Crown Prince Seafood Joins NFI Crab Council
Crown Prince is pleased to announce that we have become the newest member of the National Fisheries Institute’s Crab Council. Since 1948, our California-based company has offered a diverse product line of canned seafood products at conventional, chain, natural, and big box retail outlets across the country.
Sourced from Thailand and Indonesia, Crown Prince’s crab meat selection is responsibly sourced from trusted in-country partners. With a supply chain emphasizing corporate responsibility, Crown Prince offers a variety of quality crab meat grades across our brand lines Crown Prince, Ocean Prince, and Crown Prince Natural.
“In 2010, Crown Prince established an internal sustainability team tasked with innovating responsible company practices,” Crown Prince CFO Christopher Bruno said. “In joining the Crab Council, Crown Prince furthers its institutional commitment to fisheries management.”
Crown Prince joins the Crab Council as its 30th member. The Crab Council is an industry-led sustainability effort whose membership includes U.S. and international crab companies. The Crab Council receives its funding for fishery improvement projects in Southeast Asia from member assessments on every pound of blue swimming crab imported as well as through contributions from member companies associated with the crab industry like Crown Prince.
The addition of Crown Prince coincides with an expansion of Crab Council activities. The council seeks to bolster existing FIPs (Fishery Improvement Projects) and ventures into India, using matched support from American blue crab importers for the successful funding and execution of these endeavors.
The NFI Crab Council was founded in 2009 and funds blue swimming crab sustainability projects through contributions from participating companies and has received grants from the World Bank, the Walton Family Foundation and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.
Crown Prince, Inc. is proud to have transitioned to Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified herring for our Crown Prince Natural Kipper Snacks and Kipper Snacks with Cracked Black Pepper. Our herring are wild caught in the Gulf of St. Lawrence off the West coast of the Canadian province of Newfoundland. The area is managed by the Canadian federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) with the specific area of operation located between Cape Bauld and Cape Ray.
Crown Prince Natural Kipper Snacks are MSC Certified Sustainable and Non-GMO Project Verified.
Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) belong to the family Clupeidae. The Clupeidae family consists of 216 species that are global in distribution. Herring, shads, sardines, and menhadens are all members of the Clupeidae family; as a group they are considered one of the most important families of commercial fish, processed for food, oil and fish meal.
Atlantic herring in this region is comprised of two distinct stock components: spring and fall spawners. The herring purse seine fishery operates April through December, depending on weather and sea ice conditions. Recent Total Allowable Catches (TAC) set by the DFO for herring in this region are 20,000 tonnes; the MSC certified purse seine fleet component is about 11,000 tonnes.
Management measures in place include a detailed monitoring and surveillance system, closed area and season restrictions, minimum landing sizes and avoidance of non-target species with applied echo sounding technology. Atlantic herring are primarily exported as cured, frozen, fresh, smoked, roe, sardines and canned. Products from this fishery are predominantly sold to the United States, Western Europe and Japan.
Purse Seine Net used for catching fish
The fishery is comprised of large and small herring purse seiners. Large and small seiners are defined as those greater than 65 feet and those smaller than 65 feet respectively. The purse seine is a large rectangular net that is designed to encircle herring. The seine is set by a small boat, known as a skiff, deployed by the fishing vessel. As the net is released from the stern of the vessel, the skiff controls the free end of the net until the larger seiner completely encircles the fish. Once the skiff has the net set and returns to the seiner, the seine top and bottom lines are handed to the seiner, which uses a winch to pull both ends of the purse line, closing off the bottom of the seine net like a purse, preventing the herring from escaping.
To “kipper” a fish is to rub it with salt and spices before drying it in the open air or in smoke. This method of preservation has been used from time immemorial, first as a means to quickly preserve an abundance of fish, more recently as preferred cooking method of a variety of fish, game and poultry. Crown Prince Natural Kipper Snacks are smoked over hardwood chips and are an excellent source of protein with 1.34 mg of Omega-3 fatty acids per serving. Crown Prince Natural Kipper Snacks and Kipper Snacks with Cracked Black Pepper are both Non-GMO Project verified.
