Early this year, the government is expected to advise Americans to eat fish two times a week. SeaFood Business magazine calls it "an unprecedented move" that, as part of new 2005 dietary guidelines, would force public institutions, such as schools and the military, to purchase more seafood. The dietary guidelines, which form the foundation of the food pyramid, have been updated every five years since 1980.

Last August, a panel of 13 nutritionists recommended that the new guidelines urge Americans to eat two servings (about 8 ounces) weekly of fish to reduce the risk of heart disease. The panel specifically urged eating fish that is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon. The guidelines have never specified the amount of seafood people should eat. Moreover, seafood was the only protein for which the panel specified how much to eat, SeaFood Business said.

The new dietary guidelines will get more fish into the mouths of America's kids through the national school lunch program, which provides meals to more than 26 million students each day. Currently, seafood is not widely used in school lunches, due mostly to expense, plus the fact that kids prefer fat-laden foods like french fries and pizza.

The government spent $16.4 billion to operate its food-assistance programs in 2004. Purchases included 19 million pounds of canned tuna, salmon, catfish nuggets and fillets worth nearly $30 million. That sounds like a lot until it is compared to purchases of almost 145 million pounds of beef products worth $181 million and 150 million pounds of chicken worth $90 million. The advisory to eat seafood twice a week will no doubt change those federal purchasing patterns.

If the guideline is adopted by the departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services, seafood marketers can promote the "heart-healthy" message as much as possible.

Aquaculture starting to grow in Alaska

Crops of oysters, mussels, scallops, littlenecks and giant geoduck clams are being grown today in shellfish farms throughout Alaska. To help develop the industry, the state offers pre-approved aquatic farm sites for lease - 130 tidal and submerged sites are available now.

It's a first-come, first-serve system to get the sites; and it's easy to apply, said Guyla McGrady, project director for the Alaska Department of Natural Resources. "People can purchase a packet for $25. They have 60 days to work up a site plan, and they could have authorization in three to four weeks," McGrady said. She added that shellfish farmers who want to select their own sites go through a longer process, close to one year.

Currently there are 58 shellfish farms in Alaska - 26 in Southeast, 17 in the central region (Cook Inlet), 14 in Prince William Sound and one at Kodiak. Of that, 29 are actually marketing products - mostly oysters and clams - which rang up sales last year of $600,000. McGrady said one grower near Juneau is having success with geoducks and others have inquired about growing nori seaweed. She added that she is somewhat surprised that no aquaculture applicants have ever been submitted from the Aleutian Island regions or from Western Alaska.

For more information, contact DNR's Aquatic Farm Program at (907) 269-8543 in Anchorage or (907) 465-6150 in Juneau.

Tell COOL to include canned

People have a little more time to comment on new country of origin labeling (COOL) laws scheduled to be in place later this year. COOL is a federal program designed to help customers easily identify where their foods come from, and in the case of seafood, if it's wild or farmed. Some Alaskans were furious to learn a few months ago that, despite originally being included in the law, canned, pouched and smoked seafood were excluded from the final version.

Canned salmon is still the primary product of the Alaska salmon industry. "Now, companies like Bumblebee, Chicken of the Sea and Costco sell foreign and farmed salmon with the same labels as Alaska product," said Mark Vinsel, director of United Fishermen of Alaska.

People have until Feb. 2 to - in the words of Sen. Lisa Murkowski - "give the feds an earful." UFA's Vinsel said it will take several thousand comments to make an impact on policy makers. Send your comments via e-mail to cool@usda.gov.

Dollars direct to Indonesia fishing families

A partnership between fisheries groups is getting relief funds directly to some of the most devastated tsunami victims in Indonesia. The Alaska Marine Safety Education Association is collecting donations and transferring every dollar to the nonprofit National Fisheries Solidarity Movement in Sri Lanka. "It's a direct line," said AMSEA director Jerry Dzugan. "We know these people and the work they do. They are out there every day and know what the people really need."

Dzugan said many times relief agencies are making plans in New York or Switzerland, and don't really know the needs at ground zero. "They think they need tents and rice, but lots of times they don't even have water to cook the rice in," he said.

A lot of the bigger relief agencies also take a sizable cut off the top to cover overhead and administrative costs, sometimes as much as 30 percent. With the Solidarity group, every dollar gets spent on the Sri Lankan fishing families. "These are the poorest of the poor, the ones who need it the most," Dzugan said. "Right now, (for them), $10 is like $1,000."

Donations can be sent to AMSEA, 2924 Halibut Point Road, Sitka, AK 99835. They can be contacted at (907) 747-3287 or amsea@amsea.org.