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The ECSGA Blog
On December 26, 2019, a Rhode Island Superior Court judge upheld a local zoning board’s decision allowing oyster grower and restaurateur Perry Raso to continue using a portion of land on the salt pond where he grows his oysters to support his aquaculture operation. In making his ruling, the judge accepted that shellfish farming meets the definition of agriculture, setting a valuable precedent for those who seek to use their…
Read MoreMany of our efforts are starting to bear fruit and it gives me great pleasure to highlight a few year-end success stories: The House and Senate have passed the Farm Bill so it now goes to the President for signing (probably today or Friday). Contained in the bill is an amendment we have been working on for years that should greatly improve the crop insurance options for aquaculture producers. Thanks to…
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The FDA reports that it is addressing the comments received in response to the March 2018 publication of the Federal Register announcement on the equivalence determination regarding the European Union food safety control system for raw bivalve molluscan shellfish, aka the EU trade embargo issue. The agency hopes to have new regulations issued in the Federal Register allowing the resumption of trade at the end of 2018 – presumably with…
Read MoreThe FDA has just published an updated Model Ordinance NSSP Guide, which means that all the changes that were voted on in the 2017 ISSC meeting are now official, enforceable regulations. States should be able to exercise some discretion on certain items while industry becomes familiar with new elements, but you should try to get up to speed to avoid violations. Some of the more significant changes include: Dealers need…
Read MoreThe results of the shucking contest held at the Milford Oyster Festival on August 18, 2018 are: First Place ($1,000 prize): Honor Allen of Hunt’s Oyster Bar in Panama City, Fla., with a final time of 153 seconds. Second Place ($500 prize): Max Dawson of Hunt’s Oyster Bar in Panama City, Fla., with a final time of 181 seconds. Third Place ($250): Patrick McMurray of Ceili Cabin, Toronto, Canada with…
Read MoreI sat down to post this and can’t help but cringe at the irony. I made the last post on the 8th and selected the image of an arm in a sling to illustrate employee insurance… and the following morning in the predawn darkness, I was heading out for an early flight to New Bern, NC when I slipped on a patch of ice and broke my elbow, so now…
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Friends, If you are paying for insurance coverage for your employees, chances are you are paying too much. In some states it can be as much as three times what you would pay if you could cover your employees under your state’s workers compensation insurance. Some recent court decisions have ruled that if you spend 30% of your time on the water or unloading boats, you are considered a “seaman”…
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I just returned from an epic week in DC where 17 ECSGA members teamed up with a dozen growers from the PCSGA to educate our elected representatives about our priorities. Combined we hit nearly 100 congressional offices and agencies, carrying an optimistic message of increasing production, sustainable seafood, and jobs and economic development in rural coastal towns across the country. This was our 13th year doing this important work, and…
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A dozen growers are heading to DC to educate our elected lawmakers and agency heads about the issues that we face in our community. This year we have hired a lobbyist to help us and we are hopeful that we can push through a couple of bills that should really help growers. Our top priority is an exemption to the Jones Act for aquaculture workers. If we get this passed…
Read MoreI am really looking forward to the launch of our new website. Months in the making, I have high hopes that our new site will improve access for mobile devices while continuing to deliver timely information to our members and the public. New growers can find great advice like my Rookie Mistakes presentation or my marketing presentation. more established growers my want to brush up on Vibrio issues or implement…
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