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Viking Village If you want to understand the New Jersey seafood industry, Viking Village is a good place to go to look at the big picture. Since the 1920s, this historic outpost , located at the northern point of Long Beach Island, has been at the center of New Jersey’s commercial fishing industry. A major producer, Viking Village sits in the town of Barnegat Light, a tiny spit of ocean-hugged real estate. From here, it sends more than 5 million pounds of seafood all over the world every year—a very significant contribution to the state economy. It also continues to evolve its mission as a supporter of modern, environmentally sound fishing practices that work in tandem with a good business model. “We’ve worked really hard with sustainability issues across the board and in cooperative research,” says general manager Ernie Panacek. He’s the son-in-law of the legendary John Larson, known throughout the New Jersey fishing industry as “Cap’n John,” the deep-sea fisherman who headedVikingVillage for many years before he passed away in late 2009. A supporter of the Slow Food movement, Viking Village has sponsored dock tours, luncheons, and held educational Slow Food events. The company’s manifesto , written by Ernie, is prominently displayed on its website: “AtVikingVillage, we take pride in being leaders in a program emphasizing responsibly caught fish and scallops, ensuring minimal impact on the environment and fish habitat. We continue to work closely with the National Marine Fisheries Service and play a major role in the management and cooperative research process.” Barnegat Light, home of Viking Village, is surrounded by the waters of the Atlantic and Barnegat Bay, and the town is accessible only by way of the causeway bridge on Route 72. With a winter population of slightly more than seven hundred residents, this is about as far from urban New Jersey as you can get. Yet thanks to its deep harbor, Barnegat Light has become one of the state’s six major fishing ports. Clearly, the seaworthy Scandinavian immigrants who settled this place had found an address that felt like home. 12  122  You may be surprised to learn that, among states on the eastern seaboard, New Jersey is second only to Massachusetts in the amount of seafood it harvests annually. Sure, people may be more familiar with the high-profile branding of Maine lobster and Maryland crab. But New Jersey harvests millions of pounds of fresh, top-quality fish and shellfish every year. As I discussed in chapter 3, the Cape May Salt oyster has a premier culinary reputation, but many of us also believe that New Jersey sea scallops can hold their own on any menu. As a matter of fact, even though New Jersey has been justifiably labeled “the Garden State,” it could just as easily have been called “the Fishing State.” Since 1692, when Barnegat Light was mentioned in a 1692 deed from the English Crown, the region has been engaged in a commercial seafood harvest. And centuries before the Europeans arrived, local tribes depended on the bountiful fresh fish and shellfish in our ocean, rivers, marshes, and tributaries. Today, there’s a huge, unofficial, but cooperative effort among all interested parties to make sure that the New Jersey fishing industry survives. From restaurant owners, to foodies, to university professors, to trawler captains, supporters of the industry are working to preserve our unique seafood heritage. The stakes are high. For one thing, there’s the sheer importance of preserving a vital foodstuff. And then there’s the economic impact of the state’s commercial and recreational fisheries and aquaculture. With an annual value of $4.5 billion, the industry affects the well-being of every New Jersey man, woman, and child. As I’ve discussed throughout this book, Rutgers University is a key player in keeping the state’s food industries viable. In addition to all the work it does with land-based agriculture, the university has instituted a number of innovative programs to support the state’s irreplaceable fisheries, from mollusks to mahi mahi and everything in between. Its New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES) has become a clearinghouse for the state’s entire seafood industry, whether one is looking for information, research material, or outreach activities. You can find answers there to nearly any question, from “How many fish live in the sea off the New Jersey coast?” to “What are the latest environmental concerns...

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