Days gone by
It’s been quite a year.
As the last few heartbeats of the year 2009 fade away, it is natural to take stock of how far we have come. It’s important to recognize our victories, as well as to isolate and examine our shortcomings. After all, there’s certainly no need to make the same mistakes again in 2010.
I’m also happy to say that it was Sustainable Sushi‘s first birthday at some point in the last few weeks. Over this past year, this website has afforded me with the opportunity not only to explore many fascinating issues, but to discuss them with people commenting from all across the globe. It has been a wonderful experience, and I thank you all so very much for helping to make it happen.
So, 2009: a tumultuous year by any standard. The oceans have had a tough time of it, but in other ways, we’ve achieved more than we could have possibly hoped for.
There have been times over the past twelve months when things have seemed bleak. It is beyond debate that the oceans took some major blows this year, and some of the ominous clouds on the horizon have grown even darker:
At the same time, we’ve seen some incredible successes this year. All across the planet, people stood up for the oceans, bringing their passion for a better planet with them as they cooked, shopped, wrote, worked and marched:
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Unwanted attention
The End of the Line, a documentary on overfishing and the state of the world’s oceans, was released. This led to increased pressure on Nobu restaurant to discontinue the sale of endangered Northern bluefin. This momentum manifest in celebrity petitions, dozens of articles in trade and mainstream press, and a Greenpeace campaign.
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It's finally over
The Cove, a shocking documentary about the Taiji dolphin slaughter, was released worldwide. Broome, Australia, discontinued its sister-city relationship with Taiji over the fiasco. Taiji has temporarily halted its dolphin drive, but other communities in Japan continue to hunt dolphins. The Cove has even been nominated for an Academy Award for “Best Documentary.”
- 2009 marked the first year in a world beyond the grindadrap: the annual Faeroese pilot whale drive that had caused much consternation among environmentalists. In response to warnings by their chief medical advisors, the Faeroese practice of slaughtering pilot whales and distributing the meat throughout the community was halted permanently in November of 2008.
The majority of these positive changes are part of a greater pattern: an accelerating increase in our overall awareness of the problems faced by our oceans. Movies, magazine articles, and activist campaigns have brought the health of our fisheries to the headlines and to the tips of our tongues. The amount of conversations we are having at coffee shops, in grocery stores, and around backyard barbecues about seafood sustainability and environmentally responsible fish consumption has never been higher – and rising faster than ever before.
Stand and fight
Yes, it’s true that the bluefin tuna is in dire straits. It is true that eel poaching continues unabated, that bottom trawlers still prowl the seas, and that we are on pace to empty the oceans of all seafood in less than forty years. Still, as menacing as these threats are, they are not the most important issues at hand.
The single most powerful and meaningful thing that happened to our oceans this year is that we truly began to wake up to the truth of what we are doing to our planet. We are more aware. We are more alert. And we are much more energized and focused.
Hundreds of new ocean activists are standing up every day to make a difference. Maybe they write a check, or they buy a different kind of fish, or they have a conversation with a chef or grocer. Maybe they simply have coffee with a good friend and spread the word. It doesn’t matter – it all helps. Every day we come closer to achieving critical mass, a fully realized awareness that will mobilize our true potential to save our oceans.
A brave new world
So let’s make 2010 the year that we redouble our efforts. It is time to capitalize on our momentum and push even harder, accomplish even more for the sake of planet and our future. There is still a tremendous amount of work to do, but make no mistake: we are stronger than the forces that would hold us back. And on those particularly gloomy days, when bad news comes crashing down and the future looks insurmountably bleak, just remember: you are not alone. We’re all in this together – you, me, and the millions of other people that are out there fighting every single day, working to make this world a better place for all of us.
Take heart — we are winning.
Tags: 2009, 2010, birthday, bluefin, borg, bottom trawl, copenhagen, cove, eel, greenpeace, grindadrap, ICCAT, japan, jellyfish, mashiko, monaco, new year, sarkozy, skipjack, sustainable sushi, tahiti, target, time, WCPFC, wegmans, whole foods, WWF
Posted by Casson on Dec 10, 2009 in
News and Announcements 
The hits just keep on coming! Here are some new articles and posts by journalists, bloggers, foodies, enviros, and other sustainable sushi supporters from around the globe:
Much gratitude to Valentina Ryan for her generous and thoughtful review of my book Sustainable Sushi: A Guide to Saving the Oceans One Bite at a Time;
Be sure and check out the great piece on the sustainable sushi movement and the restaurants that are leading the charge that Clare Leschin-Hoar (who was also responsible for the article in the Christian Science Monitor a few months back) has written for Slashfood;
High-fives to James Wright, associate editor at Seafood Business, for lending me a soapbox in his magazine’s “One-on-One” feature. Half of the interview is online at seafoodsource.com, and the other half is in the December print issue of Seafood Business.
