as you know… i insist on calling eating fish “ocean rape”.
nevertheless we’ve been eating it lately…
this morning at venice market we talked to Kathy of Anjin II seafood truck. asked her what she had that was local. it turned out that nearly everything she carried was local (santa barbara to san diego) and everything that wasn’t (salmon) was marked. we were surprised and she said “my brother catches the fish”. “really?” “yes, i used to do it with him, but i hated it. i like being here and talking with people. he can’t stand people, he likes to be alone.”
“how long did it take you to figure out that arrangement?” “6 years.”
we bought Ahi tuna from catalina. Kathy assured us that the mercury count is low because they catch smaller fish, as opposed to bigger ones.
with only one fisherman, i sure hope he’s line fishing.
we want to check it out more to make sure that there are fishery management programs around the catalinas, but i strongly suspect there are.
after haranguing duro (again) with my ocean-rape/fish-farms-suck-too lecture, i came home and did some research, now posted on our meat page, to wit:
fish: learn about fish issues (bycatch, habitat damage, overfishing, aquaculture problems, and destruction of the livelihoods of fisherfolk)
- latest scientific report by the FAO
- international policy proposals from oceana institute
- regional eating guides from monterey bay aquarium
haven’t researched the Catalinas yet…
Update, See Dan Barber’s TED Talk about “sustainable” fish.