeds and pricey geoduck clams. …

Using underwater video to survey scallop fishing grounds, researchers from UMass Dartmouth's School for Marine Science and Technology have hit the jackpot, discovering a trove of scallops in areas never before surveyed. …

Nearly every time heavy rain falls in north Puget Sound, high levels of fecal bacteria flow into Samish Bay, disrupting work at Taylor Shellfish Farms, the largest shellfish producer in the United States. With patience running thin, state officials have responded with an ambitious cleanup campaign for Samish Bay and all of Puget Sound, the nation's second largest estuary, behind Chesapeake Bay on the East Coast. …

Rich Products Corporation is voluntarily recalling SeaPak Breaded Butterfly Shrimp – Ready to Fry, Net Wt. 22 oz., Product Code 10302, because the product contains an undeclared milk ingredient (whey) in the coating of the shrimp (less than 0.1%). People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to milk run the risk of an allergic reaction if they consume this product. …