Flattery will get you everywhere if you’re Brad Spear of the Sustainable Ocean Project and you write a two-part interview piece about my work — I don’t deserve it, but I’ll take it nonetheless! Thanks!
Muchas gracias to Fernando Fernandez, owner/operator of the eco-entertainment website FernTV, for taking the time to talk with me about sustainable sushi and related issues in a short interview;
How incredible was it to see NHK, the Japanese national TV broadcaster, run a prime-time piece on sustainable sushi and the plight of the bluefin tuna? Truly astounding. The piece features two of my dear friends: Sushi Concierge Trevor Corson, and Chef Hajime Sato of Mashiko restaurant.
Although she’s currently based Hong Kong, California girl Krista Mahr still gives props to some hometown boys (Mike Crispino of ISSF, Mike Sutton of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and myself) in her fantastic article on the vanishing bluefin tuna in Time Magazine;
A hearty mange tak to Vibeke Petersen and the rest of the team at DR2 Udland for giving me the chance to speak to the Danish public via a televised primetime segment about sushi and sustainability;
Free drinks to the folks at sushi.pro for mentioning both my work and that of the Tataki team in their recent list of leaders in the sustainable sushi movement — thanks so much;
No prisoners are taken and no punches are pulled in a recent restaurant review by Stett Holbrook, Food Editor for the Silicon Valley Metro, who seizes the opportunity to preach the good word about the critical state of bluefin tuna;
It’s always nice to hear from Nancy Leson, food writer for the Seattle Times, who spread the word about the newly-sustainable sushi bar Mashiko in her recent article on re-imagined restaurants in the Jet City area;
Hugs to the hard-working team at Save Our Shores in Santa Cruz, CA, for writing a glowing review of their dinner at Tataki Sushi Bar (not to mention for everything that SOS does for the oceans every day);
A similarly positive review of Tataki just hit the web, courtesy of Soledad Bleu Etoile — who also had the opportunity to prepare a wonderful dinner for Hosea Rosenberg, Top Chef winner and burgeoning sustainability champion is his own right, the week before;
And speaking of Tataki, congratulations to chef-owner Kin Lui for being named one of the country’s Top 40 Chefs Under 40 by the Mother Nature Network. It’s great to see Barton Seaver, a huge sustainability advocate and a personal hero of mine, on the list as well!
As the sustainable sushi movement gains steam, more and more progressive and innovative individuals are getting on board. It seems like every time I turn around, there are new chefs, authors, journalists, activists, entrepreneurs, and bloggers raising the flag. With this kind of support, I have no doubt that together we will save both the oceans and the art of sushi.
Tags: article, barton seaver, brad speak, clare leschin-hoar, fernando fernandez, ferntv, foodie, Hajime Sato, hosea rosenberg, james wright, journalist, kin lui, krista mahr, mashiko, nancy leson, News and Announcements, nhk, save our shores, seafood business, slashfood, soledad bleu etoile, stett holbrook, sustainable ocean project, sustainable sushi, Tataki Sushi and Sake Bar, time, top chef, trevor corson, valentina ryan, vibeke petersen
Posted by Casson on Aug 28, 2009 in
News and Announcements 
Sincerely yours
First off, thanks so much for all the input on the previous post. I received some great direction, both in comments and via email. I feel that we’ve been able to identify some of the strengths and weaknesses of the website, and I’ve got a good idea for how I can improve it a bit and make it more interactive. I won’t give my plans away entirely, but here’s a hint: you might want to plan a visit to your favorite sushi bar sometime within the next two months or so.
I also want to let everyone know that I’m taking a little vacation and will be away from the grasping claws of the internet until September 8th. Expect a new update (and it’s a good one) sometime around the 9th or 10th of September.
See you soon — I’ll bring you all back somethin’ nice.
