Atlantic

The Mack Daddy


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.

Vote With Your Fork

One of the most common questions we’re asked about supporting traditional fishing communities is, “That’s great, but now what? How do I know what fish is ok to buy?” The answer to this might seem complex, but one step we can all take is to simply buy wild domestic seafood. The statistics speak loud and clear: 91% of the seafood consumed in the U.S. is imported, and over half of what we catch here is sent overseas. That is a broken supply chain. With our own traditional fishing communities struggling to have better access to the marketplace, one of the best choices we can make is to be patriotic with our seafood purchases.

Although fish populations remain challenged around the globe, US wild fisheries have made remarkable strides from thirty years ago. When the Magnuson-Stevens Act was passed in 1976, it became federal law that no U.S. waters could be overfished. Though better management has taken time to implement, today we’re ahead of most countries when it comes to protecting our marine ecosystems. Around the country, fish stocks are rebuilding, fishing methods are becoming more sustainable, and independent fishermen have a chance to pass their work down to the next generation. Things are still far from perfect, but it’s important that we recognize the success stories.

Atlantic Spiny Dogfish is one such success story. Underutilized in the U.S., no rules were put in place to protect the species. Dogfish is extremely popular in Europe, and the increased foreign demand combined with a lack of management soon led to declining stocks. Strict management was implemented, and the fishery was declared rebuilt in 2010, receiving MSC certification in 2012. With Atlantic Cod quotas cut 77%, Dogfish is an abundant species available as an alternative catch for Northeast fishermen.

Dogfish is somewhat of a Cinderella story in the fish world: it’s gone from an undervalued species to a sustainable, delicious, extremely affordable option. Its lean white meat is a wonderful substitute for imported sturgeon, and its clean flavor shines through when cooked sous vide or braised. “It's got great flavor when it's raw, and would be killer for sushi,” adds chef Nathan Shapiro of the Ashby Inn. It’s time that we start noticing more of our diverse domestic fish species, and make fish like Atlantic Dogfish the belle of the ball. After all, sometimes the best culinary magic happens when we look no further than our own surroundings- or waters- to feed us. 

Spring Halibut

You know spring can’t be far behind when the first halibut lands in Alaska. Pacific halibut is considered one of the most sustainable fisheries in the world. Captain Tim Abena of the F/V Big Blue fishes halibut using selective hook and line gear, with a small secondary catch of (delicious) rockfish. His first halibut of the season was caught in Prince William Sound’s Two Arm Bay, landed in Homer, headed, gutted, and shipped via FedEx to arrive next day in the lower 48.

Unlike Atlantic halibut, which was severely overfished and has yet to recover, the Alaska halibut fishery has a robust scientific management system, ensuring a long and abundant season that stretches until November. The largest of all flatfish, halibut can grow to over 300 pounds. More commonly 15-30 pounds, Alaska halibut is prized for its mild, sweet flavor, firm texture, and spectacular results whether grilled, roasted, sautéed, or poached.

The season’s first halibut made its way this week to Walker’s Drive-In in Jackson, Mississippi. Jackson isn’t a city known for its food scene, but chef Derek Emerson and his wife Jennifer have set the bar high, turning an old 1950’s diner into a local culinary favorite. There’s nothing quite like the beautiful white flake of halibut, and chef Derek did it justice with his preparation of pan-seared halibut with roasted garlic, white bean purée, sous vide hearts of palm, and sea bean salad. We think Captain Abena should be proud.

Captain Abena and Chef Derek are prime examples of the kinds of independent producers and tastemakers we like to celebrate. But neither is entirely self-sufficient. Just as the independent Alaska halibut fisherman needs an outside market to survive, and relies on chefs who care about top-notch seafood, a chef can’t ultimately create great dishes without great products and the good work of the producers who catch and grow their food. As spring progresses and new fish land at our docks, we’re grateful for this kind of inter-reliance.

Menu this Salmon

Salmon has become a culinary staple and expected menu item for American diners. Many chefs turn to farmed Atlantic salmon to meet this demand, and yet, for very good reasons, it is unanimously red-listed by seafood sustainability organizations. Chefs need a wild, sustainable salmon option year-round, and we’ve created a program to meet that need.

