ALVA Woodpeckers build home in Alva woman’s house You may have heard of squatters, but this woman is dealing with squawkers. Who needs a rooster to wake up when you have woodpeckers?
FORT MYERS Man claims he was trapped in a high-rise for 5 days A 77-year-old man wants justice after he claims he spent days trapped on the 24th floor of a high-rise apartment building.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte Correctional prisoner arrested for death of another inmate State Attorney Amira Fox convened a grand jury, which decided to move forward with a case against a Charlotte Correctional inmate.
SANIBEL Construction near Dairy Queen eagle nest on Sanibel raises concerns While many eagle nests may be a bit difficult to see, one nest has always been a favorite for Sanibel residents and tourists.
The environmental effects of artificial sweeteners Experts are studying how the foods we eat affect the environment, especially after we flush our waste down the toilet.
Victim reacts to man exposing himself to her Ring camera You get a notification on your phone from your ring camera app that someone is at the door, only to find out it is someone exposing themselves. It’s the last thing victim Maria Kivi wanted or expected to see last week.
LEE COUNTY The art of capturing your eye and drawing you in How do you capture young, hip, trendy, fun, movers and shakers, all in a pose? We take you behind the scenes of a Gulfshore Life cover shoot.
FORT MYERS The lives of two SJC Boxers changed in the ring Two SJC Boxers, Mario Nunez and Arbon Kurtishi, help each other in the ring as each of them had their lives changed because of boxing.
FORT MYERS Chlamydia cases rising sharply in Lee County If you think about a crowded space- something with more than 250 people- if it’s in Lee county, statistically one person has chlamydia.
SANIBEL Sanibel resort day passes hope to get more business on the island A pass will allow vacationers to hang out at a Sanibel beach club for a day in hopes of drumming up some business.
Voting equipment tested ahead of Lee County elections Voting equipment is being tested in Lee County. This is to ensure all ballots are printed and counted correctly for the upcoming election.
Collier County teen assaulted after leaving party The teen has been charged and the sheriff’s office said they’re aware that many believe felony charges are in order, but under Florida law, there are very specific criteria that must be met for felony charges to be filed.
WINK weather team watching tropical wave over Atlantic Ocean The Weather Authority is watching a tropical disturbance over the Central Atlantic Ocean.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral drug bust leads investigators to fake fentanyl, cash and guns Cape Coral man arrest on drug charges. Investigators said they found, guns, drugs, and more than $32,000 in Richard Riley’s home.
NAPLES Naples youth flag football team to compete in Ohio tournament This weekend, the Naples Lunatics Green will compete in the Superhero Sports tournament in Canton, Ohio.
ALVA Woodpeckers build home in Alva woman’s house You may have heard of squatters, but this woman is dealing with squawkers. Who needs a rooster to wake up when you have woodpeckers?
FORT MYERS Man claims he was trapped in a high-rise for 5 days A 77-year-old man wants justice after he claims he spent days trapped on the 24th floor of a high-rise apartment building.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte Correctional prisoner arrested for death of another inmate State Attorney Amira Fox convened a grand jury, which decided to move forward with a case against a Charlotte Correctional inmate.
SANIBEL Construction near Dairy Queen eagle nest on Sanibel raises concerns While many eagle nests may be a bit difficult to see, one nest has always been a favorite for Sanibel residents and tourists.
The environmental effects of artificial sweeteners Experts are studying how the foods we eat affect the environment, especially after we flush our waste down the toilet.
Victim reacts to man exposing himself to her Ring camera You get a notification on your phone from your ring camera app that someone is at the door, only to find out it is someone exposing themselves. It’s the last thing victim Maria Kivi wanted or expected to see last week.
LEE COUNTY The art of capturing your eye and drawing you in How do you capture young, hip, trendy, fun, movers and shakers, all in a pose? We take you behind the scenes of a Gulfshore Life cover shoot.
FORT MYERS The lives of two SJC Boxers changed in the ring Two SJC Boxers, Mario Nunez and Arbon Kurtishi, help each other in the ring as each of them had their lives changed because of boxing.
FORT MYERS Chlamydia cases rising sharply in Lee County If you think about a crowded space- something with more than 250 people- if it’s in Lee county, statistically one person has chlamydia.
SANIBEL Sanibel resort day passes hope to get more business on the island A pass will allow vacationers to hang out at a Sanibel beach club for a day in hopes of drumming up some business.
Voting equipment tested ahead of Lee County elections Voting equipment is being tested in Lee County. This is to ensure all ballots are printed and counted correctly for the upcoming election.
Collier County teen assaulted after leaving party The teen has been charged and the sheriff’s office said they’re aware that many believe felony charges are in order, but under Florida law, there are very specific criteria that must be met for felony charges to be filed.