Small Fish, Big Oceans: Anchovies
The Small Fish Recipe Sweepstakes
In the spirit of the commitment by chefs worldwide to use under-utilized fish like anchovies, herring and sardines in their restaurants on World Oceans Day, Crown Prince Seafood encourages you to try these delicious and nutritious small fish in your recipes at home as often as you can.
When it Comes to Fish, One Chef’s Trash is Another’s Daily Special
We prefer to call these small fish “The Daily Special” as there is nothing trashy about them. In the next few weeks we’ll be sharing stories and recipes from around the world for anchovies, herring and sardines and invite you to share your recipes with us by entering our Small Fish Recipe Sweepstakes.
Enter to win: http://www.crownprince.com/ocean-sweepstakes.htm
Anchovies are a small, common salt water forage fish found in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans. There are 144 species of fish which can be called anchovy. Their taste differs due to the area in which they are harvested, the age at which they are caught, and the method of preparation. Most of us in the United States are familiar with the salt cured anchovy from Morocco, Spain, France, Italy or Peru. These can be tasty additions to salads, pizzas, sauces and tapenades, but these uses hardly reflect the importance of anchovies in cooking around the world.
Mixed Olive Tapenade by Crown Prince Seafood. For more recipes, visit http://www.crownprince.com/recipes-anchovies.htm.
Fresh anchovies pickled in vinegar are called boquerones en vinagre in Spain; southern Indian states eat fresh anchovies either fried or in a spicy curry; the Philippines is home to Ginataang dilis, a sauce of anchovies, peppers, greens, and coconut milk; and Turkish cooks created Balik Bugulama as a stew to use these abundant fish. Anchovies also are the principal ingredient of sauces like Thai nam pla, Vietnamese nuoc mam, Filipino bagoong, and Malaysian budu; all showcase the wonderful fishy essence of anchovies. In fact, anchovies have played a very important role in cuisine since before Roman times, influencing the drive for ocean domination, fishing territories, and salt production, all of which were interwoven.
Fresh anchovies were abundant in the U.S. from West Coast fisheries until the 1950’s. As the California sardine fishery declined due to over exploitation, harvesters turned to anchovies as a replacement. This stock too was soon over fished and restrictions were placed on their use for all but bait fish and fish meal. Only 2,100 metric tons were harvested in 2010, so you have to be very lucky and live on the West Coast to have the opportunity to try fresh anchovies. Try this recipe using canned anchovies:
- 3/4 pound pitted black olives, such as Kalamata, Nicoise or Gaeta
- 3 to 4 ounces capers, drained and rinsed
- 2 anchovy fillets, drained, rinsed and patted dry
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 bay leaf, finely chopped
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons chopped parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon cognac or brandy
- 1/2 cup good quality extra-virgin olive oil
Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine well, then allow to process until mixture is coarsely pureed. Taste for seasoning, then serve as a dip alongside crusty bread with goat cheese, grilled vegetables or chicken, or tossed with cooked pasta and fresh herbs.
Recipe courtesy of Emeril Lagasse, 2001
Small Fish, Big Oceans: Sardines
The Small Fish Recipe Sweepstakes
In the spirit of the commitment by chefs worldwide to use under-utilized fish like anchovies, herring and sardines in their restaurants on World Oceans Day, Crown Prince Seafood encourages you to try these delicious and nutritious small fish in your recipes at home as often as you can.
When it Comes to Fish, One Chef’s Trash is Another’s Daily Special
We prefer to call these small fish “The Daily Special” as there is nothing trashy about them. In the next few weeks we’ll be sharing stories and recipes from around the world for anchovies, herring and sardines and invite you to share your recipes with us by entering our Small Fish Recipe Sweepstakes.
