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america's heartland is madepossible by... farm credit -financing agriculture and ruralamerica since 1916. farm credit iscooperatively owned by america'sfarmers and ranchers. learn more at farmcredit.com croplife america -representing the companies whose modern farming innovations helpamerica's farmers provide nutritious food for communitiesaround the globe. â >>hi, i'm sarah gardner.
we take to the water onamerica's heartland this time for some unique fishtales and some recipes we bet you've never triedbefore. call it a harvest in h2o. come along as we go lobsterfishing off the coast of maine for a catch ofcrustaceans. but change is challengingthese waters. we'll take you to arkansas. you're hundreds of milesfrom the ocean,
but fishing and aquacultureare playing a larger and larger role in the lives ofamerican farmers. sharon vaknin is in thekitchen to give you some interesting ideas on fishfor your family dinners. and we'll head forchesapeake bay to see how oystermen there are helpingto clean up polluted waters. it's all coming up onamerica's heartland. ♪you can see it in the eyesof every woman and man♪ ♪in america's heartlandliving close to the land♪
♪there's a love for the countryand a pride in the brand♪ ♪in america's heartland♪ ♪living closeclose to the land♪ ♪♪ >>some people might besurprised that aquaculture plays a role in america'sagricultural life. but if you think about it,harvesting a catch in fresh or salt water has manysimilarities to bringing in a crop deep in america'sheartland.
aquaculture contributesto our seafood supply, supports commercial fisheries, and sometimes helps protectat risk species. and many american farmerssupplement their income with aquaculture on their land. we'll have more on thatlater. but let's start in a classicwaterside location. john lobertini takes us lobsterfishing off the coast of maine, a location looking at change onthe horizon.
>>sunrise is a symbol of newbeginnings but the start of this late summer day demandsthe continuity of a regimen that's been the reality in thesemaine waters for generations. as the sun comes up thelobster fishermen of swan's island head outto sea. jason joyce knows these waterswell and realizes the work he does each day is part of thepast... and the future. >>i'm hanging on to this andtaking care of it for the next generation.
my father took care of itfor me, his father care of it forhim, making sure you conserve soyou have a fishery that spans, in my case,8-generations. >>in maine, lobsters arecaught in traps or "pots" baited with fish toattract the crustaceans. fishermen often workhundreds of pots a day. lobster fishing though isn't as physically demanding as itused to be.
traps are now pulled from thewater by machine, instead of by hand. but what you haul up doesn'talways mean money in your pocket in maine, size matters. this gauge determineswhether you can keep a lobster or you haveto throw it back. the head must measure at least3-and-a-quarter inches but it can be no longer than5-inches. and there are also rules forbreeding females.
>>this is a female.that's got a notch in it. so we're gonna let her go backand find her a new husband. >>once secured, the catch mustbe safely transferred to market. >>i'm banding the lobsters. trying to keep them so theydon't injure each other, um...in storage. it's a live product that we'resending that's perishable and we want to make sure that they'rein as good shape as they can be. >>environmental regulationsand a myriad of laws at the
state and federal level haveimpacted the industry here. special rope and connectorsfor buoys and traps help protect whales inthese waters- just one of the changes today'sfishermen now face. and those realities haveprompted a move to diversify. the university of mainelobster institute sees an opportunity to offerconsumers more than just lobster tails- using partsthat are usually thrown away. a lobster dog biscuithas been an early hit,
but the shell may hold themost promise: >>we add shell material to, uh,to food products, in- in a very finely ground,um... like a flour. there are some animal studiesthat indicate that chitin, which is part of theshell does have the potential to lower yourcholesterol. >>professor bayer also points toearly studies on antiseptic effects from theshells and possible benefits in treatingosteoporosis.
and there's more. hauling in the traps sometimesprovides an additional catch: green crabs known for decimatingclam populations. graduate student joe galettithinks this invasive aquatic species might hold potentialas another food source. >>i think we've found a way tomechanically process these crabs and get some goodnutrition and good mince meat from these crabs. where as before they weren'tbeing used
as a culinary delight. [bells toll] >>all of these efforts mayhold promise for this tight-knit islandcommunity. [indistinct chatter] a community that pullstogether. when 57 year old spencerjoyce suffered a stroke, islanders kept his businessgoing. >>so we all look out for eachother.
if someone is in trouble ifthere boat is having some trouble or something likethat... you'll team up and help themgo through their traps. so it's a good sense ofcommunity that you don't see in obviously a lot of placesin the world. >>swan's island is one of themost picturesque places in america. a place where the ocean'sbounty gives hope to those who work these waters.
