February 19, 2013 — The issue of sustainability in the seafood industry continues to make headlines — despite whatever progress we seem to be making. It can be incredibly nuanced, and mean different things to different people. As a chef in New England, promoting sustainable seafood means supporting local fishermen who are catching fish in a sensible manner. Thankfully, I am not alone; many chefs are doing their part to support sustainable seafood choices that enrich local communities.
New England seafood has also reached a critical tipping point. Just two weeks ago, the New England Fisheries Management Council announced sharp decreases in allowable fish catch limits for almost every species, especially cod. This assessment confirmed the critical situation for groundfish in New England, and the consequences will hit our fishing communities very hard. If we choose not to act, our centuries-old fishing industry will all but disintegrate.
In the face of this challenge, there is an urgent opportunity before all of us — whether you're a chef, fisherman or consumer — to embrace the full meaning of sustainable seafood.
We have the rare chance to put forward a vision for the kind of seafood market we want here in New England. As a chef, I want my industry to turn to underutilized fish species. These fish — species like redfish, sea robin and Atlantic pollock — have been dubbed "trash fish," and rejected by fishermen and chefs alike, who choose instead to keep only what consumers demand. Yet there is actually no such thing as "trash fish."
It's our responsibility to utilize all fish species, and not waste precious choices just because they are, for lack of a better word, unpopular. In fact many fish that we embrace today were widely considered trash fish in the not-too distant past. Skate and monkfish, for example, were once frowned upon by chefs and fishermen alike. Here in New England, skate was cast aside for decades and only splashed into the spotlight in the late 1980s when it became valued for its meaty, mild and nutty taste. Monkfish was passed over because it was viewed as too ugly to taste good. Yet today, the monkfish finds itself a regular on high-end menus, regarded for its versatility. Skate and monkfish ultimately made such strong entrances onto the culinary main stage that they were ironically overfished.
Read the full story at the Huffington Post