Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Please pass on the turtle!


From the Daily News:

MARINE PATHOLOGIST James Cervino stood silently in a crowded Flushing supermarket recently as a fishmonger used a giant meat cleaver to hack at a still-writhing turtle.

Cervino watched as the turtle was gutted, stuffed in a bag, and handed over to a female customer.

"That was terrible," said Cervino, 48, of College Point, as he walked out of the Ou Jiang Supermarket on Main St.

Cervino, now a visiting scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Massachusetts, said he fears that the types of unusual seafood that can be found in local supermarkets and aquariums may be fished using illegal and dangerous means.

Not knowing the true provenance of their seafood could expose New Yorkers to bacterial infections or mercury poisoning. Cervino wants to change that.

"There's no documentation or chain of custody that can be proven to the consumer what the source of these animals is," Cervino said. "If people are eating it wrong, they can get salmonella poisoning and cholera."

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration classifies turtles as seafood, said Jessica Ziehm, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Agriculture and Markets. The FDA uses the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points program, or HAACP, to ensure that the fish for sale comes from an approved and inspected source.

"We always make sure that we see the papers to ensure that the turtles did not come from a pond," Ziehm said.

But turtles don't always make for good eating, Cervino said. The salmonella bacteria can often be found on the skin and shells of pet turtles, according to the FDA.

Queens Parks Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski said her department has received complaints of people poaching turtles from Kissena Lake at Kissena Park, though the agency has yet been unable to confirm it.

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

I sure hope live octopuses are OK!!!

Anonymous said...

bowne park pond turtle soup. get it at lino's restaurant. yummy,yummy,yummy.

his alien (illegals) will deliver.

Anonymous said...

the more stories I read here about weird Asian diet food, the more I like the vegetarians in India and South Asia.

Klink Cannoli said...

It's been a concern of mine ever since I've seen more cheap Asian fish stores in the area. The slashed prices for some of the fresh catch is tempting, but something doesn't make sense. If a particular store can find product at a remarkable price, why can't others?

I wonder if the anglers I see about at certain water bodies and inlets around Queens understand how polluted the waters are.

Anonymous said...

I wonder if the anglers I see about at certain water bodies and inlets around Queens understand how polluted the waters are.
------------------------------

They do and they dont care.

Coming from China, the waters of NYC are a dream!!!

Deke DaSilva said...

Not knowing the true provenance of their seafood could expose New Yorkers to bacterial infections or mercury poisoning. Cervino wants to change that.

Diversity is our strength!!!!

It's also......bacterial infections and mercury poisoning!!!!

Anonymous said...

Live soft shell turtles are for sale for consumption at New York Mart in Little Neck. I feel so bad for them, trying to claw their way out of the Styrofoam cooler they are kept in.

Anonymous said...

Live soft shell turtles are for sale for consumption at New York Mart in Little Neck. I feel so bad for them, trying to claw their way out of the Styrofoam cooler they are kept in.

I think I'm going to be sick.

John "Son of a Turtle Egg" Liu said...

Coming soon to a food stall in Flushing!:

DENPASAR, Indonesia - Indonesian police have confiscated 71 endangered giant sea turtles from a food stall on the resort island of Bali, an officer said Wednesday.

The owner of the stall was arrested when the giant green turtles, named chelonia mydas, were found inside his storehouse in Denpasar, chief detective Col. Andi Taqdir Rahmantiro said.

Rahmantiro said the stall owner told police he purchased the turtles, with an average size of more than 3.3 feet (one meter), from fishermen who caught them in waters off Sulawesi island.

Turtle meat is a traditional delicacy in the predominantly Hindu province of Bali, although Indonesia has banned turtle trade and consumption due to concerns about dwindling numbers and threats by animal welfare groups of a tourist boycott of Bali.

Turtles are among several protected species in Indonesia, a vast nation of 17,000 islands.


You may not love diversity,
but we don't care one bit what you like!

We're going to jam it down your throat!

Ruth said...

Queens Crapper-

i think it's wonderful that you're so concerned about animals, but are you a vegetarian or vegan? how about all the cute and cuddly cows and chickens?

Soup Nazi said...

someone please tell these freakin' people that in Rome you DO what the Roman's do!

I'm hoping PETA gets involved - I'm in for that demonstration for sure - disgusting!!!

Thomas Jain said...

but are you a vegetarian or vegan? how about all the cute and cuddly cows and chickens?

I'll "one up" you!

I'm non-violent in thought, word, and deed, both toward humans and toward all other living beings.

When I was a monk, I walked barefoot and swept the ground in front of me to avoid killing insects or other tiny beings.

I don't meat, nor do I eat root vegetables such as potatoes, onions, roots and tubers, because tiny life forms are injured when the plant is pulled up and because the bulb is seen as a living being, as it is able to sprout.

Honey is also forbidden, as it's collection would amount to violence against the bees.

Have a nice day!

Klink Cannoli said...

Heh.

I don't drink or eat anything because all and any of my human consumptions, including the air I breath, will encroach on some organism or collection of inanimate atoms.

Queens Crapper said...

This post is about stores selling food harvested illegally, which could harm the public.

It is not about vegetarianism.

Thank you.

Octopus said...

If I said it once, I'll say it a thousand times...
EAT ME!

Anonymous said...

Kindly respect the diversity of our people.

Anonymous said...

Thats disgusting and they will be paid visits with people picketing and monitoring them. They have a central nervous system unlike the tiny beings by root vegetables.

Anonymous said...

The biggest danger of all is the wanton destruction of habitat and the violation of park regulations and games laws that people regularly engage in.

I cannot abide PETA because they will protect feral cats that are eating endangered birds.

I cannot abide people who slowly starve deer by feeding them toxic, undigestible food in the name of love when ten minutes on the internet would tell them what they could eat.

If the Chinese want to eat whatever, they want, let them. But come down hard on poaching, no matter who does it. Also, let them refrain from dumping deadly exotics into our water supplies like the snakefish.

cherokeesista said...

Many Native American Tribes believe the Turtle is Sacred, they carry the Earth on their Backs. Don't we have laws against animal cruelty? They can leave that crap at the borders:( It's DISGUSTING:(

Anonymous said...

These people are savages. fucking hate them.

Anonymous said...

yeah, unfortunately i agree...i never thought i could hate a race...i've read sooo many books it's not even funny...i am tom joad...plus, i've traveled all over the world and witnessed a lot of cultures firsthand...never thought i could be a racist but i am...i fucking hate these asians...they are just so selfish

i walked into a korean place in flushing and they wouldn't even serve me...fight racism with racism

Anonymous said...

I'm open about my racism. I hate. Let's all hate.
And doesn't some group have a problem with that thing that we're all complaining about? It must be wrong then. Let's continue our hate! We are justified in our hate and fear of the different!!!