If Northwest sustainability advocate and cookbook author Becky “Don’t Buy Fish Spontaneously” Selengut were a fish, she would be a coho salmon. Like a coho salmon, she is silvery, sleek, and all-around awesome. She was an easy one; I debated for a good 10 minutes about what type of fish the four other panelists at last night’s “The Consumer’s Conflict: Fishing For Answers” would be, if, you know, they were fish.
I was thinking about this not because it’s a hobby of mine but because the discussion was dead boring. Things heated up only once, during a mini-argument between Selengut and Whole Foods seafood quality standards coordinator Carrie Brownstein. Paraphrased—Becky: There’s so much variety in the Pacific Northwest that it doesn’t make any sense not to buy local fish. Carrie, flustered: DON’T CONFUSE THE AUDIENCE, BECKY! Folks, just look for a Marine Stewardship Council Certification and you’ll be A-OK! Becky, affronted: I’m in the Pacific Northwest, talking to an audience of people from the Pacific Northwest. I think they can hack it. Carrie, still flustered: YEAH, WELL!
That’s about as exciting as it got.
And this is coming from a huge fish nerd. If I could live anywhere in the world, it would be inside the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Moderator and Q13 Fox anchor Bill Wixey was largely to blame. In typical TV-news style, he confined his questions to touchy-feely topics such as “What does ‘sustainability’ mean to you?” and fear-mongering about Fukushima fallout—even after all the panelists had made it clear they didn’t think the issue even worth talking about. Meanwhile, Wixey’s own orangey hue made me afraid for the radiation level in the room, much less the ocean. Kudos must go to Selengut, who to every radiation-related question replied, “Well, I’m not glowing, am I?” without the slightest hint of irony.
The good news:
Sustainability is catching on, and not just here in Seattle. Whole Foods is working with fisherpeople to increase the number of Marine Stewardship Council certifications, the highest certification of sustainability a fishery can receive. The store’s goal is to not sell fish on Monterey Bay Aquarium’s “red” list of untenable fisheries in any of its stores after Earth Day 2012. Yakama elder Tony “The Taste Is Spiritual” Washines spoke to the efforts of his tribe to create sustainable salmon and eel hatcheries that would produce “strong fish” capable of surviving in the wild. Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Susan “Speaking Up For The Fish” Marks pointed to a growing list of grocery stores and distributors who are committed to selling only sustainable fish. A couple of tattooed men in the front row described the growing restaurant trend using anchovies and sardines, both very sustainable fish. Also, Becky Selengut has a massive fan club, including one woman who said she’s cooking her way through Selengut’s new cookbook, Good Fish.
The less-than-good news: The growth in sustainable fisheries and aquaculture is patchy, according to Dr. Trevor Branch of UW’s School of Aquatic & Fisheries Sciences. In America, things seem to be headed in the right direction, but in the world as a whole, sustainable fishing is just not making a lot of headway. (Maybe this was why the two girls in front of me were crying throughout the entire discussion?)
The scary news: Newscasters in real life are terrifying.
I have a question: does Bill Wixey’s head look disproportionately small compared to the rest of his body in real life, or is that just how he looks on TV?
I stopped reading the post and stared at the salmon until it hurt inside.
This is the best writing I’ve seen on Slog in ages*. Good job, Unpaid Intern!
* I know the blogging is in addition to the newspaper, which has often excellent writing, and is mostly quick news stories/links, etc, etc, yadda yadda. I’m not complaining about the quality of the rest of the blog, it’s just a compliment.
You can still buy blue fin tuna at Uwajimaya unfortunately. The way I see this entire issue with sustainable fishing is basically ageist warfare. There is a group of people who have been eating certain fish their entire life that are not willing to pass on that privilege to the younger generations.
I would love to eat some of the rare fish species, someday, but I won’t get a chance to unless we all stop eating them immediately. Anyone that continues to eat unsustainable fish is inexcusably selfish.
Oh man, what a great article. I hope this intern gets more writing assignments!
Um, all salmon, and indeed most fish, are “silvery, sleek, and all-around awesome”, not just coho. At least until they head upstream to spawn. In which case coho are as non-silvery as any of them. Bright red and dull green in fact.
Carrie Brownstein may be a peachy guitar-wrangler (if it is indeed the same Carrie Brownstein), but her blind advocacy of the Marine Stewardship Council is problematic. Some have criticized them for continuing to certify Fraser River sockeye in the light of very worrisome results in that fishery, with record low returns in 2009, near-record high returns in 2010, but spectacular death rates among the ones that return. Pollution and increased water temperatures are among the culprits. MSC doesn’t seem to care.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/articl…
http://www.straight.com/article-400165/v…
“MSC criticised for sockeye certification”: http://www.fis.com/fis/worldnews/worldne…
It’s not the same Carrie Brownstein, but what a weird co-inky-dink nonetheless.
I do have a long-standing unrequited crush on the guitar-slingin’ CB…
You want to buy your seafood from Patti’s Seafoods if you find yourself north of Olympia on HWY 101 (Olympic Peninsula). She’s on west side of the Highway, north of Shelton on the Skokomish Indian Reservation.
Most all the seafood is brought in fresh off the boat (Hood Canal is behind Patti’s house), and all is yummy whether fresh or frozen.
Salmon season is still a few weeks away, but she has oysters, clams, shrimp, and seasonal ocean catch like halibut and Alaskan crab legs.
Here, you can put it in your GPS and it will pop up when you’re in the area:
19670 N US Highway 101
Skokomish Nation, WA 98584-9782
And yes, I used to work there. Patti is a beautiful Lummi woman who built her business from the ground up and I miss having her as a boss.
@9, “most”. Not “all”.
You know your intern department is doing its job well when an article has the word “fisherpeople” in it. Very witty and interesting piece.
Tiny copy editing note, though: unless the fine folks at the Stranger do it differently, postions and titles that occur before a name should be capitalized, and lowercase after the name.
Hahaha “A couple of tattooed men in the front row described the growing restaurant trend using anchovies and sardines, both very sustainable fish.”
Very clever. And interesting! I’m quite well-read, so I can say with confidence that this article is wonderful. I’m also a vegetarian, and this is making me reconsider that decision. Perhaps I’ll go the pescetarian route…
Aw man, when I saw “fish people” in the headline I thought this article would be about swimming.
Fun read anyway!
Dudes, what’s with the unpaid intern moniker? It’s not that hard to create a user account. And they’re working for you UNPAID and doing a fine job. Step up.
Yeah, your intern department is doing fine but you guys are not. What’s up with the UNPAID INTERN moniker. They’ve got names, they’re working for you for free and doing an awesome job so step up! Make them an account. It’ll take two minutes.