In Croatia, fishing for sardela or sardina on the coasts of Dalmatia and Istria began thousands of years ago. The region was part of the Roman Empire, then largely a Venetian dominion, and has always been sustained through fishing mainly sardines. All along the coast, many towns promote the age-old practice of fishing by lateen sail boats for tourism and on festival occasions. Today, industrial producers continue this tradition. There are several famous Croatian dishes with sardines, for instance: Komiška pogača (a pie with salted sardines and tomato sauce) and Saur or Inšavor (sardines fried and then cooled, seasoned with olive oil, vinegar, garlic, black pepper and rosemary.)
Raising lateen sail on Bracera “Our Lady of the Sea”
A simple recipe for Saur:
To taste: mix olive oil, white wine vinegar, crushed garlic, thinly sliced white onion, fresh oregano, rosemary, black peppercorns, coarse sea salt, and a bit of white wine. Adapt the seasonings to your taste. Boil for 5 minutes. Set aside.
If you have fresh clean sardines, season them with salt and pepper and grill them in the oven (or, even better, on an outside grill) until done – about 2 minutes should do it.
If you have canned sardines, drain off any liquid and pat the sardines dry. Season with a bit of pepper and grill for about a minute.
Let the sardines cool. Arrange a layer in a dish and cover with half of the marinade. Top with the remaining sardines and the rest of the marinade. Refrigerate at least 2 hours. Bring to room temperature and serve.
Crown Prince Seafood honors World Oceans Day – June 8, 2015 – with a recipe sweepstakes designed to focus on the most abundant fish species: anchovies, herring (kipper snacks) and sardines.
Send us your favorite recipe using one (or more) of our anchovy, kipper or sardine products for a chance to win one free case (12-18 cans) of your choice of any Crown Prince Anchovies, Kipper Snacks or Sardines.
There will be 6 winners drawn at random. All entries must be submitted via the sweepstakes form http://crownprince.com/ocean-sweepstakes.htm no later than Monday, June 1, 2015. The winners will be announced on Monday, June 8, 2015 on the Crown Prince website. We will contact all winners directly via phone or e-mail.
Submitted recipes become the property of Crown Prince, Inc. and may be used on our website or in a future publication. Visit our website for Official Sweepstakes Rules, Terms & Conditions.
Visit http://www.worldoceansday.org/ for more information on World Oceans Day.
Crown Prince, Inc. Announces Non-GMO Project Verification
Crown Prince, Inc., in cooperation with The Non-GMO Project, has submitted Crown Prince Natural products for Non-GMO Project verification. The verification process on many items has been completed. New product labels and shelf tags displaying The Non-GMO Project logo will start appearing at retail over the course of the next year. The following Crown Prince Natural products have been verified so far:
- Crown Prince Natural Pink Salmon
- Crown Prince Natural Albacore Tuna, Regular & No Salt, 5 & 12 oz.
- Crown Prince Natural Pole Caught Yellowfin Tuna
- Crown Prince Natural Crab Meat
- Crown Prince Natural Smoked Baby Clams
- Crown Prince Natural Anchovy Fillets
- Crown Prince Natural Anchovy Paste
- Crown Prince Natural Tongol Tuna, Regular & No Salt
- Crown Prince Natural Baby Clams
- Crown Prince Natural Skinless Boneless Sardines in Water
- Crown Prince Natural Yellowfin Tuna in Olive Oil
Crown Prince Natural Pink Salmon is now Non-GMO Project Verified!
Visit www.nongmoproject.org for further information.
Genetic Modification is a special set of technologies that alter the genetic makeup of organisms such as animals, plants or bacteria. While some genetic modification has been done in the aquaculture business, the vast majority of fish available to the American public has not been genetically modified. Inherently, wild caught fish are free from genetic modification. Since all of Crown Prince’s fish are wild caught, there is no danger that there are any GMOs in our products. The Crown Prince Natural line includes two cultivated shellfish – clams and oysters, but these have not been genetically modified. These shellfish feed from the waters in which they grow; therefore there is no danger that they have been adulterated by GE feed. Crown Prince packs our products in simple packing mediums with simple seasonings, none of which contain GMOs.
