Some of the fish, a source of deep pride for Alaskans, is harvested in Russian waters. Some is caught off the coast of Japan and Korea. But no matter its origin, federal regulations allow any walleye pollock distributed, sold, and consumed in the United States, whether in the form of fish sticks or a miso-glazed filet, to bear a label that calls Alaska home. The fish-labeling policy, maintained by the Food and Drug Administration, has long riled Alaskan seafood companies and fisheries. But Russian fish masquerading as Alaskan, when tensions between Moscow and Washington keep escalating, has politicians and others furious. Russia's recent ban on American food imports—including all seafood—has only made it worse. The U.S. still imports pollock, salmon, and crab from Russia, but nothing goes out.That hasn't sat well with fisherman and politicians alike, who have called for the U.S. to impose a retaliatory ban on Russian seafood.
"Yeah, it may be a trade war, but you know what? We're always the good guy," Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, who is up for reelection this year, tells National Journal. "They take the product out of their country that we've been selling, they tell us that we can't sell there any longer, and they just assume we're not going to do anything. When you've got bullies, you gotta stand up to them."
Thursday, 30 October 2014
Not all Alaska pollock comes from Alaska - Russian trade retaliation hits US fishermen
Seems it is not just the Scottish and Irish pelagic boys who are suffering from the fallout of Russia's import ban on fish!