WINK weather team watching tropical wave over Atlantic Ocean The Weather Authority is watching a tropical disturbance over the Central Atlantic Ocean.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral drug bust leads investigators to fake fentanyl, cash and guns Cape Coral man arrest on drug charges. Investigators said they found, guns, drugs, and more than $32,000 in Richard Riley’s home.
NAPLES Naples youth flag football team to compete in Ohio tournament This weekend, the Naples Lunatics Green will compete in the Superhero Sports tournament in Canton, Ohio.
In this undated photo provided by Christopher Cary, Rick Elliott of Bristol Seafood in Portland, Maine, examines a bag of scallops at auction in New Bedford, Mass. Fair trade certification status is now gaining in prominence with seafood in the U.S., where interest is growing in the story behind the fish and shellfish people consume. (AP Photo/Christopher Cary) PORTLAND, Maine (AP) Fair trade coffee, bananas and … scallops? Yes, very soon. Fair trade certification status, which is conferred by independent groups to denote environmental sustainability and fair working conditions, has been around for years. But it’s just now on the rise among seafood products in the U.S., where consumer interest in the story behind the fish and shellfish they eat is growing. Certification of seafood products, including tuna and shrimp, began in 2014, and the volume of imports of such products grew more than 350 percent last year to more than 1.2 million pounds (500,000 kilograms), said Fair Trade USA, a California-based nonprofit group. The first company to offer fair trade seafood harvested from U.S. waters will have scallops on the market this month. The company, Bristol Seafood of Portland, Maine, is looking to capitalize on the growing interest in authenticity of seafood, said its president, Peter Handy. “There’s a certain sanctity to food when it comes to the story about it,” he said. “It tastes better the more you know.” Independent groups, including Fair Trade USA, provide certifications to a host of products that people buy in stores, ranging from fruit and nuts to home goods. The certification is most commonly associated with coffee, which launched the fair trade movement in the 1990s. To achieve certification, companies need to submit to an audit and interviews to make sure the food is produced with fair working conditions and environmental stewardship along the supply chain. Packaged products can then bear a “Fair Trade Certified” seal, which carries a price premium. Fair Trade USA currently certifies shrimp from Mexico, yellowfin tuna from Indonesia, and skipjack and yellowfin tuna from Maldives. It is the only group currently certifying seafood as fair trade, representatives for the nonprofit said. Interest in the seafood supply chain has grown since an Associated Press investigation of slave labor conditions in Thailand’s shrimp fishery, said Ashley Apel, senior manager of the seafood program for Fair Trade USA. Even before that, a 2014 study by a pair of economists from the University of Kentucky said more than 80 percent of consumers were at least somewhat influenced by labels that tell the story of seafood. “It was the right place and right time to show that the seafood industry needs a fair trade certification,” Apel said. The standards for achieving the certification for seafood products focus on management of fish stocks and fishing habitat, as well as the wages and working conditions of the fishermen and others in the supply chain. Steps must be taken to eliminate forced labor and human trafficking, and workers must have the freedom to organize. At the same time, there must be documentation of things like proper waste management and protection of ecosystems, Fair Trade USA’s materials state. Fair Trade USA is one of a handful of major groups involved in certifying food products, with another prominent one other being Germany-based Fairtrade International. They’re banking on chefs and restaurants getting excited about the products. Barton Seaver, a chef and author in Freeport, Maine, said fair trade seafood is too new to be familiar to many restaurateurs but is part of seafood’s future. “It’s currently in its infancy, but I think the products they are working with will quickly prove the model, and the value that it can offer,” he said. The economic, environmental and humans rights impacts of fair trade labels are the subjects of debate and academic study. A 2014 study published in the Journal of Economic Perspectives stated that “there is overwhelming evidence that Fair Trade-certified producers do receive higher prices than conventional farmers for their products.” The evidence for environmental protection and economic security of workers was more mixed, but benefits to both were observed, the same study said. Jason Potts, a senior associate with the International Institute for Sustainable Development located in Montreal, said the question of “are these things actually working?” remains a difficult one to answer. “We’re attempting to answer this question. My message to the world is we need more impact research, and more data. Better data,” he said. One of the big incentives for fishermen to participate in fair trade certification, Apel said, is that sales generate “fair trade premiums,” which are used for community development projects where harvesters live. The nonprofit delivered more than $200,000 of these premiums to fishermen last year. Erik Orman, who owns a pair of New Bedford scallop boats that harvest shellfish that will be certified fair trade, said he envisions the premium money being reinvested in fisheries science programs. The certification, he said, will also give the scallops an edge in the marketplace. “For the consumer, they are socially conscious and able to choose the food they eat based on the criteria that are important to them,” he said.