“This program makes the farmed salmon alternative look less and less appealing all the time,” says chef Dennis Phelps from the Kitchen Cafe in Boulder, CO. “We are thrilled to be able to support a sustainable, traceable source of wild salmon year-round.” Chef Mary Cleaver, arguably New York’s biggest proponent of sustainable and seasonal cuisine, agrees, claiming that the only challenge is teaching her cooks not to overcook it. Last week Danny Meyer’s Union Square Events prepared sockeye for a special event with Edible magazine, and everyone agreed the salmon was delicious.

We work with fishermen Christopher Nicolson and Reid Ten Kley’s family business, the Iliamna Fish Company, to source wild sockeye salmon from the pristine waters of Bristol Bay, Alaska. Each year Christopher and Reid distribute shares of their sockeye to members of a community-supported fishery. Our program expands this opportunity to chefs: the salmon are flash-frozen at the moment of harvest with advanced freezing technology that locks in the flavor at its peak. Our partnership with Iliamna enables us to offer a consistent, steady, year-round supply of wild salmon for your restaurant menu at an affordable price.

Under threat from the proposed Pebble Mine, Bristol Bay salmon is a fragile natural resource, and we want to support our chef partners who are taking a stand and serving this incredible fish. Please let us know how you are preparing the salmon so that we can help spread the word on our new webpage. We look forward to the July season, when forty million sockeye course into the Bristol Bay watershed. In the meantime, being able to menu sockeye now from the world’s largest sustainable wild salmon fishery is truly a unique opportunity.

Cod's Close Cousins

Last Wednesday marked a turning point for the New England fishing community when the New England Fishery Management Council approved deep cuts to the cod quota that are expected to put many fishermen out of business. “That’s it. I’m all done. The boat’s going up for sale,” said Gloucester fisherman Paul Vitale in response to the news. There’s no escaping the fact that tough times are ahead for this historic fishing community.

New England was built on cod. They even named a cape after it. “People settled this area because of the bountiful fish stocks that they found here,” says GMRI’s Jen Levin. From Portland to Gloucester, Cape Cod to New Bedford, waterfront communities prospered thanks to abundant fish populations. In those early days, fish seemed endless, and fishing wasn’t regulated. As fishing technology developed, we put increasing pressure on our fish stocks. In the mid-20th century, huge factory trawlers from as far away as Russia fished the seas for all they were worth. It wasn’t until the 1980’s, when faced with a near collapse of the fishery, did we wise up to the real impact of human greed. Strict fishery management began, and New England finally adopted a catch share management program in 2010. Soon after, cod seemed to be rebounding to healthy levels.

Last year, long suffering New England fishermen were dealt a cruel blow. Cod populations that just one year before had been rapidly growing, suddenly fell. No one could explain it, but management was required to severely reduce quota. Although not their fault, fishermen would suffer. The fact is, this week’s news has been a long time coming. Just as fishermen began managing the resource in a sustainable way, another culprit - climate change - wreaked havoc on fish stocks as cod swam north in response to warming ocean temperatures.

As the New England fishing community faces a grim reality, it’s important that we stick by our fishermen. Now is the time to get acquainted with cod’s close cousins, haddock and pollock, and create a market for what these fishermen are still able to catch. “It will be tough for the next few years,” said Michael Castigliego of Somerset, MA. “But we’ll get through it. It should be better three or four years from now. At least, that’s what we hope.” If we want our traditional working waterfronts to endure, let’s remember on the long road ahead that our independent fishermen are a vital part of our food system.

McSustainable

McDonald’s, one of America’s largest buyers of fish, announced this week that all ‘Fillet O’Fish’ sandwiches and new ‘Fish McBites’ will be made from MSC-certified Pacific pollock. While McDonald’s is still far from being a model of responsible food practices, there’s no denying the huge impact large corporations can have on creating a more sustainable food system. When mega-chains respond to consumer demand for sustainable choices, it’s a step in the right direction.

We’re reminded of our friend Taylor Mork, founder of Crop to Cup, who wants his fair trade, farmer-direct coffee beans to reach a broader audience on the shelves of Wal-Mart. Sustainability has to be scalable if we want to really make change. We think family-owned sustainable fisheries can grow their reach without compromising their values of community, quality, and integrity.

Rhode Island native Noah Clark started cutting fish in 1965 to pay his way through college to become a music teacher. Eventually his side gig was so successful that he opened his own fillet shop buying fish off the boats of local Point Judith fishermen. Fifteen years later, Clark opened a larger fish house in Point Judith. His modest beginnings as a music teacher behind him, he still kept a piano in his office that he played every day as business continued to grow. Today, Clark’s sons run things, sending squid direct from Rhode Island fishermen across the country, while Noah still goes out fishing. Squid is to Rhode Island what lobster is to Maine, and the fast-growing longfin Atlantic squid are healthy and abundant. And, as many chefs will attest, Rhode Island squid makes a mighty fine calamari.

