Sustainable Seafood with Author Jill Lambert

A continuation of the conversation with the "A Good Catch" author

Nov 6, 2008

Jill Lambert discusses why it makes sense to only purchase sustainable seafood - not just for your palate, but for the future of our water systems.

If you didn’t catch the first part of this interview with Jill Lambert, author of “A Good Catch: Sustainable Seafood Recipes from Canada’s Top Chefs”, click here to catch up with some fascinating points-of-view that you’ll likely be able to relate to. Here’s the second installment to Jill Lambert’s interview about sustainable seafood and why it’s the only way to go if you like the notion of eating freshly caught, wild seafood.

Food Trends (FT): Why should consumers choose wild salmon over farmed salmon?

Jill Lambert (JL): The problems with salmon farming are well known, including the infestation of sea lice, the effect of lice on immature salmon, especially when the farms are located near a shore, and the use of drugs such as “Slice” to treat lice. Wild salmon don’t bring any of these problems to our coast. Why should we destroy our precious marine environment to serve the commercial demand for farmed salmon? We need to develop better alternatives.

FT: In “A Good Catch,” you say that fish is basically the only wild protein most of us consume nowadays. How long before that is no longer a reality if we keep overfishing and polluting our waterways?

JL: I can’t answer this, although some scientists have made very dire pronouncements. In 2006, Boris Worm of the University of Dalhousie shocked the world with a report suggesting the collapse of the world fisheries within 50 years. In a new study, Daniel Pauly of UBC found that one-third of the marine harvest is ground up and fed to pigs, chickens, and farm-raised fish. The consequences of this are staggering. This breaks my heart. I hope we can turn it around.

FT: Is there something else we should know about dwindling fish stocks and the factors that led us down this path that the average person may not know?

JL: We grind up little fish to feed to big fish in farms. We should be eating the little fish ourselves! By eating at the top of the fish food chain (carnivorous predators such as tuna and salmon) we contribute to the overall drag down of marine stocks. If we learned to love little fish, we could substantially reduce the problems associated with overfishing.

FT: What do you say to chefs/restaurateurs who insist on serving endangered fish species from Chilean Sea Bass to certain tunas?

JL: I hope to help educate people to make better choices. If customers won’t order blue fin tuna in restaurants, the demand drops and the restaurateurs have no reason to keep it on the menu. The notion that market demand provides sufficient rationale for serving these is simply unacceptable. It does make me upset to see it, so I vote with my dollar. I try to build the habit of saying something, even if it’s just communicating my thoughts to the waiter and hoping my message gets passed along; something along the lines of, “if you keep this on your menu I won’t be coming back”.

FT: Your book offers a spate of terrific recipes- do you have one that you make at home a lot now?

JL: My number one favorite is “Celebration Salmon” from Jennifer Danter. I love to cook this for parties; I don’t make it every week, though, it’s definitely a special occasion dish. More everyday options include the Tilapia Piccata from Bonnie Stern; I vary the green vegetable that I serve with it. I love Tojo’s Sablefish.

FT: Local, organic, sustainable and now sustainable seafood- do you think consumers are getting overwhelmed with all of this information?

JL: I feel that people are becoming more interested in the connection between the environment and the food they eat, for health reasons as well as for the issues of sustainability. Personally, I started by making a few choices for my own shopping list and I continue to slowly expand that idea. For me, this really builds momentum.

FT: What do you say to those cultures that view eating blue fin tuna (Japan) or sharks fin (Chinese) as their cultural legacy and right?

JL: I feel really sorry for people who would place a cultural right over issues as fundamental as extinction. I would tell them to change their habits, or face the consequences. The idea of cultural right won’t hold much water if the fish is extinct. It’s a terrible shame, but consider it the evolution of the culture.

FT: Can you give us your top five tips for getting the most bang for your buck when buying seafood?

JL: Do your research in your own community: find out what’s local and try to buy it direct from the fishers where possible. The SeaChoice website is a good start.

· Find a fish store that you can trust. Try to buy in season. The fishmonger should be able to help you figure that out.

· Expand your culinary horizons. Try sardines! Don’t be stuck in a rut when it comes to fish. Enjoy clams!

· Don’t hesitate to buy fish that’s been frozen on the boat: often it’s a much better choice than fresh.

· Don’t confuse “fresh” with “wild” – a very common mistake, especially when it comes to buying salmon. It’s a marketing trick. Remember that ALL Atlantic salmon on the market is farmed. It’s illegal to sell wild Atlantic salmon in Canada.

The copyright of the article Sustainable Seafood with Author Jill Lambert in Food Trends is owned by Mary Luz Mejia. Permission to republish Sustainable Seafood with Author Jill Lambert in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.