>>there isn't any other fisherythat i can think of that can sustain8 generations and still have someone make aliving at it. maine product is a goodproduct. it's a conservation mindedsustainable fishery that a lot of other fisheriesaround the world strive to be. >>lobsters have been aroundfor a long, long time. in fact, the snappycrustaceans have changed very little in the pasthundred million years.
in the water, lobsters canbe blue, light yellow, green-brown, grey, orange orcalico. some even have spots. however, they all turn redwhen they're cooked. >>there are many aspects toaquaculture in the u.s. certainly fishing is both a commercial and recreationalactivity. that's important to seaside,lakeside, and recreational rivercommunities.
i mentioned earlier thataquaculture also plays a role in improving the profitmargins for american farmers whose land may be deep inthe heartland. let's take you to arkansaswhere research is underway to improve a particular kindof wet water crop. it may not be a locationthat you associate with a harvest that comes from thewater. there are no boats headingfor the ocean. in fact... you're not likelyto see
boats or giant fishnets at all. the aquaculture fisheriescenter at the university of arkansasis focused, instead, on helping fish farmers raisebetter fish at a cost effective price. >>aquaculture is a majorindustry in this state. arkansas, first of all, isthe birth place of warm-water aquaculture inthe united states. the very first goldfishfarms and minnow farms and
catfish farms were here inthis state. today, the total farm gate valueis about 167 million dollars. >>thanks to a growing consumerdemand for farm raised fish, aquaculture has taken off inmany parts of the heartland. factor in feed production,processing and equipment and the total economic impactfor arkansas's delta region is more than one and aquarter billion dollars. >>these eggs are moving rightalong. >>these small catfish eggswill be moved
to a fish hatchery building fora few weeks, and then returned to the ponds until they reachfingerling size. then they'll be dispersedfor various studies. >>we have a project that'slooking at additives to the feed that would then add tothe fish flesh. most of the experiments aremanagement based experiments so that we can look at whata farmer needs to change on his operation to better hisbottom line. >>a very different researchproject
involves the alligator gar. it's not being raised foreating, but for pest control. >>missouri, for example, has gota problem with exotic fish and rough fish. and they're interested incontrolling them with a native top predator. and these guys, which get tobe about 7 to 8-feet long, are a native top carnivorein the system. >>researchers also want toimprove levels of healthy
omega three fatty acids incatfish by including things like flaxseed in theirdiets. >>one of the problems, rightnow, with that product though, is that when you- when you addflaxseed oil, it does make the fish tasteoilier. the catfish product thatpeople like is a very mild tasting fish, and theyreally don't want it to taste oily as a salmon or as amackerel or something like that. >>the center also offersregional fish inspections
at its four labs across thestate. farmers bring in fish whichare then examined by experts. the farmers leave withadvice on changes to improve their product andyield. >>there's a constant networkinggoing on between fish farmers. and sometimes, they hearthings, and say "i've heard that this isfantastic and is it really and would you set upan experiment that will approve or disprove thisidea that's going around."
>>the facility you have hereis unique not only in this country but in the world. >>yes, it certainly is. there are very few placesthat have made the investment in these kinds of facilities hereto do this kind of research. >>mmhmm, and why is it soimportant to fish farmers throughout the united states? >>they have to have proof before they invest money ontheir farms.
so, we have to run thetrials here. laboratory studies and modelare fine, but they only go so far. >>researchers also carry outextensive investigations on catfish production farafield from the campus. >>the fish raised overseasare raised under very, very different conditions. quite frankly, they're notheld to the same standards as in the united states.
>>those issues of quality arecritical as u.s. fish farmers compete for consumer dollars ona global scale meeting the demands ofprice, but also taste. >>so that what comes out onyour dinner table is even better than- than what you mightfind on the river or in a lake. some varieties of fish areexcellent sources of omega-3 fatty acids, salmonin particular. but nutritionists point out thatomega-3 can also be found in foods otherthan those with fins.
they site tofu, flax, nuts,canola, and soybean oils as goodsources. >>there's something fishygoing on at your supermarket. whether it is fresh, frozenor canned folks are buying more and moreseafood these days, looking for source of low-fatprotein. but knowing what type ofseafood to buy and even how to cook it can be achallenge. seafood generally falls intoa couple of categories.
it's either caught in thewild, like a river or the ocean, or it's farm-raised. americans eat about 11 pounds ofseafood a year, per person. and just under half of theseafood purchased is frozen. 34 percent is fresh and 23percent canned. and did you know that 86percent of the seafood we eat isimported? but many scientists areconcerned about overfishing around the world impactingour ocean-life.
with concerns aboutenvironmental impact and food safety on the rise you'llfind many stores offering labels on their fresh fish to helpguide your buying decisions. so what's the number oneseafood in the us? shrimp! americans eat just over fourpounds of it a year. second place goes to cannedtuna. and a relative newcomer isnow in the top ten types of fish eaten - a fish calledpangasius!