Crown Prince is proud of providing simple, whole foods to our American consumers. Canned fish is not a manufactured product, but is wild harvested from the oceans of our planet. Our customers can be assured that Crown Prince only offers the best that the oceans can provide – unadulterated by genetic modification. Crown Prince feels strongly that consumers have the right to know how their food has been created; this is the basis of the company’s support of Non-GMO Project verification.
Crown Prince, Inc. is pleased to announce that our Albacore Tuna is now Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified. Sourcing of our Albacore Tuna is from within the 200 mile exclusive economic zone of New Zealand.
The MSC standard for sustainable fishing has three main principles: sustainable fish stocks, minimizing environmental impact, and effective management. The MSC ecolabel assures consumers of third-party certified, sustainably harvested seafood; practices that will ensure fish supplies for years to come.
Crown Prince Natural Albacore Tuna is available in 5 oz. BPA free cans with pull-top lids and standard 12 oz. cans.
Currently, our Clam Juice and Pink Salmon are sourced from MSC certified fisheries; Kipper Snacks and Yellowfin Tuna are expected to be certified later this year. Crown Prince is actively working toward sourcing as much MSC certified seafood as it becomes available for its’ Natural line.
With experts, the MSC developed standards for sustainable fishing and seafood traceability. The MSC’s ecolabeling and certification program ensures labeled seafood comes from, and can be traced back to, a sustainable fishery. MSC standards and requirements meet global best practice guidelines for certification and ecolabeling programs. For more information on MSC standards and certification requirements go to www.msc.org.
National Breast Cancer Awareness Month
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Affecting 1 in 8 women during their lives, breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in the United States. Many of us know someone – a mother, a sister, or a friend – who has had it. Thanks to regular screening, breast cancer can be detected early when the chance of successful treatment is high.
Breast Health and Well Being
The earlier breast cancer is found, the easier it is to treat. Educate yourself about breast cancer risk factors and symptoms.
- Give yourself a monthly breast exam. Breastcancer.org offers an easy-to-use tutorial: The Five Steps of a Breast Self-Exam.
- Visit your doctor for regular examinations. The American Cancer Society (ACS) recommends clinical breast exams every 3 years for women in their 20s and 30s, and yearly mammograms beginning at age 40.
- Alternative Screening: Breast Thermography is a medical infrared imaging used in breast cancer and early detection. Read more about it here: http://www.breastthermography.com/
Stay Healthy is one of the American Cancer Society’s primary areas of focus. Take care of your body with good nutrition. Keeping healthy foods around the house is a great way to make sure that smart choices are easy choices. Canned seafood contains healthy omega-3’s and is one of the recommended foods on the ACS’s “In the cupboard” list.
Exercise! A healthy lifestyle includes regular exercise. A fit body is strong, balanced, resilient, and better equipped to handle any challenges that come your way. For more information on a healthy lifestyle, see the ACS Guidelines on Nutrition and Physical Activity for Cancer Prevention.
Crown Prince Seafood encourages all of our customers and colleagues to maintain awareness about breast cancer in their families and workplaces, this month and throughout the year.
Crown Prince Seafood Recycles to Sponsor Children
Our spirits at Crown Prince Seafood are uplifted as we found a rewarding way to cash in on our recycled cans and bottles. We are sponsoring two children from Thailand, a country that we source many of our products, including Tuna, Crab Meat, and Clams. We are very excited to make a difference in the life of not one child, but TWO!
Compassion International is a Christian child advocacy ministry that releases children from spiritual, economic, social and physical poverty and enables them to become responsible, fulfilled Christian adults. Today, Compassion helps more than 1.2 million children in 26 countries.
