NOAA

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.

A Healthier Ocean For Us All

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.

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. 

Fish Fraud F***s Fishermen

A study released this week by Oceana has found that one in three fish sold nationwide in restaurants, markets and sushi bars is mislabeled. Seafood mislabeling can’t always be blamed on sellers trying to fool buyers, though this certainly happens. Fish fraud is symptomatic of a convoluted supply chain, in which 91% of the fish consumed in the U.S. is imported and over 50% of fish caught in U.S. waters is sent overseas. With this kind of paradoxical behavior, it’s no wonder seafood mislabeling is such a pervasive problem. But fish fraud not only affects the health and wallets of fish eaters, it hurts fishermen.

The experience of our fishermen friends in Beaufort, North Carolina is a good example of how fish typically gets to market. Jack Cox has been commercial fishing since he was 16. For years he would unload his catch into anonymous grey bins that would be loaded on a truck and driven all the way to New York's Fulton Fish Market, with Jack being unsure of how much, when, and sometimes if, he would get paid. There it was traded and sold again to wholesalers, resold to a processor, resold again, trucked back down to North Carolina, resold again, ending up a week later in restaurants and grocery stores just miles away from where it was originally caught. This tangled distribution chain detaches the fish from the fisherman, driving down the value that the fisherman receives for his catch and creating a nameless product that can easily be re-labeled at the consumer’s expense.

The fish we eat comes from fishing communities, from people who are proud of their work. They want to stand behind their product, and deserve to receive full value from their hard labor. When we shorten the chain between the producer and the consumer, we’re not only protecting our interests as diners, but also the livelihood of fishermen. Jack Cox has found a better solution than the old distribution system: the fish he lands today arrives in our chef’s kitchens tomorrow. Before we can trust the name of a fish, we need to know the name of the fisherman.

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.

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.

Fish Cops

Maintaining healthy fisheries requires three disciplines: science, management, and the third leg of the stool - enforcement. Marine mammal shootings and smuggling operations, international conspiracies and local fraud, paper trails and money trails: these are the kinds of issues NOAA’s Fish Cops confront every day. From busts where “16 federal agents in Crown Victorias and Ford Expeditions pulled into the parking lot, entered the building in pairs, wearing bulletproof vests and carring Glock pistols” to being part of a “Seafood Task Force that surveyed 103 restaurants and retail groceries and found 74% had some type of labeling violation in their seafood”, Fish Cops are looking to bring the bad guys down. "We found many had crawfish being sold as lobster; farmed salmon being sold as wild salmon; seabream and pollock being substituted for snapper; fluke being substituted for halibut; and imitation abalone, crab and octopus being sold as the real product," said Supervisor Michael Antonovich. NOAA’s Fish Cops have “opened 902 cases in 2012 so far”.

With 91% of all seafood consumed in the US in 2011 coming from outside America, and with traceability virtually impossible in our long-standing opaque seafood supply chain, it is good that attention is being paid to the well-being of both consumers and fishermen. Growing support for the Safety And Fraud Enforcement for Seafood Act (HR6200) is a big step in the right direction for traditional American fishing communities and jobs.

Our Nantucket Scallopers have been landing pristine bay and sea scallops almost every day this month, and will continue through until spring. About 50 nautical miles north, long time scallop man Jean Frottier died last week when his 40-foot fishing vessel, the Twin Lights, capsized and sank two miles off Provincetown. Kurt Schmidt, a lobster diver who partnered with Frottier in various ventures over the years, said his friend could have cut the line and saved his vessel, but he believes Frottier was trying to save the traps for the lobsterman. Fishermen are an amazing breed.

As fishing slows down in New England, the fishing is picking up in Beaufort, NC. Jack Cox and Dave Tucker are bottom fishing, while their buddies are Green Sticking for tuna and Pound Netting for flounder. They are landing lots of beautiful fish for this holiday season.

Don’t buy fish from strangers.

Acadian Redfish

We are continuously impressed by the willingness of our chef partners to make a difference through the food they serve, and this past week was no exception. We've been organizing an effort to support Northeast fishermen affected by Hurricane Sandy, and you've responded generously. Chefs from the west to the east have committed to serving fish from our docks that were hit hardest by the storm. It will take an ongoing commitment from us all to get these guys on their feet.

