Chilean Sea Bass in Vancouver

[Memo]

Reading about Ling's Chilean Sea Bass dinner on Urban Diner (Food Porn, Nov. 29) - I got all hungry for this endangered fish species. Anyone in Vancouver have it on their menu?

Memo - that record you're playing, it's like really rare

Edited November 30, 2006 by Memo (log)

[Daddy-A]

Not sure about the "deliscious bass" ... but I can think of a number that offer Sablefish.

Mmmmmmm ... smoked Sablefish

A.

[nwyles]

I used to have it but was shamed into taking it off by a regular who brought me a book on endangered seafoods etc. I have modified my menu in other ways, and as far as I know, am compliant with Oceanwise. It did not take much effort at all.

Now if I could just wean my staff off of the baby panda stew that we have as staff meal every week..............before anyone gets all up in my face, we only use baby panda from the zoo, not the wild ones.

Edited November 30, 2006 by nwyles (log)

[Vancitygirl]

You'll be please to hear that some sea bass is sustainable. Not sure if Whole Foods in Canada is carrying it, but they are in the U.S. A quick trip to Antarctica would ensure a supply.

"The Marine Stewardship Council, an international environmental agency based in London, has certified as sustainable a small Chilean sea bass fishery in the South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands in the South Atlantic near Antarctica. Whole Foods says the fish it is selling comes only from that fishery."

[nwyles]

I do know that my supplier still sells the stuff, without any shame, I might add.

I remember a few years back when they were selling it for so cheap, they were nearly giving it away. I subbed it in as cod for fish and chips..............this was when I was young and foolish.........I know better now...........oven baked is the way to go

[Memo]

And I wonder how much fossil fuel is burned up by air-freighting it to North America?

Memo - reporting from Napa North, the land of local, regional, seasonal

[nwyles]

You'll be please to hear that some sea bass is sustainable.  Not sure if Whole Foods in Canada is carrying it, but they are in the U.S.  A quick trip to Antarctica would ensure a supply.

"The Marine Stewardship Council, an international environmental agency based in London, has certified as sustainable a small Chilean sea bass fishery in the South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands in the South Atlantic near Antarctica. Whole Foods says the fish it is selling comes only from that fishery."

←

I do not want to get off topic but I must say that even one farm creates a false sense of security when eating it. One sustainable farm does not bring it back from the brink, now it is just a "specialty" product for those lucky ( really wealthy )enough to get it.

Edited November 30, 2006 by nwyles (log)

[mtigges]

Kosta in Lonsdale Quayis quite concerned about sustainability, and sells only the falkland islands fishery.

[mkjr]

And I wonder how much fossil fuel is burned up by air-freighting it to North America?

Memo - reporting from Napa North, the land of local, regional, seasonal

←

Nice....never heard the phrase "Napa North"....please tell me this is a Calistoga reference as me thinks any reference to Napa in Canada may be a tad in the double point rings or in the numbers. Anyhow, lots of places in Toronto with the forbidden fruit if you would like me to Fed Ex some out to the OP on Fed Ex next flight for you.

[Memo]

Memo - reporting from Napa North, the land of local, regional, seasonal

←

Nice....never heard the phrase "Napa North"....please tell me this is a Calistoga reference as me thinks any reference to Napa in Canada may be a tad in the double point rings or in the numbers.

←

Sadly, this is not a Calistoga Chamber of Commerce-inspired spin - but a Cowichan Valley reference.

The spin doctors are making Napa North a hot property, creating the illusion that foodies are sprouting from the earth.

Memo - it takes time to build a mountain, it takes time for love to grow

[annanstee]

One certified fishery (and it is wild, actually ) is not going to bring this population back from the brink. There has been quite a bit of dialogue in the last day or so on the Whole Foods decision. Personally, I choose not to eat it. I have not seen it in any restaurants in Vancouver for a long time, and Save On just stopped carrying it as well, after all this time. The fishery in South Georgia that is certified accounts for less than 10% of caught tonnage per year world wide. CSB is a long way still from recovery as a viable fishery.

