Mike McDermid of Ocean Wise was in Toronto today and we got together for a coffee at Epic in the Fairmont Royal York hotel. I trust everyone knows by now what Ocean Wise is…? For those who don’t, it’s a conservation initiative started in 2005 by the Vancouver Aquarium, created to educate and empower consumers about the issues surrounding sustainable seafood. It works directly with restaurants, markets, food services and suppliers to provide them with the most current scientific information regarding seafood, to help them and consumers make ocean-friendly buying decisions.
And it’s doing well. There are now 3,100 businesses across Canada that have signed on to Ocean Wise – though it’s more than just scribbling your moniker on the dotted line. A chef has to earn the right to put the Ocean Wise logo on his or her menu by proving to McDermid and his team that he or she understands the issues thoroughly, has read up on the latest information and can explain the why and wherefore to a customer. This is not a finger-wagging, smack-them-upside-the-head organisation, As McDermid says, “People don’t like to be told they’re part of the problem; they like to feel they’re part of the solution,” by choosing the Ocean Wise-sanctioned B.C. spot prawns over the destructively farmed Vietnamese tiger shrimp, the sardine over the sole.
As I said, there are 3,100 businesses in Canada – but only 30 restaurants in the GTA. Not a very impressive count. I’m tempted to list the names of the righteous but you can probably guess who they are. You can find all the info at www.oceanwise.ca and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ocean.wise. That’s also the place to learn about the latest Ocean Wise project – a way to attract Toronto’s attention by finding the ultimate local “seafoodie.” It’s a fascinating but rather convoluted contest that last month invited anyone interested in participating to send in a 30-second video clip demonstrating or explaining their passion for ocean-friendly eating. Now we are down to 12 semi-finalists who will have a lovely dinner in one of the participating restaurants and then create a new, 60-second video about the experience. These videos will be posted on the Ocean Wise Facebook page on April 11, for the public to vote and select the Ultimate Seafoodie.
The winning prize is pretty cool – a dinner at C5 restaurant with chef Ted Corrado; a cooking class for two at the Calphalon Culinary Centre; a 13-piece Tri-Ply stainless steel Calphalon cooking set; and the Ocean Wise cookbook.
Competition, prizes, social media, feel-good decisions… I think Ocean Wise is on to something. It reminds me a little of the Endangered Fish Alliance that got going in 2003 thanks to Toronto Life’s publisher, Michael de Pencier. He co-opted a bunch of us into a committee – Jamie Kennedy, Michael Stadtländer, John Higgins, Charles Grieco amongst us – and we in turn set to work trying to change the minds of chefs and fishmongers about selling Chilean sea bass, orange roughie, bluefin tuna, et alia in their establishments. We were rather serious and stern, as I remember (no contests or games in those days) but we got the job done to a large extent, then handed the reins to other, full-time activists. I remember the frustration we often felt at having to juggle the dictats of the many different “experts” vying for authority in those days. It was just like the Life of Brian with the People’s Front of Judaea dissing the Judaean People’s Front and vice versa… Mike McDermid tells me things are better organized now with the major organisations trying hard to work in consort, each specializing in a particular piece of the puzzle.
The fate of our oceans and the harvest we derive from them is an incredibly important issue. Right now, almost every reputable academic prognosis indicates that the sea will be empty of fish by the year 2045 if we go on fishing as we are today. But imagine if we all went onto Facebook and voted for our favourite Seafoodie, and did it in such numbers that the whole idea went viral, turned into a groundswell and became so inescapable that even our politicians were forced to acknowledge that the seas were an issue. Imagine if we got so used to making the sustainable choice when we ordered fish in a restaurant that it became instinctive – the way recycling an empty bottle is now just something we do without thinking. We really could make a difference! It is, after all, a very small planet. But it’s the only one we have.
Oh yes – and while we’re on the subject, huge congratulations to Harry Kambolis and Chef Robert Clark of C Restaurant in Vancouver at winning the Seafood Champion’s award in Boston this week. Awesome! Find out more at www.oceanwise.ca.