It's not all grey skies in the northeast. This week Arcadian redfish was added to the FishWatch family of sustainable seafood, a delicious species with a firm, white-flesh that our Gulf of Maine fisherman friend Terry Alexander calls "a good eatin' fish". Acadian redfish was once a highly valued commercial fishery. However, by the 1950s, the species was severely overfished and quickly disappeared from the American menu. Despite this history, under science-based management, Acadian redfish has been fully rebuilt and we want to help re-establish this fishery as a valuable source of sustainable seafood. Under-utilized and under-appreciated, it is yet another menu option that puts money back in our traditional fishing communities and, because it is well priced, good for your pocketbook too.

As the wild salmon season ends with the last coho from Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, there's some positive news from Bristol Bay with the release of the EPA’s peer review report. “EPA and its independent science reviewers have concluded what commercial fishermen know – a mega mine like Pebble would have devastating impacts on our fishery, jobs and businesses,” said John Fairbanks, board member of the Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association. “This report makes it clear that President Obama must stand up and protect this fishery’s 14,000 American jobs and the $500 million in annual revenues it generates.” Looks like people might be wising up to the value of our wild, natural food resources.

Bristol Bay Sockeye Salmon, filleted and flash-frozen at the peak of flavor in Naknek, AK, is now available for next-day ground delivery from cold storages around the country. Remember, the best way to save a salmon is to eat a salmon.

Cod in Hot Water

NOAA has released data showing that for the first six months of 2012, sea surface temperatures and bottom temperatures on the Northeast Continental shelf were the highest ever recorded. Many species of fish change their locations in response to temperature. This is a well known phenomenon with Atlantic Cod, where 'cod distribution continues to be dynamic, with northerly shifts detected in the spring 2012 data, consistent with a response to ecosystem warming'. “Two years ago we did have a good biomass of codfish off Montauk (NY) and even here and then those fish just disappeared,” said Capt. Jimmy Elliott of the Golden Eagle in Belmar NJ. In essence, US Atlantic Cod stocks appear to be moving to Canada.

As maybe the alarming upward temperatures are not solely in man’s purview, declining Gulf of Maine cod populations are not just the fault of fishermen. Our friend Jen Levin of Gulf of Maine Research Institute’s Responsibly Harvested program says that “New England was built on Cod”. Luckily as Atlantic Cod swim north, populations of their close cousins, Atlantic Hake and Pollock, remain healthy and sustainable. We need to enjoy Maine’s best eating fish, and support New England fishermen.

NOAA had some better news as U.S seafood landings reached a 17-year high in 2011, thanks in part to rebuilding fish populations, and increased value of landings. Yet even with the improved catch last year, the U.S. still imported over 90% of the seafood consumed here in 2011, with the majority being farmed fish from Asia. We all need to eatbetterfish.

In another interesting development, scientists have discovered that sharks are colorblind. Kinda wish everyone was.

Food as Diplomacy

The State Department is deploying a new, elite force in international diplomacy. More than 50 top chefs from across the nation were inducted into the first-ever American Chef Corps on Friday. The State Department will use food as a bridge across cultures. With all of the conflicting interests in our ever more diverse world, it is always good to break tension by breaking bread. Sea to Table partnered with celebrity chef Amanda Freitag at the event, where she served a red, white, and blue plate : red sockeye salmon from Bristol Bay, wild white shrimp from Florida, and Chesapeake blue crab. Patriotic and delicious work well together.

We think this a big deal for the cultural power of food. Speaking of big, at opening day at UMass-Amherst, Ken Toong and his team went big when they prepared and served a world record 6658 pound sustainable seafood stew. And folks at this year’s Maryland state fair were treated to a 300 pound crabcake, another world record.

There have not been any reports of world records, but great schools of swordfish have arrived at Hudson Canyon off Montauk, NY. The rebuilt Atlantic Wild Swordfish stock is a shining example of a successful global conservation effort. Beautiful fish are now landing daily and should be with us through October. Now is the time to support our swordfishermen.

Heritage Radio Network is throwing a party this afternoon starting at 5PM at Robertas in Brooklyn. Evan Hanzcor will be serving our Bristol Bay sockeye at what should be a pretty good time.

The passing of Labor Day marks the beginning of the new fall season. Sea to Table is most excited to introduce three new team members; Camilla Abder, Travis Riggs and Lindsay Haas. Talk to us about planning new fall menus with beautiful seafood, next day from docks across America.

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