[*Deborah*]

Revolving restaurant Top of Vancouver is serving Sea Bass; source not named.

Fleuri at the Sutton Place lists Sea Bass; again, no provenance.

Coast and Glowbal both show up in Google searches but their current menus have no mention. VancityGirl's blog talks about a Glowbal event featuring CSB as recently as September 2006, though. Lift opened with CSB on the menu, but has it no longer.

I was exploring Burrowing Owl's excellent restaurant's menus for winter yesterday, though, and was sad to see CSB there.

[Memo]

I just returned from New York city - where I was surprised to find Chilean Sea Bass on a lot of menus.

I did question staff: "Isn't that endangered?"

The reply was always:"I don't think so."

It certainly seems to be a US (United States) thing - rather than a WF or eG thing - that Americans maybe aren't so aware as we are about sustainability (the US is the largest importer of CSB).

Anyhow, it's been a long time since a topic other than "Where's the best tapioca pudding in Vancouver?" showed up on eG - and has caused some actual discussion.

Memo - I treble when I eat the bass

Edited December 1, 2006 by Memo (log)

[Oyster Guy]

It is amazing how political food has become these days.

It seems everything you put in your mouth is taken as a political statement of some type.

What kind of coffee you drink, where you eat lunch, what kind of bread you eat has now all fallen into the realm of political correctness.

Plain and simple, if the fish is caught wild, it is not a sustainable fishery not matter what some do-goody organization says. Period! End of story.

You are depleting the wild stock and how is that sustainable? It simply isn't.

The Northern Cod was once thought to be sustainable as well and we all know what has happened with that.

After that, it simply becomes a case of whether you are going to be part of the problem or part of the solution. And that is the individual's choice.

If Lorna is going to write about everything she eats, she's realistically has to expect to take some shit once in awhile for her culinary choices.

Just my 2 cents

Keep on shucking

Oyster Guy

Edited December 1, 2006 by Oyster Guy (log)

[Sam Salmon]

Plain and simple, if the fish is caught wild, it is not a sustainable fishery not matter what some do-goody organization says. Period! End of story.

You are depleting the wild stock and how is that sustainable? It simply isn't.

Bee Ess!

It all depends how many are taken/how fast the stock reproduces.

The Northern Cod was once thought to be sustainable as well and we all know what has happened with that.

That's because people took as many as possible as fast as possible.

In the early 80's fish plant workers were warning DFO that too many small fish were showing up in the plants.

The Govt of the day decided to 'err on the side of jobs' and so spawners weren't replaced fast enough-end of story.

If Lorna is going to write about everything she eats, she's realistically has to expect to take some shit once in awhile for her culinary choices.

Agreed!

The net has brought some interesting and enlightening POV to readers but the lack of experience shows here-this is no place for the thin skinned.

[Ling]

For the record, I have no problem with people choosing not to consume CSB, whether it is approved as sustainable by the MSC or not. If they want to serve me up an attitude-and-a-half when I say I made the decision to consume it, THEN I have a problem with it. I welcome comments/explanations about why an individual thinks MSC-approved CSB is still a problem. If I didn't, I wouldn't have read Andrew's article on Waiterforum today, and thought it informative and enlightening.

As I've already posted on Waiterforum, we checked with a few people whom we thought were knowledgable about the issue before purchasing the fish, and they said MSC-approved CSB was OK. It wasn't until I read Andrew's piece that I saw how sustainable fisheries could still indirectly harm Chilean sea bass stocks that I decided it wasn't a big deal if I never ate it again in the future.

And Sam, give me another 10-15 years in this cold, cruel world and perhaps I'll turn out as bitter, cynical, and thick-skinned as you.

Edited December 2, 2006 by Ling (log)