it's a type of catfishnative to asia. >>do you include fish in yourdiet each week? we know that eating fishbrings with it certain nutritional advantages. but, let's be honest, somepeople don't like the taste or just don't know how toprepare fish in a manner that makes it attractive anddelicious. well, our sharon vaknin isin the kitchen with some recipes that justmight change your mind
about fish for your family. >>trout is one of the mostdelicious and healthier fish at themarket. you can roast, grill or evenfry them in no time and because they're so inexpensive you caneasily use it to feed a crowd. today i'm making two troutdishes with the fresh and smokedvariety. i'm making a smoked troutguacamole and roasted trout with an herby butteryfilling.
when you're shopping fortrout at the market there are a few things youdefinitely want to look out for. first, ask your fishmongerif you can smell the trout. it's kind of funny but reallyimportant that you do this. so go ahead and smell it andit should smell slightly like a river or even like alight scent of cucumber. it should never smell fishy. that's when you know it'sbeen sitting in the case for way toolong.
the second thing you want tolook out for is the skin. the scales should look shiny,they should never look dull. and the last thing to lookout for are the eyes. if you're buying whole troutthese eyes shouldn't be cloudy, they should look pretty clear. if all those things lookgood you have fresh trout ready forcooking. trout is actually part ofthe salmon family so you'll notice it a lot of thesimilar flavors but it's
much more delicate. it's nutty it has a mildlysweet flavor so it doesn't need a lot of dressing up. the filling that we're makingtoday is an herby "garlicky" filling that really accents thetrout's natural flavor. so once our garlic isminced, we'll put it in our mortarand pestle. i also have some red pepperflakes in there and now let's mince our shallots.
now when you're servingtrout to a crowd of people you want to estimate about one sixto eight inch trout per person. it's more than enough. now for the parsley we wanta good handful. a little lemon, some capersfor a salty "vinegary" flavor. and the last thing we're puttingin here is anchovy paste. we're putting in just enoughto bring out the flavor of the trout withoutoverpowering it. so a couple of teaspoons isjust right.
now we just need to seasonit. and the last thing? butter. a this fish keeps prettymoist as it bakes, but butter never hurtanybody. we'll reserve a little bitfor the top before they go in. i already have four six inchtrout on a baking sheet with a little bit of olive oil. so all i'll do is open theseup and you can see they have
a beautiful pink flesh. so we'll just flip them openand spoon in a little bit of themixture in each. with all of these flavors youdon't need a lot of the filling. now when you're roasting thetrout don't remove the head and thetail. they'll keep everythingreally succulent. before these guys go in theoven we'll put a little bit of butter on top of each.
when they bake at a hightemperature, which is what we're doing,they'll cook really fast. and then the skin will benice and crispy. and here we go into the oven at 450 degrees for aboutten minutes. while our trout roasts, let'smake our smoked trout guacamole. so for our guacamole basewe'll use red onion, garlic, salt, pepper, some of thebasics. and then we'll throw in afew ingredients that play
really well with that smokedtrout. trout is so good for you. because of its high amountsof omega-3 fatty acids, but it's also one of thehealthiest fish out there. because it's low in dioxins which is an environmentalcontaminant. so now it's time to takecare of our avocados. when you're shopping forripe avocados for making guacamole,look out for two things.
first give it a nice squeeze, itshould be a little soft. and then push the bellybutton in with your finger and if it sinks, it shouldbe good to go. i've got five large haasavocados. when you're shopping aroundfor smoked trout, you'll notice it's a lotcheaper than smoked salmon. that's because in general, troutis a lot cheaper to produce. and the reason is that mostof the trout you purchase as the market isfarmed.
it's not caught from thewild. in a controlled environment, you can really regulate thetrout's diet. that's important for thisfish because its flavor really reflectsits diet. let's add some lime. we'll also add some freshminced garlic. salt, pepper. let's have at it.
the reason i don't use afood processor is i don't want "mooshy" guacamole. i want a few chunks inthere. our guacamole base is ready andnow we can add in some of the bolder flavorings. so we'll add in some roastedchiles. these are fire roastedchiles. and we'll add in our redonion. and finally, the star ofthis dish, our smoked trout.
and it will still have theskin attached. you'll can easily peel itaway. just flake it into theguacamole by hand. and you can keep pretty bigflakes in there because as you mix it, it will break upa little bit. there's one thing i want toadd. fresh cilantro. that adds bright flavor,bright color and because of that lime, you don't have toworry about this guacamole
getting all brown before youserve it. if you were intimidated bycooking fish before, now you know just how easyit is to do. we've made a roasted troutwith an herby butter filling and you can see the skin hascrisped up nicely and i've served it with a side ofpotato salad. and, of course, our smokedtrout guacamole. two delicious dishes filledwith omega 3 fatty acids and... they won't break thebank.
