Nova News

In several places in the Bible (Exodus, Deuteronomy, Leviticus and the Book of Chronicles) we read……

….” When you come to the land that I am giving you, the land must be given a rest period …… For six years you may plant your fields, prune your vineyards, and harvest your crops, but the seventh year is a Sabbath for the land. …… it is a year of rest for the land. (Leviticus 25:1-7)

Wouldn’t you think the oceans and [fish] farms are worthy of similar consideration? But – What can you do as one person ?
One thing , quite easy in fact, is to try, even promote, other varieties of Mother Natures’ bounty. Often times, the demand on one species / origin is just too much when identical or nearly identical species are close at hand.

One example, shrimp, comes to the
United States from some 50 different countries for which there are many species (several dozen); some identical and others quite similar.

Snow Crab, another example, comes from Alaska and the Russian (far Pacific) as well as Canada and Greenland in the Atlantic – halfway around the world! It wasn’t long ago that the Alaska catch ‘declined and [Mother Nature] needed a rest. The Alaska Snow Crab fishery, some years later, is doing so well, so much so that the biologists have given the go ahead for increased fishing.

King Crab from Alaska is currently under going a respite. Alaska was the only game in town [ Planet Earth that is] back in the 60’s and 70’s. When the Alaska King Crab catch declined, from over fishing, fishing from Russia (on the other side of the Pacific) proved to be a healthy alternative. But now, several decades later, the Russian fishery is truly in need of a rest. With the Alaska fishery improving, which is good news there is good news as to other choices !

Commercial King Crab fishing in the North Atlantic (yep, again half way around the world), adjacent to Russia and Norway - - is providing a significant and healthy source of King Crab. And that’s not all.

Several thousand nautical miles to the South, adjacent to Patagonia , another new, healthy population of King Crab has been discovered. Also identical to the Alaska King Crab ( and not to be confused with the crab called Centolla) - this King Crab Resource has even a brighter [shell] color and is less salty, in fact, sweeter in flavor than anything we have seen before.

So here are a few examples of alternatives, which are providing Mother Nature some rest. Respectfully, this is not a substitute for resource management. But if you are concerned about resource preservation - - truly this is something each person / each buyer can do to help. Look to alternative origins and species. Giving something new a chance does make a difference and this is good for our planet, for you and for [your] business.

There are an estimated 20,000 varieties of commercially available fish and shellfish.

Ask your suppliers what they know insofar as alternatives. And ask your suppliers what they and their company do proactively to assure sound resource management and stock preservation.
At NOVA we are “hands on” to be good stewards!

To begin with, each year NOVA contributes time and money to numerous ‘nonprofits’ who are making a difference to protect our oceans. If you would like to know more – we would enjoy telling you! In the mean time…… have no doubt that all of us, at NOVA, respect that Mother Nature makes our work possible.

NOVA Fisheries is a major, international seafood supplier helping to meet the unquenchable demand for fresh seafood. Kind of amazing since NOVA does not sell fresh.

Have you seen the movie or read the book: The Perfect Storm? That boat was "trip" fishing. Trip fishing means 10 to 30 days of fishing at sea before returning to port with "fresh" fish. After 10 to 30 days at sea does that sound like fresh fish to you? The fact is that most all of the fish, most all of it, caught in the ocean, is caught this "trip" way. "Day" boats are a thing of the past. And if you are not in the city where that boat comes to port, well, add more days to the age of the catch. Of course some fresh comes from fish farms. But the majority of farmed fish, other than trout and catfish, is farmed in foreign countries, nowhere near the U.S. dinner plate.

Fresh has become an icon, a brand, especially in the United States. It has come to symbolize some "Seal of Approval" for quality and Americans pay for it. In fact, Americans pay, a big, big premium to buy fish that is labeled "fresh." But, pretty much, only Americans pay this premium to buy seafood. Why? Because from Singapore to Japan, on the Asian side, through to England, France and Germany on the European side - - the vast majority buy seafood frozen or live. Live because, well, it is certainly fresh! And frozen because it is (1) dependable in supply (2) distinctly better, consistently fresher, in flavor and (3) advantageously priced, no premium required to its counterpart, fresh.

In our beautiful corner of the world, if consumers do not see or hear the word "fresh" they question the goods. They question the establishment! The illusion that fresh is better is one of the great sales hypes of modern times. And sadly, too many really believe it. There is so much demand for fresh in the United States that "trip" boats stay out longer to deliver more fresh. What an oxymoron!

A popular source of fresh, to fill America's love affair for the brand, comes from frozen. The crazy fact is that, especially when using Frozen At Sea fish and shellfish, frozen provides a measurably better quality dining experience than fresh. Frozen is also popular because it provides a markedly better margin of profit, costing on average 10 - 40% less than the price of fresh. There is so much frozen used to fill the demand for fresh that there is a well-known expression for the practice: "refreshing."

Technically speaking, frozen seafood simply has less age. And Frozen At Sea is the freshest insofar as being ageless because of the ever-advancing technology of deep freezing. All said, Frozen At Sea means frozen the day it is caught, usually within 4 hours of catch, and held almost cryogenically at minus 20 to minus 60 Centigrade (-20 to -60 C). In more academic terms: there is no decay once fish is frozen super cold. Hence, the faster you stop the process of aging the fresher, the better, the truer in flavor the food.

This brings us then to an honest, more factual, definition of fresh:

... food which has an acceptable state of decay and decomposition.

So if you think that the catch from a "trip" boat, which has been at sea 10 to 30 days is fresh, you may want to do a blind taste test.

As we began, NOVA Fisheries is a major, international seafood supplier helping to meet the unquenchable demand for fresh seafood. Kind of amazing since NOVA does not sell fresh. NOVA Fisheries produces only frozen, especially Frozen At Sea, for companies who sell fresh seafood. Since 1985 NOVA has supplied thousands of restaurants, caterers and distributors in the United States and around the world (18 countries at last count).

Many of the NOVA customers report that where they sell some fresh seafood, fresh trout, farmed salmon or catfish, it is the NOVA Scallops, the NOVA King Crab, the NOVA Shrimp, the NOVA fillets of Halibut, Tuna, Cod etc., landing the best reviews. And, Frozen At Sea fish and shellfish from NOVA can be on hand every night without concern for whether a 10 to 30 day trip boat did or did not come into port that day.

Bottom line is the kicker. Frozen At Sea from NOVA ends difficult menu planning by eliminating the guesswork as to the cost of goods. Prices do not rise on a whim (due to poor catch, weather or whatever). Customers report that on average, over a menu cycle, prices from NOVA are 10 - 40% below fresh. For these reasons, fish and shellfish from NOVA provide a sizable boost to the bottom line.

Fresh is not a brand. NOVA is a brand, meeting the needs of those who want the freshest seafood available.

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"fresh is not a brand"
fresh.pdf

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"resource management, join us"
resource.pdf

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