Sustainable Seafood ??

[RedmondCruiser]

Noted on the new PG menu the phrase "Holland America will only serve sustainable seafood". Also noted that lobster disappeared from the menu. Does HAL consider lobster as a non sustainable seafood ?? If so what happens to the surf and turf on the fairwell dinner. Is this a viable reason or another example of cost cutting ?

[sail7seas]

Maybe. Might be removed from the menu.

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

Could be.

I remember some time ago that there was a news article about this.

Don't know if I can find it.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

The Lobsters served on the Formal night in the Main Dining Room are Frozen so doubt we will see that disappear. Same with the Lobster meat from the Lobster salad at Le Cirque. What I would be more concerned about is the Sushi and Sashimi served in Tamarind. It unfortunately has been a few years since we enjoyed Tamarind and not sure when I will most likely not till 2015 or later. But at any rate I do know that they fish use to be served fresh and that is why I always really liked going the very first night because I could taste the difference from fresh or if they had frozen it. Using frozen fish that has been thawed and not cooked could be a problem in Tamarind. Anyone have any idea?

Oh I forgot to mention there was something that caused the Celebrity Xpedition in South America to have to cancel several of their voyage this past year and it had to do with their Lobster they were serving. I have totally forgotten what that was all about.

Edited December 15, 2013 by LAFFNVEGAS

[innlady1]

We heard the same "sustainable seafood" spiel on our recent Nieuw Amsterdam cruise. And, we were told (more than once) they were serving lobster from the Northeast USA. I should have ordered it to see if that was true...but didn't.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

OK I found the link from USA Today about the canceling of the voyages on Xpedition because of lobsters. To me this whole thing was crazy

http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2013/06/05/celebrity-galapagos-cruise-lobster/2392235/

Not sure if it had anything to do with sustainable Seafood :confused:

[Esri]

Noted on the new PG menu the phrase "Holland America will only serve sustainable seafood". Also noted that lobster disappeared from the menu. Does HAL consider lobster as a non sustainable seafood ?? If so what happens to the surf and turf on the fairwell dinner. Is this a viable reason or another example of cost cutting ?

 

Some American Lobstes are considered "sustainable" and some are not.

 

http://www.seafoodwatch.org/cr/seafoodwatch/web/sfw_factsheet.aspx?gid=30

 

So, I'd say the removal of lobster from the PG menu is a cost-saving effort.

[solocanadian]

I was given the same speech by an executive chef this year when I asked why they were no longer serving King Crab Legs in MDR. He snapped at me and said "oh yes we are madam". Turned out he was talking about crab cakes. What a load of hooey. I can buy Alaskan King Crab frozen in Vancouver for $20.00 Canadian a pound. IMHO no crab legs is just a cost cutting strategy.

Edited December 15, 2013 by solocanadian

[peaches from georgia]

I was given the same speech by an executive chef this year when I asked why they were no longer serving King Crab Legs in MDR. He snapped at me and said "oh yes we are madam". Turned out he was talking about crab cakes. What a load of hooey. I can buy Alaskan King Crab frozen in Vancouver for $20.00 Canadian a pound. IMHO no crab legs is just a cost cutting strategy.

I'll guarantee they are not using Alaskan King Crab Legs in the crab cakes.

[Esri]

OK I found the link from USA Today about the canceling of the voyages on Xpedition because of lobsters. To me this whole thing was crazy

http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2013/06/05/celebrity-galapagos-cruise-lobster/2392235/

Not sure if it had anything to do with sustainable Seafood :confused:

 

Indeed it did have to do with "sustainable seafood". There are numerous environmental restrictions of cruises in the Galapagos -- apparently there are seafood restrictions among them. I think the cancellation of the cruise was unfortunate (Carnival should have complied with the restrictions on such expeditions) but not crazy. Sustainability of life in our oceans has repercussions on sustainablility of human life far beyond not being able to get good sushi.

[trixiee]

Indeed it did have to do with "sustainable seafood". There are numerous environmental restrictions of cruises in the Galapagos -- apparently there are seafood restrictions among them. I think the cancellation of the cruise was unfortunate (Carnival should have complied with the restrictions on such expeditions) but not crazy. Sustainability of life in our oceans has repercussions on sustainablility of human life far beyond not being able to get good sushi.

 

Thank you Esri, for your balanced and informative reply. It seems to me that some folks are totally in the dark about what "sustainable" actually means. That, or they don't give a hoot.

[momatibm]

Thank you Esri, for your balanced and informative reply. It seems to me that some folks are totally in the dark about what "sustainable" actually means. That, or they don't give a hoot.

 

I think the ship is a CELEBRITY ship not Carnival --------

[Typhoon1]

I'd be willing to bet it is another example of cost cutting.

