Re: NANFA-L-- Chilean Sea Bass book, somewhat OT

Thomas J. Near (tnear-in-utk.edu)
Tue, 16 May 2006 13:35:38 -0400

This is a timely post. Note that the sister species of "Chilean Sea
Bass, " the Antarctic Toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni) is also being
marketed under this name. The Chilean Sea Bass is Dissostichus
eleginoides and is a relative to the Antarctic notothenioid radiation.
It is a long-lived, late-maturing predator.

Note, the restaurant chain Bonefish Grill (www.bonefishgrill.com) that
is all over the midwest and southeast, proudly serves "Chilean Sea
Bass." You can down load the menu on their website.

I have a lot of information on D. eleginioides and contact persons
working with this species. If interested, you can email questions
directly to me-in-thomas.near-in-yale.edu

On May 16, 2006,-in-1:19 PM, Bruce Stallsmith wrote:

> I just recieved the following as an ad for the book "Hooked". It's of
> some relevance to what we've been yakking about off and on, how human
> activities may or may not affect the status of various fishes. At
> least no one is poaching flame chubs as far as I know.....
>
> --Bruce Stallsmith
> along the dank Tennessee
> Huntsville, AL, US of A
> *************************
>
> "Hooked is a fish story, a global whodunit, a courtroom drama -- and a
> critically important ecological message all rolled into one." -- Tom
> Brokaw
>
> My name is Melissa Silverstein and I am working with Rodale Press to
> get the word out about Hooked: Pirates, Poaching and the Perfect Fish,
> an exciting new book by G. Bruce Knecht, an award-winning Wall Street
> Journal reporter that combines a high seas adventure story with a
> culinary history to show how our tastes have enormous consequences for
> the world around us.
>
> Some Background:
> Over the past two decades Chilean Sea Bass, originally known as
> Patagonian toothfish, has been embraced by chefs and diners
> everywhere. The explosive demand has fueled such rampant over-fishing
> that the fish now faces an uncertain future. Part high seas
> adventure, part popular history, part thought-provoking expos, Hooked
> traces how Patagonian toothfish went from an obscure, unappealing fish
> to become the favorite target of fleets of pirate fishing vessels.
>
> Hooked is an adventure story built around one of the longest pursuits
> in nautical history, which resulted when an Australian patrol boat
> spotted an illegal fishing vessel near Antarctica. In weaving the
> culinary history with the 4,000-mile chasewhich went halfway around
> Antarctica through building-size waves, densely packed ice, and an
> obstacle course of icebergsthe author demonstrates his ability to
> Rrecount a tale more thrilling than fiction,S as Walter Cronkite raved
> about KnechtUs previous book, The Proving Ground. Hooked is populated
> by fiercely determined good guys, villains who are also sometimes
> empathetic, and another character that deserves our attention: the
> threatened Patagonian toothfish.
>
> The book also describes how a little-known Californian seafood
> merchant "discovered" Chilean Sea Bass and invented its inaccurate but
> appealing name, and how it went from being an unknown "utility fish"
> in Chinese restaurants to a favorite-in-top-rated restaurants and
> ultimately the fish that seemingly everyone in American had to have.
> Hooked also explains how pirate fishermen are only too happy to
> satisfy the soaring demand, what some chefs have done in attempting to
> reverse the damage, and how it is that populations of many the world's
> most desirable fish are less than ten percent of what they were fifty
> years ago.
>
> Did you know?
>
> Chilean Sea Bass is not a bass and few are caught in Chilean waters.
> Many, perhaps most of the toothfish that are imported to the U.S. are
> caught illegally
> While 1,000 chefs have pledged not to serve toothfish until the
> problem of illegal fishing is eliminated, many othersincluding those
> who work-in-high-volume restaurants, caterers and hotelscontinue to
> sell vast amounts
> Viarsa, the fishing vessel described in Hooked, harvests 300 tons of
> toothfish during during a typical voyage-which is worth $3 million,
> twice as much as the value of the boat itself.
> A longline used to catch toothfish can stretch for more than a dozen
> miles and carry 15,000 baited hooks
> BREAKING NEWS! Viarsa's owner was arrested on April 19, 2006 in Miami
> where he will go on trail for smuggling large quantities of Chilean
> Sea Bass into the U.S.
>
>
> Thanks so much.
>
> Melissa Silverstein
> /----------------------------------------------------------------------
> -
> / This is the discussion list of the North American Native Fishes
> / Association (NANFA). Comments made on this list do not necessarily
> / reflect the beliefs or goals of NANFA. For more information about
> NANFA,
> / visit http://www.nanfa.org Please make sure all posts to nanfa-l are
> / consistent with the guidelines as per
> / http://www.nanfa.org/guidelines.shtml To subscribe, unsubscribe, or
> get
> / help, visit the NANFA email list home page and archive at
> / http://www.nanfa.org/email.shtml
/-----------------------------------------------------------------------
/ This is the discussion list of the North American Native Fishes
/ Association (NANFA). Comments made on this list do not necessarily
/ reflect the beliefs or goals of NANFA. For more information about NANFA,
/ visit http://www.nanfa.org Please make sure all posts to nanfa-l are
/ consistent with the guidelines as per
/ http://www.nanfa.org/guidelines.shtml To subscribe, unsubscribe, or get
/ help, visit the NANFA email list home page and archive at
/ http://www.nanfa.org/email.shtml