What McDonald's forgot to say is that they have actually been exclusively using MSC certified pollock in the US for the past ten years. Our hope is that sustainable seafood becomes the norm, and not the exception; it should be a given. As we all move towards that goal, our job is to find bigger and better markets for the catch of family fishermen.

Connecting Communities

Congress has been debating disaster relief to fishermen in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. This concept of ‘fish aid’ reminds us of Farm Aid, which helped put the family farmer into our collective awareness. We think the family fisherman deserves an honored seat at the table of the sustainable seafood movement, and to have the concept of ‘know thy farmer’ applied to the way we source our fish.

Fifth generation fisherman Captain Manley Doughty has been running the F/V Dianne Lynne II out of Portland, Maine since he was fifteen years old. Doughty will long remember one March day “of going into Portland and averaging $3.22 a pound for the fish," after being pummeled by the weather during a three-day offshore trip in the Gulf of Maine, expecting low prices for his catch. He loves that the hake, pollock, and haddock he lands ends up in the hands of top chefs creating delicious dishes.

Oklahoma is cattle country, and is known accordingly for its beef. Good seafood is hard to find. Chef Jonathon Stranger grew up in rural Oklahoma on a catfish and perch farm. He spent his summers in Montauk and Narragansett where he fell in love with the ocean and fresh fish. He opened Ludivine in Oklahoma City wanting to serve fresh underutilized seafood caught by real fishermen. "I love Atlantic wild hake; that fish is the jam. I serve it super simple and let the fish be the star." Recently, Chef Stranger served the hake with potato puree, roasted baby tomatoes, broccoli and cauliflower, a meal Captain Doughty would be proud to eat.

Even if you live inland, your choices still impact our oceans and waterfront communities. As chefs and diners, we must negotiate between the desire for local food and the reality of a globalized food system. Whether its backyard vegetables or fair trade coffee, we all want the ability to reach through the supply chain and touch the origin of our food. A beauty, for us, is that a fisherman can now know how the fruits of his hard labor are enjoyed. The connection between communities near and far is a wonderful thing.

As One Door Closes, Another Door Opens

For years scientists have been blaming fishermen for depleted cod stocks in the Gulf of Maine, but now evidence points to another culprit -- climate change. As waters warm, cod are swimming to colder seas. But record high temperatures in the North Atlantic are bringing other species, and as lobster's natural predators head north, lobstermen like Captain Bobby Springer are seeing populations grow.

Bobby has been lobstering literally since he was a baby watching his dad from a crib on the boat. At the tender age of five Bobby started hauling traps, and when he was 17 he bought his granddaddy’s 31-foot lobster boat the F/V Northeaster. He’ll never forget the time he spotted a killer whale in the Gulf of Maine, or the time a propane tank exploded when he was 35 miles offshore, nearly killing him and his crew. Now lobstering on the F/V Bridget & Mary, Bobby credits his success to being extremely hard working. This wise lobster boat captain says, "If you do the work, you make a living. Nothing more, nothing less."

They say New England was built on cod, and though cod seem headed for the waters of Greenland, haddock populations are strong. We expect regular landings all winter from our Portland friends working the F/V Orin and F/V Maura K with beautiful haddock at the lowest prices we have seen in two years. We are also Individual Quick Freezing the tails from Captain Bobby’s lobster catch as well as the claw and knuckle meat.

The only constant is change, and we all have to adapt. Rigorous regulations and warming waters bring continuous challenge to independent New England fishermen. The best way to ensure the future for our treasured traditional fishing communities is to buy their catch.

A Feast of Seven (Sustainable) Fishes

Among all the ways to celebrate the holidays, we can't help but be partial to the Mediterranean tradition of the Feast of the Seven Fishes, a seafood-centric dinner that takes place on Christmas Eve. Where we come from, any celebration is a good excuse to eat fish, and so come Christmastime we make a point to get in touch with our Italian side.

It's easy to eat fish, but not always easy to know what fish to choose, so we're offering up recommendations for a sustainable seafood feast. We planned this meal with special consideration for the hard-working independent fishermen that brave the seas to bring us our fish, and so each of our choices represents a fishing community worthy of our support and recognition.