[Toad]

Ok, I will bite, what exactly does "sustainable" seafood mean? I live on Cape Cod and only buy fresh, sometimes from the docks so I have no idea what anyone is talking about. Once about three years ago, I was on a Princess Cruise in the North Atlantic, where they served New England lobster claws, without the whole lobster. Sounds weird, but that is what they did, and they were good.

 

Do the ships not buy local fish when they are in transit?

[TraelorMex]

those who go on about 'sustainable' foods are no doubt the same folks who purchase 'carbon credits' from al gore..;)

[chengkp75]

Ok, I will bite, what exactly does "sustainable" seafood mean? I live on Cape Cod and only buy fresh, sometimes from the docks so I have no idea what anyone is talking about. Once about three years ago, I was on a Princess Cruise in the North Atlantic, where they served New England lobster claws, without the whole lobster. Sounds weird, but that is what they did, and they were good.

 

Do the ships not buy local fish when they are in transit?

 

Sustainable seafood means seafood that is not being overfished. It has nothing to do with being fresh or frozen. The claws on your cruise were just catching up with all the tails that were eaten the trip before:D

 

Generally, no. Ships that are subject to USPH requirements are required to only buy shellfish from "certified suppliers", and all fish must be obtained through USPH approved suppliers. Generally, fish could be sourced locally, but there must be paperwork supplied to the ship showing that the fish was caught or harvested in accordance with state, local, or national laws, and in most Caribbean fish markets, this just isn't available. Further, fish that is intended to be served raw (sushi) must be frozen by the supplier, or frozen onboard.

[sherilyn70]

Ok, I will bite, what exactly does "sustainable" seafood mean? I live on Cape Cod and only buy fresh, sometimes from the docks so I have no idea what anyone is talking about.

 

Sustainable means we are not depleting vital resources. This is done through farming certain types of seafood (such as oysters, lobsters, crabs etc) and making sure they are still reproducing. It also includes methods of fishing that do not trap or kill anything other than the intended fish (ie Dolphin free tuna). The gathering is done respectfully of the environment and does not over hunt any area. The goal is to collect only as much as being reproduced.

 

Crab claws can be considered sustainable as well since some crabs (such as the stone crab) can regrow these limbs. Some lobsters can do this as well.

 

 

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S4

Edited December 16, 2013 by sherilyn70

[cruisetrail]

Noted on the new PG menu the phrase "Holland America will only serve sustainable seafood". Also noted that lobster disappeared from the menu. Does HAL consider lobster as a non sustainable seafood ?? If so what happens to the surf and turf on the fairwell dinner. Is this a viable reason or another example of cost cutting ?

 

Sorry to rain on cost cutting parade.

We saw lobsters in PG menu 1 month ago on the Nieuw Amsterdam.

Lobsters are still in PG menu on HAL website.

[sail7seas]

In New England waters, lobsters under one pound must be tossed back. They must be provided time to reproduce before they are caught.

 

[cruz chic]

Sorry to rain on cost cutting parade.

We saw lobsters in PG menu 1 month ago on the Nieuw Amsterdam.

Lobsters are still in PG menu on HAL website.

 

The menu is set to change very shortly. I don't think what happened a month ago is going to be particularly relevant.

[OysterLady]

Lobster is being served. Surf and Turf was on the menu the last formal night on the cruise from Athens to Rome.

[Spinner2]

Plenty of lobster on the Statendam earlier this month and last. The usual lobster on the various menus as well as whole cold-water lobsters (1 per person) at the cellermaster dinner. Obviously they weren't brought aboard live but they were tasty and quite impressive on the plate! I'd say pound and a quarter each. Someone asked; the chef said they met the sustainable guidelines.

[OysterLady]

Lobster is being served. Surf and Turf was on the menu the last formal night on the cruise from Athens to Rome.

 

I should have stated that this was last week!

[wander]

What the future holds I cannot say, but I can say that on the recently completed Asia/South Pacific Grand Cruise (Amsterdam, 75 days) we had loads of Lobster - as in Lobster tails. Of course Grand Cruises are a bit more upscale in food, but we had Lobster Tail on the menu almost one night each week,and not always on Formal nights in the MDR. Escargot was also a frequent menu item.

 

For the first five or six times I ordered the lobster tail - excellent all but one time - then a bit dry. One of my table mates always asked for and got 1 tails. There were also several other lobster dishes a few nights. I do not remember where they were from, but the menu noted where and that the lobster population was rated as sustainable in that area. (Words are not an exact quote.)

 

I actually got tired of Lobster (hard to believe). In fact our table joked - oh no, not Lobster tails again! However most of them had it again and again. So, as of early December Lobster tails were commonplace on the Grand Cruise.

[Topsham]

Then they had start Lion Fish on the menu! The fish is a pest that is destroying almost any other fish destroying anywhere in the Atlantic. It is bad news you think? They need Lion Fish on the menu twice a day. It is the most beautiful fish you can possibly taste. Try it. Fantastic!

 

Stephen