The Slowcook at Spydog Farm The Slowcook at Spydog Farm

Bittman Takes a Bite Out of Snapper

April 14th, 2009 · 2 Comments · Posted in Blog

Photo: Adam Laverty via Pew Environment Group

Photo: Adam Laverty via Pew Environment Group

New York Times columnist Mark Bittman last week published a recipe for red snapper (listed as “avoid” by the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program) and was quite rightly called out by avenging Grist author Tom Philpott.

Philpott was, I would contend, overly generous toward Bittman, who described the posting of a red snapper recipe as a “screw up,” although one wonders how a recipe central to a food column in the New York Times somehow got misappropriated.

Bittman replied to Philpott at the Grist site with a long and meandering list of his own difficulties with the sustainability issue that in many respects mirror the concerns we’ve often expressed here. Namely, that trying to be a conscientious fish consumer can be totally maddening.

For instance, Bittman complains that the recommendations from Seafood Watch are written by scientists, not cooks, and how is a consumer supposed to know whether the yellowfin tuna he is buying was caught with a pole or on a longline? He also opines (as do rogue chefs who claim to embrace sustainability) that avoiding endangered fish in favor of those Seafood Watch lists as “best choice” means the “best choice” fish will soon be over-consumed as well.

As to the first point, Bittman is absolutely correct. Scientists are behind the recommendations and they have good reasons to favor some fishing methods over others. Some methods are just plain bad–bad for other species, bad for the ocean habitat, sometimes bad for bird or mammal populations.  Unfortunately, on the retail end of the seafood chain, what you see at the fish counter typically is not labeled as to the method used to catch it and the clerk waiting to sell it to you will give you a completely blank stare if you  ask.

We wish the entire seafood industry–from the boats at sea to the wholesale distributors to the grocery store clerks standing behind the counter–were perfectly aligned with the recommendations published by Seafood Watch. They’re not. But that’s no reason to purchase questionable fish. Simply move on to one that’s easier to identify.

As for consumers depleting stocks of “best choice” seafood, the complaint is simply argumentative, providing a fig leaf for those who would rather eat a different kind of fish. The reason those fish are listed as “best choice” is usually because they come from a well-managed fishery, of which there are sadly too few in this world. And the reason those fisheries qualify as well-managed is because they only permit a certain number of the fish to be caught.

Bittman goes on to compare farmed fish with confinement-raised chicken, rife with drug issues and pollution issues and ethical issues. That’s true for much of the overseas aquaculture industry, but not for the domestic fish that get a “best choice” rating from groups such as Seafood Watch.

The choices aren’t easy. Does that mean we shouldn’t eat fish at all? In response to a New York Times colleague blogging on the subject, Bittman declares that avoiding fish  is “so sensible” and that we may all be vegans or “near-vegans” in the future. “Eating dairy is no ‘better’ than eating meat or fish,” Bittman asserts.

Talk about throwing the salmon out with the bath water. Apparently  Bittman is ready to toss three million years of dietary evolution under a bus because humans can’t adequately manage fish or cows. He promises to write more on the subject soon. We can hardly wait.

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  • JKLM

    Hi Ed,
    I was actually one of the Monterey Bay Aquarium staff on the brainstorm committee for the Fishing for Solutions exhibit which brought about the whole idea of the Seafood Watch.

    What prompted the whole thing was the torrent of visitor questions about the fact that the Aquarium served seafood in the restaurant. Seafood in an aquarium cafe…hypocritical, no? (You wouldn’t believe how many times people thought the fish served came right out of the exhibit tanks.)

    Thus, Seafood Watch was born. The original “watch list” was designed by scientists AND the restaurant chefs. In the beginning, the Seafood Watch was only about the Monterey Bay Fisheries but now is regional throughout the US. The MBA now works with other aquariums, fisheries, and farm fish experts to develop each regional Seafood Watch list.

    More info on the Seafood Watch program can be found here: http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/sfw_aboutsfw.aspx

    While it is true that most seafood you buy at the counter is not labeled you can still make an informed choice by using your regional Seafood Watch card. Here is the link: http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/download.aspx

    -Justin

  • Ed Bruske

    thanks for the intel, Justin. There’s a back story to everything, and that’s a good one. Yes, I concur. Everyone should link up with Seafood Watch to make their dinner choices, whether it’s online or using the handy wallet cards. Would that more food journalists took advantage as well.