Our hope this holiday season is that whether you're preparing a multi-course meal or a humble supper, sustainable and traceable seafood becomes a staple in your kitchen.

1) Atlantic Pollock from Portland, Maine

Though Atlantic Cod has seen hard times, there's plenty of sustainable species still swimming in the Gulf of Maine. One is Atlantic Pollock. A close cousin of Cod, our fisherman friend Terry Alexanderdescribes it as "a good eatin' fish." Best of all, this under-appreciated species drives profit back to traditional New England fishing communities.

2) Squid from Point Judith, Rhode Island

We love a good calamari, but why fry up the tasteless imported squid proliferating the marketplace when you could eat local? Frying up a sustainably managed fresh squid from the waterfront village of the Port of Galilee is a surefire way to rediscover a classic dish.

3) Blue Crab from Cambridge, Maryland

J.M. Clayton is the oldest working crab house in the country. During blue crab season, the fifth-generation family business picks thousands of pounds of crabs bought directly from Chesapeake watermen. No one does it better, and we wouldn't imagine getting our crab elsewhere.

4) Mahi-Mahi from Beaufort, North Carolina

Rapid growing and fast breeding, Atlantic mahi-mahi in many ways epitomizes the perfect sustainable fish. They're abundant along the East Coast, especially in the Mid-Atlantic off of North Carolina's Cape Hatteras, where the Labrador and Gulf Stream currents converge to create a wall of water that's ideal for fishing.

5) Gulf White Shrimp from Port St. Joe, Florida

Wild-caught domestic shrimp gets our vote for the fifth course of our fishy feast. Gulf Shrimp is unmatched in sweet, briny flavor and caught sustainably using special by-catch reduction devices. We especially favor the shrimp landing at Wood's Fisheries in Port St. Joe, Florida, a thriving family-run dock that welcomes the Gulf's best shrimping vessels.

6) American Red Snapper from Destin, Florida

American Red Snapper is one of our favorite fishery comeback stories. A mere decade ago the Gulf fishing community was in trouble due to poorly managed fish stocks and an influx of imported seafood. Now the fishery is sustainably managed using individual fishing quotas (IFQs), and Florida fisherman land abundant American Red Snapper four or five days a week.

7) Pacific Cod from Homer, Alaska

A sustainable alternative to Atlantic Cod on the east coast, Alaska's thriving Pacific Cod fishery is among the best managed in the world. Fishermen harvest Pacific Cod with pots, a method with zero by-catch that does no harm to the sea floor. That's a fish worth eating.

Shining Light on an Opaque Seafood Industry

Before any of us could sleep easy at night knowing that fish cops are keeping our waterways safe, the NY Times reports that 39% of seafood tested is mislabeled. The Boston Globe blew the whistle on yet another case of seafood fraud where one of New England's largest distributors sold mislabeled fish to many of Boston's top restaurants. DNA testing revealed that Pacific Cod was used as a stand-in for more valuable local Atlantic Cod, but in each case the distributor resorted to blaming the restaurant, saying that "they have no obligation to make sure restaurant menus are accurate."

Who's really to blame for the rotten situation here? Though we do need better seafood regulation, the real issue is the supply chain itself. It is constructed around a byzantine model in which suppliers hide their sources, dealers hide their markets, and fish becomes a commodity whose value is lost from the people and communities who harvest them. The current opaque supply chain needs accountability before we can have a real discussion about sustainable seafood.

If you were to track the history of one fish traveling through the traditional distribution channel, the journey might make you dizzy. Jack Cox, a fishermen we work with in Beaufort, NC, described a situation that is far too common. Fish caught in North Carolina is loaded into bins, sold and trucked up to New York's Fulton Fish Market, where it is traded and sold again to wholesalers, trucked back down to North Carolina, where it is bought and sold again before being sold to restaurants and markets miles from where it was originally caught a week earlier. This kind of distribution system is not only convoluted, but results in increased cost and food without a story, identity, or community to stand behind it. But the conversation is changing. Diners are realizing that food tastes better when they can name the producer, and in turn, producers treat their product with more respect when there's a face to the user. Most of all, a direct and transparent model allows for accountability -- something sorely lacking in current distribution channels.

Mislabeling fish is simply wrong -- suppliers do have a responsibility to educate their customers, and the system is responsible for connecting the beginning with the end. Fish from a warehouse with no name behind it, in an unregulated industry, will only perpetuate nameless products from nameless producers. It's not until we demand traceability behind the food we eat can we expect the food we deserve.

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