Thank you all so much for joining me! I very much want this to be place where we can share ideas, information, concerns and solutions about how to cook (and catch) sustainable fish and seafood! Furthermore, I so believe that if we care about what we eat, we will also care about where our food comes from. And in this case, it is our oceans.
Our oceans are in deep, deep trouble, it is true. But we can help restore (or at least maintain) our oceans by intentionally choosing the fish and seafood we eat and being educated about exactly what that intention entails. The food you buy with your wallet has more power than any law that could be passed by any nation to preserve this very delicate ocean biosphere from whence we came. It is our heritage. All animal life we see around us came from these very waters. It is time for us to return the favor.
What qualifies me to write this blog? Nothing, really, except passion. I have been a fishmonger at Whole Foods Market on Lane Ave for the last year and a half. I have learned much there but I also spent most of my childhood and adolescence catching, cooking and eating freshwater fish. It was also the grand passion of my grandparents which they shared so lovingly with me. And they taught me well.
“Catch. Cook. Commune.” I mean that most sincerely. Especially the commune part.
So, please join me for the next installment of this blog: “Farm-raised Atlantic salmon v. Pacific wild salmon.” A massive subject I will unpack for you as best I can. And I think I can do it pretty well. I have spent much time researching this subject (and eating and cooking it!) Annually, humans eat 4 billion pounds of farmed Atlantic salmon, nearly 3 times that of wild salmon. The sale of all salmon yearly is more than the sum total of all shrimp and tuna sold. Pacific salmon is now extinct in 40 percent of the rivers in the Northwest. Only wild salmon from the Gulf of Alaska really still remains. And it is fragile at best. This is not only an environmental issue but also an economic issue. So let’s talk about it next time up. From the bottom of the ocean… up.
And one more note. I get many questions from friends and family who want to eat healthier and add more fish to their family dinners in the hopes of replacing beef and chicken. They always ask me, “What is the best fish for a family palate that has not tasted much seafood?”
One word. Salmon.
Okay. But can we eat it and keep its reproductive capacity at sustainable levels not only for our own consumption but to also allow the species to flourish?
I call salmon the “gateway” fish. Why?
Stay tuned for answers to those questions… and much more!
And in the meantime, if you have a question or a subject you would like me to address (or even have a savory fish recipe), send me a message through my “contact” link (see the menu in the upper left hand corner of the screen) and I will be happy to chat! Or just leave a “comment” below. I would love to hear from you! And join me at my Facebook and Twitter pages for some daily fish fun!
