Weekly Fish Reports

Stop Pebble Mine
May 19, 2013

While most of us are gearing up for summer vegetables and barbecues, our friend Christopher Nicolson and his family are packing up to make the long trek to Bristol Bay, Alaska for salmon fishing season. “We grew up fishing with my parents, that’s just what my family did,” says Nicolson, and the tradition goes back even further. His mother, a native Alaskan, can trace her family’s fishing roots around the Kenai Peninsula back hundreds of years, and the family continues to fish from the same Graveyard Point set-net camp Nicolson’s grandfather homesteaded in the 1940’s. Like the forty million salmon returning each year to the Bristol Bay watershed, these fishermen take part in a cycle that has endured for millennia.

The story of Christopher Nicolson and his family is one we tell often, one that illustrates perfectly the connection between traditional fishing communities, well-managed wild fisheries, and good fish. But it’s a story we may not be able to tell for long. Bristol Bay, the largest and most sustainable source of wild salmon in the world, provider of tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars of income for people around the country, is in jeopardy. The specter that looms is the proposed Pebble Mine project, which, according to the EPA’s most recent assessment, would destroy salmon habitat, spread toxic waste into the ecosystem, and change the face of Bristol Bay as we know it.

The best thing we can do to protect Bristol Bay salmon is to eat it, and demonstrate with our choices that we value pure, natural food and healthy communities more than gold. We witnessed top tastemakers do just that this weekend at Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Cooking for Solutions event, where our Bristol Bay sockeye salmon was proudly served to hundreds of guests. It was great to see Bristol Bay salmon in the spotlight at this celebration of sustainable food, but we can take a stand for salmon year-round. Our friend chef Evan Mallett put it best, “Whether we like it or not, food is politics. What we eat reflects our values.” Take a moment to speak out and tell the EPA what you think of the proposed Pebble Mine. And if you really want to make a difference, pick up your fork.

The Mack Daddy

May 13, 2013

If we had to pick a fish to symbolize Mother’s Day, it might be the humble mackerel. The phrase “holy mackerel” was first used as a euphemism for the expletive “Holy Mother.” Mackerel was a nickname for Catholics who ate fish on Fridays, a tradition traceable back to the ancient Babylonia celebration of Freya, the goddess of fertility. The French word for mackerel, maquereau, is slang for pimp, a concept best left out of Mother’s Day brunch conversation.

Whether or not you enjoy fish this Sunday, we should all be eating more fish like mackerel, an under-utilized and underappreciated species that can be found coursing through Northeast waters throughout the summer. A highly migratory, fast-swimming and fast-reproducing species, Atlantic mackerel is listed as a sustainable option across the board. Fresh out of the water, they’re prized everywhere for their rich, firm flesh. Dark fish like mackerel tend to be loaded with healthy fatty acids and omega-3s, and often have the most flavor. Mackerel can stand well on its own, prepared simply with salt, pepper, butter, and a squeeze or two of lemon.

Times are uncertain for Northeast fishermen. A drastic 77 percent cut in the cod quota just went into effect in May, and fishermen are afraid to go to sea because they don’t know if there’s a market for what they can catch. We can support these fishermen by enjoying lesser known abundant fish, like mackerel, pollock, redfish, dogfish, and hake. NOAA’s most recent report showed six more rebuilt stocks in U.S. waters. This is an opportunity for chefs and diners to create a better market for fishermen’s catch. The future of traditional fisheries depends on diversifying our tastes.

Happy New Fishing Year
May 05, 2013

New Year’s Day may be the beginning of the new calendar year, but for fishermen around the country May Day is when things really get started. From Cape Cod to the Carolinas, along the Florida Panhandle, from Neah Bay to Bristol Bay, boats have been readied, nets have been mended, and fish cutters have sharpened their knives for the start of the new fishing year. Winter always feels especially long in the fish world, and as fishing season opens we’re looking forward to the new fish that warmer waters bring and the delicious dishes our chef partners are bound to cook up with what’s landing at the docks.

In the Northeast, May 1 marks the day when squid, black sea bass, fluke, scup, and bluefish quotas open back up for commercial fishermen. In the Chesapeake, blue crab season has been open for weeks, but things really get going when the waters warm up. Down in Beaufort, NC, grouper season has opened, and fisherman David Tucker tells us, “It’s getting ready to bust loose here with pinks, cobia, groupers, amberjack, mahi and wahoo.”  Salmon season is just around the corner, and the trolled king salmon have already picked up, with some starting to make their way to the rivers of the Olympic Peninsula.

Every season has its good aspects, but there’s no beating the time of year when the sun is shining and the fish are biting. Enjoy every moment.

A Healthier Ocean For Us All
April 28, 2013

Last week we celebrated Earth Day. We planted trees, shared recycling tips, pledged action to combat climate change, and took a moment to reflect on what nature has given us. Wendell Berry once said, "The earth is what we all have in common,” but sometimes our purview of the Earth can be a little too terrestrial. Think about this: 71 percent of the Earth’s surface is covered in water, 80 percent of the Earth’s population lives near the ocean, yet 95 percent of the Earth’s oceans remain unexplored. We know more about the mountains of the moon than about the great abyss. The ocean is arguably our most crucial resource: it governs our climate and atmosphere, provides us with oxygen, and is a source of food and economic stability. If we care about our economy, our health, and our environmental future, it’s time for us to take our oceans more seriously.

A positive step toward ocean stewardship came earlier this month in the form of the National Ocean Policy, a plan finalized by the White House to manage the nation’s oceans. Among the many initiatives of the new policy are plans to protect coastal communities, and improve fishery management in order to meet the growing demand for sustainable seafood. We’ve already seen how in the U.S. better management of fish stocks has brought the fishing industry back from the brink of disaster. We applaud the recent efforts to further improve protection of the resource.

Though the National Ocean Policy is good news for the U.S., around the world the situation isn’t so good. One billion of the earth’s population depends on fish as their primary source of protein, while 85 percent of the world’s fisheries are considered overexploited. Only 25 countries control more than 75 percent of the world's fish stocks -imagine what could happen if these countries worked together? How many people could be fed? The ocean’s potential to sustain us is vast if only we nurture it properly. A healthier ocean benefits us all.

Home of the Bean and the Cod
April 22, 2013

When John Collins Bossidy wrote his toast to Boston in 1910, he called the city, “the home of the bean and the cod.” Boston is known for many things, but at its core it’s a fishing town. Colonial Boston lived off the sea, and the plentiful cod once swimming in Cape Cod Bay turned Boston Harbor into an important international trading hub. The effigy of the Sacred Cod, which has been hanging in the House of Representatives chamber of the State House since the 18th century, and the “Holy Mackerel” in the chandelier of the Senate chamber attest to the centrality of fish to Boston’s history and economy. Fishermen still land right in Boston, the oldest continually operating port in the Western Hemisphere.

It's an understatement to say that the recent tragedies in Boston touched many. Our thoughts turn to the chefs whose restaurants were closed, our fishermen partners who have unloaded their catch for decades at the Boston Fish Pier, the friends and family members who call the City on the Hill home, who will all feel the effects of the bombings long after it’s left the headlines. As one journalist wrote this week, “If we can't say we are ‘from’ Boston we surely confirm when asked that we are ‘of’ Boston.” This spirited and historic fishing community, our oldest working waterfront, is integral to what we do. Boston, stay strong and proud.

We think the question on all of our minds is “what can we do?” In the coming weeks we'll be brainstorming ways to help our Boston community. If you have any needs or ideas, please reach out and let us know.

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