Tags: sincerely, sushi, sustainable sushi, thank you, Update, vacation, yours
I want to take a few moments to acknowledge the journalists that have been doing so much to promote sustainable sushi in the past few weeks.
Some quick thank-yous:
To Clair Leschin for her wonderfully supportive piece on sustainable sushi in the Christian Science Monitor;
To the Seattle Times’ Nancy Leson for her flame-stoking article on Mashiko, the cooperative effort of chef Hajime Sato and myself to create Seattle’s first sustainable sushi restaurant;
To Katharine Mieszkowski of Salon.com for a powerful take on sushi and the current plight of the bluefin tuna;
To Laurel House for an insightful roster of ten steps we can all take to support sustainable sushi for Discovery.com’s Planet Green;
To the Seattle Weekly’s Jonathan Kauffman for his examination of sustainable sushi and consumer habits, as well as some pomp and circumstance for the Mashiko launch; and
To Sarah Barmak of NOW Magazine for her muck-raking exposé on the sushi industry and her quest to find sustainable fish in Toronto.
I, as well as the teams at Tataki Sushi Bar and Mashiko, are grateful or your time, interest, and passion. This movement will not succeed without interest and support from the media. Having determined and environmentally aware journalists on board with the sustainable sushi movement is absolutely imperative as we move forward. It has been a pleasure to work with each and every one of you; thank you all so much.
Tags: august 15, bluefin, christian science monitor, clair leschin, consumer habits, Hajime Sato, jonathan kauffman, Laurel House, mashiko, nancy leson, NOW magazine, pacific northwest, press, Salon.com, sarah barmak, seattle, seattle times, Seattle Weekly, sushi, sushi industry, sustainable sushi, toronto
Please stop eating unagi.
- An adult European eel, Anguilla anguilla.
A recent article in the Guardian, a prestigious UK newspaper that has an entire department devoted to environmental issues, has reported that eel populations across the European continent have dropped by 95% in the past 25 years. Sadly, this isn’t really that surprising.
Steven Morris, the article’s author, writes that “a ban on exporting eels out of Europe – they are a popular dish in the far east – is proposed, along with a plan to severely limit the fishing season and the number of people who will be allowed licences [sic -- heh].” Unfortunately, that is the extent to which the article discusses the connection of the eel’s dire situation to the sushi world.
- Eels in captivity. Chances are exceptionally good that they were captured from a dying European or American population.
The unagi industry is based primarily in China and relies on glass eels (babies) caught in the wild rather than hatching animals within the farms.
There’s not a whole lot I can add to my current entry on unagi. It already ends with “Don’t eat it.” I guess this isn’t so much of an update as it is me beating the same old drum.
I don’t mean to be preachy, but this animal is in serious trouble. We need to give it a break. There are other options. Honestly, drench just about any fatty, sustainable whitefish (I suggest Alaskan or Canadian black cod) in kabeyaki sauce, broil it or sear it with a blowtorch, and serve it with sesame seeds over rice: it’s gonna taste a whole lot like unagi.
Listen, I’m not trying to be obnoxious about this. I just am particularly passionate about this issue. The eel is an incredible creature, and we know so little about it. All freshwater eels from both sides of the North Atlantic swim all the way to one small tract of ocean — the Sargasso Sea — to spawn. For the longest time, we actually thought they simply incarnated from mud and weeds in rivers because we had never seen breeding eels. There’s still so much we can learn about this animal.
Your entry will be prepared in this fashion.
Let me put something out there, as added incentive. How about this — everyone who reads this post, please comment on it with your alternative to eel. It could be anything you want (but black cod, aka sablefish, has already been taken, so that doesn’t count; and no unsustainable items — that goes without saying.) I’ll wait ten days from posting. On the eleventh day (May 15th), I’ll take all the suggestions to Chef Kin Lui at Tataki Sushi Bar. He will look at the list of suggestions, try them out as kabeyaki-style dishes, and choose a favorite. I’ll post a picture of the winning dish. Whoever wins will receive a free dinner for two at Tataki Sushi Bar in San Francisco, as well as a signed copy of my book.
Good luck!
Tags: black cod, china, Contest, eel, endangered, farming, fishing season, gindara, glass eel, guardian, kabeyaki, kin lui, licences, sablefish, steven morris, sustainable sushi, Tataki Sushi and Sake Bar, unagi, Update, whitefish