>>let's head for the waters ofmaryland's chesapeake bay for a different focus onfishing. aquaculture can play a majorrole in supporting economic activity in a watersidecommunity. but aquaculture can alsoplay a role when it comes to improving the very water inwhich the fish make their homes. chesapeake bay is home tosome 350 varieties of fish and improving the waterquality there is getting some help from an unusualsource.
>>oh, i love it. i couldn't see myself in anoffice. >>kevin mcclarren is a relativenewcomer to chesapeake bay. he moved here in 1999. but this formermassachusetts resident says he's fallen in love withthis huge, historic estuary... and the famous oysters grownand harvested here. >>we're about a hundred milesfrom the ocean here. we're in a brackishenvironment where,
from a biologicalstandpoint, that's where oysters want tolive. you get this broth ofminerals and flavors that produce an oyster with ithink an exceptional flavor. >>welcome to the farm...an oyster farm. here, where the freshwaterchoptank river flows into the salty bay... is where you'll find choptankoyster company. kevin and his partnershand-raise close to
two million oysters each year. >>i always say we're a littlebit more like ranching than we are likefarming. we're not really growingthese oysters; we're just kind of taking care of them tillthey're ready for market. >>that care begins here at thehatchery... where the oysters grow frommicroscopic larvae into these tiny creatures called"spat." >>they're probably a thousandin this handful.
>>that's right what looks like ahandful of wet sand is actually thousands of oysters attached tobits of broken shell. after about three weeks,they're transferred onto these boxes made from windowscreens. they'll grow to about thesize of a quarter... and then be moved to thesefloats right on the bay... as many as ten-thousandin each one. >>we grow them for half asummer then we pull them out, we split them, tumblethem,
then put them back into bagsat a lower level. and that process continuesover two years until they're large enough toharvest. >>the harvested oysters cropare then taken to a facility close by wherethey're washed and packed into boxesdestined for stores and restaurants all overmaryland. >>let's go home, kevin. >>let's go home, travis.
>>some customers like travistodd can't wait for delivery... they take themright off the dock. travis is the thirdgeneration of the todd family at the ocean odysseyrestaurant. >>what i really, really likeabout it is the fact that this is our local and nativeoyster, yet it's being grown, it's being grown rather thanharvested in the wild. what we have is renderedbacon and keep the fat. you're going to add to thatfat,
you're gonna add onion andgarlic. >>today, travis is makingoysters "bubbafeller" a variation on the famousoysters rockefeller. cracked pepper, lemonjuice, heavy cream, arugula and parmesan cheese. >>as soon as you bread thesethings, you want to get them in thefryer. >>for something different, howabout a po-boy. shucked, and breaded, and fried-made from oysters
less than an hour from thewater. >>ocean odyssey is one of thelocal restaurants we have and he uses our oysters ineverything. because he sees the quality init, and for him it's worth it. >>chesapeake bay is one of theworld's largest estuaries. it's two hundred miles long and as much as thirtymiles wide. fed by a hundred fiftyrivers and streams. that mix of fresh and saltwater proved
perfect for oysters andoystermen... who've been reaping chesapeake'swaterborne bounty for centuries. but in the last fifty years,population growth brought water pollution anddisease. today, the wild oysterpopulation is less than one-percent of what it wasin the late 1800's. twenty years ago, some sixthousand oystermen worked these waters. today there are fewer thanfive hundred.
>>oysters are considered akeystone species, which means it really is the linchpin forthe health of the bay. >>kevin says oysters are morethan just a product, they're an essential part of ahealthy ecosystem. >>the guys that do this testingwill tell you that an adult oyster will filter 50 gallons ofwater a day out of the bay. filtering it, taking thealgae out. >>thanks to efforts by dozensof environmental groups, scientists, and governmentagencies,
chesapeake bay is slowlygetting cleaner. >>if we can get the oysters backto historic levels you would see the green color drop out of thiswater in no time at all. every oyster that's comingoff my farm is one more wild oyster that's left in place. it may take a long time, butit may work. >>the fact that we can growgreat products like this, make them marketable,sell them and improve the water systems as wego along,
um... that to me us just awin for everybody. >>and that's going to do itfor this edition of america's heartland. we're always pleased you cantravel the country with us as we find fascinatingpeople and interesting places. >>we've shared some greatstories and great recipes with you on the show thistime. if you missed something orwant to check out videos from any of our america'sheartland programs,
just log on to our websiteat americasheartland.org and look for us, too, on some of your favorite socialmedia websites. we'll see you next time onamerica's heartland. you can purchase a dvd orblu ray copy of this program. here's the cost: to order, just visit usonline or call: ♪you can see it in the eyesof every woman and man♪