“Eating local” has become a way of life for many consumers, but even dedicated locavores flounder when they enter the murky waters of local seafood. Just because a fish came off a nearby dock doesn’t always make it a local fish, and “local” doesn’t always equal “sustainable” in regards to certain species or how the fish were caught. Meanwhile, many conscientious consumers avoid farmed seafood entirely, unaware that responsible local producers exist.
On September 20, Bon Appétit
Management Company announced a breakthrough in sustainable seafood
sourcing with Fish to Fork, a program that outlines what “local” and
“small-scale” means for both wild and farmed seafood and elevates certain
overlooked species that have both great flavor and robust supplies.
Among the guidelines:
- Traceability: Seafood suppliers must present a reliable
system of traceability from the farm or the boat to Bon Appétit kitchens.
- Size: Boats must be individually owned and
operated, and not process the seafood on board. Aquaculture operations will be
limited to those grossing less than $5 million per year per species. Small-scale
fishing and aquaculture operations that practice integrated multi-species
fishing or aquaculture will be emphasized.
- Distance: Boats should travel no more than 100 miles
out to sea per trip. Distribution distance for wild fish or aquacultured products
is limited to 500 miles by truck from dock or farm to Bon Appétit kitchens.
- Species preferences: Low-on-the-food-chain species (such as sardines, oysters); species whose edible portion could be better utilized (such as scallops, much of which gets discarded by U.S. processors); less-widely eaten larger species (Seafood Watch “green”- or “yellow”-rated) that can substitute for one of the “Top Ten” species, such as tuna, whose popularity is endangering the species.
Bon Appétit is also designating 14 of its chefs in different areas of the country as “piscators.” Like the Farm to Fork foragers, their role will be to locate and develop purchasing relationships with local fishers and fish farmers who meet the criteria and who will then serve clusters of cafes. Similarly, Fish to Fork will also channel Bon Appétit Management Company’s supply-chain clout toward helping hundreds more small, environmentally responsible producers, creating local jobs and healthier communities.
Photo, above (courtesy of Passmore Ranch, a Fish to Fork partner): Passmore Ranch manager Dave Kunce shows Bon Appétit chefs how to break down live catfish.