Executive chef David Wong at Oru restaurant at the Fairmont Pacific Rim in Vancouver about will tell you that serving only Ocean Wise seafood has been a good decision.  He is referring to the program that is widely respected as the 'go to' source for information about seafood sustainability.   He says “it is a given for me to use [Ocean Wise] as a resource to do the leg work in reporting how sustainable or environmentally sound the harvesting practices are.” And those issues matter to a Bocuse D’Or competitor who is at the top of his game and the forefront of culinary excellence.

Ask Mike McDermid, Ocean Wise Program Manager why they created this program and how it became so respected and he will tell you that it’s the passion of chefs like David who inspire him.  Mike McDermid, a marine biologist, is based at the Vancouver Aquarium who works diligently at finding answers and sharing them with us poor confused land lubbers.  He has lead the creation of the program which finds, promotes, stays on top of and informs Canadians of smart fish choices.  Ocean Wise  has even created an iPhone app that uses GPS to pinpoint fish mongers, markets and restaurant selling sustainable choices. Your best fish meal yet may only be as far away as your phone.

Ocean Wise has created a cookbook which is part encyclopedia/part visual fish fest/part best fish recipes ever to provide “seafood recipes that are good for the planet”. It clearly explains which fishes to avoid and which to seek out as well as how to best cook them. Most recipes are easy and adaptable using very few, equally excellent ingredients that lift the seafood to its simple beauty. 

Although the picture of which species are depleting is an ever moving ocean, there are some standard recommendations:

Super Green List:

- Albacore Tuna (troll- or pole-caught, from the U.S. or British Columbia)
- Freshwater Coho Salmon (farmed in tank systems, from the U.S.)
- Oysters (farmed)
- Pacific Sardines (wild-caught)
- Rainbow Trout (farmed)
- Salmon (wild-caught, from Alaska)

Avoid:

- Caviar, Sturgeon
- Chilean Seabass
- Cod Atlantic or imported Pacific
- Flounder, Halibut and sole (atlantic)
- Grouper
- Mahi Mahi
- Monkfish
- Farmed Salmon
- Shark
- Skate
- Red Snapper
- Asian Farmed Tilapia

The list of “yeses” is much shorter than the list of “nos” and, perhaps surprisingly, there are farmed fish on the 'green light list'. Mike’s answer to the question of farmed versus wild is that “not all farmed fish is bad and, in fact, some farmed fishes are even better for you and the planet than their wild counterparts”.  Species like mussels, oysters and scallops as well as fin fish from wisely managed land based farms are more earth friendly since land based systems use closed containment tanks which nets no pollution and no impact on the wild ecosystems.  Quite simply, farming fish takes the pressure off the wild so it can recover. 

More and more people are asking about the sustainability of what is on their plate. They know that they love and want to consume the sea’s bounty but are concerned about the impact of their actions.  Respectful solutions are on the rise and credible voices are leading the way.