Meet Arto
Our sponsor child Arto Mayer is 9 years old and lives with his parents and 3 siblings in a hillside community in Thailand. His favorite activities include soccer and singing, and he also regularly attends church activities. He is responsible for carrying water, washing clothes, and helping in the kitchen.
Arto’s Community
Ban Pa Pao is located in Northern Thailand and is home to approximately 3,300 residents. Typical houses are constructed of bamboo and have thatched roofs.
The regional diet consists of maize, beans, bananas, chicken, fish and rice. Common health problems in this area include malnutrition, colds and tooth decay. Most adults in Ban Pa Pao work as day laborers and earn the equivalent of $33 per month. This community needs schools, Thai language teachers and improved roads.
Meet Wat
Our sponsor child Nattawat Kingkornkan is 9 years old and lives with his parents and 2 siblings in a small mountainous community in Thailand. His favorite activities include singing and telling stories, and he also regularly attends church activities. He is responsible for making beds.
Wat’s Community
Baan Jamnoi is located in Northern Thailand and is home to approximately 500 residents. Typical houses are constructed of wood with corrugated iron roofs.
The regional diet consists of maize, rice, pork, bananas and vegetables. Common health problems in this area include skin diseases and conjunctivitis. Half of the adults in Baan Jamnoi are unemployed, but some work in agriculture and earn the equivalent of $17 per month. This community needs tuition assistance and stable employment opportunities.
Our Sponsorship
Through Compassion International, our sponsorship provides Arto and Wat with opportunities to help them break the cycle of poverty. Compassion child development centers promote healthy development including eating nutritious meals, learning the proper way to brush their teeth, regular health checkups, getting help with their homework, language tutoring, Bible studies, playing soccer and community service opportunities. Arto and Wat now have a safe place to learn, grow, play and dream about a future free from poverty.
Visit www.compassion.com to find out how you can make a difference in the life of a child.
Think Outside the Box and Make Lunchtime Healthy and Fun!
It’s that time again. With school in session (or quickly approaching) it’s time to think outside the box when it comes to preparing healthy lunches that kids will eat. Try serving lunch in a colorful Bento Lunch Box Container!
Get colorful.
It’s easy to have 1 or 2 “go to” fruits or veggies as a side, but don’t be afraid to mix it up. Apples, bananas, berries, sliced melon, grapes, oranges, pears: the greater the variety, the better your child’s nutrition – and the more fun they’ll have seeing what’s inside each day.
Shape it up!
Second to food selection is getting your child to eat it. It’s amazing how far a fun shape can go. Give them a choice about their sandwiches (triangles or rectangles), and slice vegetables into fun-shaped wedges or silly curves. Are you feeling inspired? Try this cute Sheep Bento Box by Anna Yamamoto.
Cheat on PB&J.
Yes, it’s a good source of protein and a childhood favorite. But variety is essential to good nutrition. Rotate between peanut butter & jelly, tuna salad, deli cheese/meat, and a pita stuffed with veggies and hummus or a mild fish like kipper snacks. And try different types of bread, while you’re at it. Lunch will stay exciting and healthy.
Cheat on sandwiches, too. 
Yes, they’re good finger food, but there’s much more out there, and there are better ways to pack in the nutrition. Try these Meatball “Mini Burgers” with Mashed Potatoes. Or whip up a batch of cold salad (such as a Tuna Pasta Salad) at the beginning of the week and pair daily servings with fresh fruit or veggies.
Make school lunch a family affair.
All of these tips apply not to just kids, but to the whole family, both for the sake of your nutrition and for setting a good example. If you plan for multiple lunches, it’s easier to have the right stuff on hand. Leftovers are a great way to keep it simple at the whole-family level. Making Albacore Stuffed Jumbo Shells for dinner? Prepare a double batch and you’ve got lunch covered.
Crown Prince Seafood Blog 