FSR April 2023

Your Take BY KIM GORTON

Shoring Up Seafood Here are 10 ways to

sustainably incorporate seafood on your menu.

HAVE YOU EVER stopped to think about exactly what “sustainable seafood” means? Broadly, most would agree it means seafood that was raised and har vested in a responsible, environmentally sound manner, so as to ensure the ongo ing vitality of the fishery and the envi ronment in which it exists, be it aquacul ture or wild harvest. However, all along the seafood value chain and global food supply chain, there are opportunities to help bolster the sustainable use of resources. Ensuring restaurant opera tors and consumers have access to sus tainable seafood, now and well into the future, is about committing to respon sible practices across the entire system. Let’s start with understanding how important seafood is to the future of feeding the world. Compared to other animal proteins, and even many plant based foods, most types of seafood have a more favorable environmental impact profile when looking at things like land use, freshwater use, feed conversion, energy use, and CO 2 emissions. And while there is some concern with things like fuel use in wild capture fishing and feed production in aquaculture, ongoing research and development and result ing innovation continue to help the sea food industry move toward enhanced sustainable practices. Seafood is simply one of the most environmentally friendly resources we have for providing wholesome, nutri

OPERATORS SHOULD WORK WITH CHEFS TO BALANCE THE WOW FACTOR OF “BIGGER IS BETTER” WITH OFFERING PORTION SIZES OF SEAFOOD THAT RESULT IN A CLEAN PLATE.

tious, and affordable protein; never mind food that is versatile, delicious, and exciting. So, what can you do as an operator to have a positive impact on the overall sustainability of seafood while ensuring an enjoyable dining experi ence? Here are 10 things to consider and discuss with your vendor as you work to incorporate more sustainable seafood on your menu. 1. Familiar cuts aren’t always the best choice. Take Scarlet Snapper, for example. Fish caught in Indonesia under an ongo ing fishery improvement project are now harvested at a larger size to avoid catching juveniles. These yield much larger tradi tionally cut fillets, but can be cut on the bias and into portions, providing you

with a prime sized 6 or 8 oz. portion, even if its shape is not that of a natural fillet.

2. Take a nose to tail approach to sea food. Prime sized center cut loins may give you the plate coverage you desire, but oftentimes, utilizing 2-4 ounce por tions instead can help reduce your food cost, reduce cooking time, and still pro vide the plate coverage you need. Max imize yields in processing and in the restaurant kitchen by finding a way to use as much of the fish as possible. This reduces waste and extends the amount of healthy protein available. 3. Consider alternative species that are in abundance. For example, Atlan tic Pollock (aka Saithe). Harvested sus tainably across the entire North Atlan

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APRIL 2023

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