Fish Update Briefing, Friday, September 21

LOBSTERS LIVING THE ‘HIGH LIFE’
A RESTAURANT on the east coast of the United States is sedating its lobsters with a form of cannabis in an effort to dull the pain of being steamed alive. Charlotte Gill, who runs the popular Charlotte’s Legendary Lobster Pound in Southwest Harbour, Maine, told the local Mount Desert Islander newspaper that she pumps marijuana smoke into a shallow tank. Gill, who holds an official marijuana care giver’s licence, said the remedy calms the lobsters and dulls their senses. She believes it to be a much more humane method of preparing the shellfish for their ultimate destination – the dinner plate. She says it has no effect on the taste of the meat, but customers are offered the choice of having their lobster sedated or prepared in the normal way. Gill first carried out her experiment on a lobster called Roscoe and as a reward he was allowed back into the sea. Two countries, New Zealand and Switzerland, have banned the practice of boiling lobsters alive.
CANADA HOLDS BACK ON CLAM FISHERY DECISION
CANADA’S Clearwater Seafoods is being allowed to hold on to its monopoly of the Arctic surf clam fishery for the time being, but the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada has said it will continue to look to find a native indigenous entity for the fishery by 2020. This will allow time for the economic benefits to remain in coastal communities while Fisheries and Oceans Canada continues to work to broaden ownership, the department said in a press release. Last year, the department tried to give 25 per cent of the current quota to a First Nations entity but ended up cancelling the licence in July without an explanation. The decision was contested by Clearwater, which is one of North America’s largest seafood companies and owns Macduff Shellfish in Scotland.
ROYALS REVEAL TASTE FOR SUSHI
PRINCE William has revealed that he and his wife, Catherine, love sushi. The Duke of Cambridge was opening London’s new Japan House, built to increase economic and cultural bonds with the UK, when he told of his taste for the popular Japanese cuisine, which contains raw seafood. He joined Japan’s deputy prime minister, Taro Aso, and the UK’s ambassador to Japan, Koji Tsuruoka, as they sampled sushi, drank sake and toured the building. William then told top Japanese chef, Akira Shimizu, who is heading up a new high end restaurant at the Kensington High Street centre: ‘My wife and I love sushi.’
NORWAY HOSTS FISH AND CHIP FIANLISTS
THE ten finalists in this year’s UK Fish and Chip Awards contest were in Norway this week to learn more about the country’s fishing industry. They were taken on board the Ramoen, a modern trawler,