Tuesday, October 14, 2008

US losing catfish war

American fish farmers seemed to be on a winning streak with catfish, but things have turned. Now catfish farms are going under, and the name "catfish" is being replaced by the more upscale invented name "delacata."

Ironic, considering the battle over who could use the name "catfish." American fish farmers won, but they don't want their prize anymore.

Catfish farms were on a winning streak just a few years ago. They turned out a good fish at a good price, with a positive sustainability ranking, and people were buying it. Then foreign competition shuffled the deck.

Vietnamese catfish farms (photo above right) grow good fish at a good price, and the fish are cheaper. They're coming back under their own names, tra, basa, and pangasius, and winning again at the fish counter. The only hope for American catfish farmers is to win the race to the top, by selling for a high price to discerning fish lovers. You'll soon see a new American catfish product that will compete by featuring the higher environmental and sustainability standards used in US fish farms. Only it won't be called catfish, a name that's not suitable for a premium fish.

Enter "delacata," a new name for a fillet that's better than catfish. You'll see it soon if you haven't already, and it'll be free of the risk of contamination that hovers around imported farmed fish.

Who's winning the catfish wars? You decide, after you try delacata.

3 comments:

masterymistery said...

I live in Sydney Australia, supposedly one of the great coastal cities of the world. And yet, try getting hold of a decent piece of fish for the dinner table. Recently there were warnings in newspapers to the effect that pregnant women and children should avoid eating a number of species due to heavy metal contamination.

congratulations on blogs of note

masterymistery at cosmic rapture

John Czetto said...

A catfish by any other name would taste as sweet??

It's an interesting move. I wonder if more will eat catfish if you know you're getting the "best" of the catfish.

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Adlai said...

In light of all the discussion on tainted seafood from China, we thought we might republish this saga on the “Catfish War” between the U.S. and Vietnam. The Chinese are just as clever as the Vietnamese, of course. Like Vietnam, China feeds its pond raised seafood some interesting subtances like feces. And we wonder why the fish has bacteria in it….. But there is more to this story. Sometimes we Americans knowingly or unwittingly move our suppliers in a dangerous direction.
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Adlai

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