Chilean sea bass

I have to say that, only having become a "Foodie" in the past few years, I did become familiar with the controversy over Sea Bass right after being introduced to this most delicious offering. As soon as I heard it was endangered I immediately boycotted it. But in the past year I have been told that it is no longer endangered. True? Not?

[Robin Garr]

I have to say that, only having become a "Foodie" in the past few years, I did become familiar with the controversy over Sea Bass right after being introduced to this most delicious offering. As soon as I heard it was endangered I immediately boycotted it. But in the past year I have been told that it is no longer endangered. True? Not?

Yes, and no, Cathy. Way up the thread I posted an article from The New York Times that goes over some of the issues. As best I can tell, The Times has no particular ax to grind and gives us a, um, "fair and balanced" report:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/08bass.html

I have to say that, only having become a "Foodie" in the past few years, I did become familiar with the controversy over Sea Bass right after being introduced to this most delicious offering. As soon as I heard it was endangered I immediately boycotted it. But in the past year I have been told that it is no longer endangered. True? Not?

Yes, and no, Cathy. Way up the thread I posted an article from The New York Times that goes over some of the issues. As best I can tell, The Times has no particular ax to grind and gives us a, um, "fair and balanced" report:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/08bass.html

<<<COUGH, COUGH, COUGH)>>>

There are so many fish in the same category as 'Chilean Sea Bass,' that I feel chef's attitude is more than apropos- it is financially feasible for restaurants to pull off! It just takes a bit more market demand to push fisherman into harvesting the 'trash fish' (like Sea Bass once was.)

Category- large flake, white, delicate flavor, moderate fat.

Chef: 'Give me something instead...'

Monger: 'Give me something instead...'

Fisherman: 'Well, there's this fish we eat ourselves, that we don't sell cause nobody buys it...'

A beautifull arrangement, it's merely the fact of purchasing with animal stewardship principles- the very reason why I love Lamas' post here!

Way to show some leadership, Chef! I'll be coming to eat at Seviche soon.

Some points to consider:
- the endangered species listing requires a great deal of study data and takes years; the lack of listing doesn't mean there is not a serious problem
- the NYT article highlights a very small certified-sustainable fishery for Chilean Sea Bass, but doesn't say this means there is no reason for concern and doesn't mention serious questions about the certification group (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/e ... 908997.ece)

Here's a good overview of the issues from an interview with a fishery biologist on NPR's Fresh Air:
http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript ... =120013107
and
http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript ... =120049590

What's one less fish species in the sea? Well, the problem is that everything's connected. For example, some scientists think the overharvest of Antarctic toothfish is harming the killer whale population (http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/ ... tic-orcas/).

Some hopeful news - controls on fishing can make it sustainable. One idea is to make fishing is off-limits in some areas; Britain recently protected over 200,000 square-miles of ocean (http://www.chagos-trust.org/). Another way is to limit the timing and amount of catch; blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay have increased 60% in one year after catch limits were instituted (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 04996.html).