FishUpdate Briefing Friday September 28th
A US restaurant which found itself in the world spotlight last week over its practice of sedating its lobsters with marijuana to dull the pain of being boiled alive has now suspended the practice following official intervention. The authorities in Maine have said they are investigating Charlotte’s Legendary Lobster Pound in Southwest Harbour to see if it complies with state law. In the meantime, the owner, Charlotte Gill, said her “smoked” lobster meat had been taken off the menu, but she remained confident it would eventually receive the all-clear. It will now be up to the Maine Medical Marijuana Programme to decide if the drug is being used legally.
NORWAY TO HOLD COASTAL FISHERY CONFERENCE
A MAJOR conference on the future of Norway’s coastal fishing fleet will be held Tromsø in late November and it is expected to attract a number of the country’s leading politicians including the new fisheries minister Harald Tom Nesvik. The conference is a joint initiative from Fiskarlaget Nord and Seafood Norway to focus on the future development of this sector of the Norwegian fishing industry and the coastal communities it supports. The date for the conference is November 22nd.
COCKLES MAY HELP ANTI-CANCER DRUG DEVELOPMENT
Biomedical scientists at the University of Salford found that sugars from the common cockle (Cerastoderma edule) were virtually as effective as some standard chemotherapy drugs at relative lower dosage. And they say \’cockle-chemo\’ could be particularly suitable for children as it is potentially less toxic and less likely to cause unhealthy side-effects. Publishing their findings in the journal Marine Drugs, the Salford team have tested the mollusc-derived sugars with positive results against leukaemia, breast, lung and colon cancer cells and tumours. Lead researcher Dr David Pye, Director of Child Cancer Research Charity Kidscan at the University of Salford, said: \”Polysaccharides (sugars) derived from mammals have long been a source of experimentation by cancer scientists but to date with inconclusive results. “
EX-FISHERMAN TO HEAD WELSH SAFETY PROJECT
A former fisherman has been appointed by Seafish as Wales Fishing Safety Project Officer to help the Welsh fishing fleet. He is Lee Haigh who will work with the Welsh Fishing Safety Committee to deliver a two-year ‘Wales Fishing Safety Awareness’ project to increase commercial fishermen’s awareness of key health and safety issues and improve the safety culture of the Welsh fishing fleet. The overarching aim of the project is to contribute to and support the committee’s target of zero preventable fishing-related deaths in Wales. Lee has worked in the industry as a fisherman before and spent 26 years working with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency where he maintained strong links with the fishing industry carrying out safety inspections for the under 15-metre fleet.
