An article was posted in the NY Times a couple weeks ago regarding sustainable seafood. Specifically, it addressed the notion that choosing sustainable seafood can be a difficult task. The author of the article essentially throws in the towel and decides, instead of filtering through the quagmire of conflicting information, it would be easier to give up seafood all together. Quite candidly, this is a pretty defeatist approach toward a growing problem, but we are not here to judge.

Our market is saturated with differing definitions of sustainability. There are seafood watch cards that promote certain species, while other sources might recommend opposite alternatives. Certain chefs promote their menus as being sustainable based on nothing more than their emotional connection to particular seafood sources. Standards are established in many cases based on trust, a handshake, and no measurable values to make a significant change. It has become hip to be “green”, but what does that mean? While this movement is a good thing, and in the long run establishes the much needed awareness regarding an ever growing concern for the ocean and it’s inhabitants—confusion looms. In the next few posts, we will examine a few general tips that might assist in defining “sustainable seafood” independent of a wallet card, a red list, or an i-phone app. We will portray instead certain concepts that should be taken into account as a chef, consumer, home cook, foodie, or fisherman.

First and foremost, one aspect of eating responsibly is to eat local. There was an amazing article written by Amber Share in the Omaha Food Examiner recently in which she clearly defines the virtues of eating locally click here for the article. In it she describes how beneficial it is to many aspects of our lives to eat locally. This concept strictly applies to seafood as well. Seafood that is shipped from thousands of miles away creates harmful emissions, increases our dependency on foreign fuel, as well as leads to mishandling of fish by the many transporting factors. On the contrary seafood purchased from local waters can travel from ocean to plate in a manner of a day without requiring global inertia. When in doubt, and confused about what seafood is sustainable, just think local–as defined by larger regions or domestic sources, not just a 20 mile radius (i.e. Alaskan fish would be “local” to California).

This is not to say that sustainable seafood does not exist outside of the local scene, it does, and in many cases the practices in other countries surpass that of our own in terms of ecologically friendly aquaculture, catch methods…. However, in terms of having an easy means by which to shop responsibly without having to research and sift through data in order to determine what‘s for dinner, think globally but act locally.

Here in Southern California there are many different sources of amazing seafood such as:
Local Lobster
Cortez Fluke
Local Swordfish
Dungeness Crab
Abalone
Yellowtail
Mussels
Oysters
California Halibut
White SeaBass
Albacore Tuna

The first step toward becoming an expert is knowing what questions to ask.
To be continued…….

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One of the most frequently consumed seafood items in the world is Salmon. As a result of this we have eaten our way through the ocean. Wild salmon is essentially extinct in the Atlantic, and currently the commercial fishing season for wild salmon in California has been shut down due to such low stock levels. Demnad however has remained at an all time high, thus perpetuating the cultivation of Farm Raised Salmon. While there are many salmon farms that raise their fish in an ecologically friendly manner (check Loch Duart at www.cleanfish.com), many fish farms are contributing to the decimation of wild salmon stocks. Farmed Salmon spread disease and parasites to wild salmon, some cultivated species also interbreed with native fish, reducing the ability of their offspring to survive. Some say soon enough farmed salmon is going to be so genetically mutated that they are going to be able to walk and drive cars, eventually take seats in congress and start farming humans….ok that last part is not true.

The easiest way to reduce this downward spiral is to avoid eating unsustainably farmed salmon, or at least to decrease some of the pressure on wild stocks by ordering alternative fish. Arctic Char is an amazing substitute!!!
Farmed Arctic Char are easily raised in land based tanks, isolated from natural bodies of water. These tans are environmentally friendly because they contain waste, pollution, and disease. From a culinary perspective Artic Char is like a mix between trout and salmon. It is a fatty fish of high culinary regard for its rich flavor– tender like salmon and best simply prepared. Give this recipe a try and sleep better during Earth Week.

Gently Roasted Arctic Char w/ Arugula & Almond Vinaigrette

Yield: 2 portions
Prep Time: 15 Minutes

Ingredients:
2 6-8 oz filets of arctic char (available at most local Whole Foods Markets)
1 tble grapeseed oil or canola oil
2 cups of organic arugula
1/4 tsp minced shallot
1 tsp chopped thyme
1 tble dijon mustard
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tble almond oil
3 tble rough chopped marcona almonds (available in the cheese section of all Whole Foods Markets)
Sea Salt and Fresh Cracked Pepper

Method:

1. Rub the arctic char down with tble of cooking oil, season with sea salt and fresh cracked pepper. Place in a saute pan and put in a pre-heated oven set to 300 F. Cook the Arctic char for 15 minutes on the oven.

2. While the char is cooking in the oven add the shallots to the sherry vinegar and whisk together, allow to sit for 5 minutes in order to allow the onions to break down a bit in the vinegar.

Do you ever wonder what they do with all those shark bodies after they cut the fins off? I mean, the ones they don’t throw overboard. Oh, there they are…

Jacqueline’s right, Red Snapper is not a good choice. Unfortunately, it was one of the best looking fish in the market section and it was flying out the door. You can see that it still looks pretty fresh, compared with say, the white seabass. Check out NOAA’s FishWatch site for the details so I don’t bore myself with them here.

This is the first time I’ve seen parrotfish in an urban market. When they’re fresh, they’re surprisingly good. Kind of a shame, though – they’re so pretty. Also, they sleep in a mucus bubble, which protects them from predators (as a kind of warning device), but not from spear fishermen. They’re not eaten in many places because of ciguatera.

This lobster machine made me laugh out loud when I saw it at the market. It’s kistchy and campy all at once. But then I felt like maybe I should call PETA. I had to try it, even though all these claw machines are rigged for failure. For $2 I harassed a lobster and earned his loathing stare. He couldn’t even fight back properly, because he had bands on his claws.

Why do people eat Maine lobster out here? Well, I know why, because I’ve had Maine lobster at the Fontainbleu in Miami. It was expensive, I’d never had it before, and someone else was buying. They would not, however, stuff it with the second most expensive item on the menu. These days, I recommend more local species.

Red Snapper

Lobster harassment machine