LETTING MOTHER NATURE DRIVE SUPPLY—& DEMAND—FOR SEAFOOD
FOR INDEPENDENT New York fisherman Sean Barrett, meeting the demand for specific types of fresh fish (as opposed to his catch of the day, dictated by Mother Nature) once proved difficult. But this enterprising seaman found a way to solve his supply issue and reduce waste.
Sean is the founder of Dock to Dish, the first community supported fishery (modeled after CSAs, community supported agriculture) in New York State. Dock to Dish allows members to buy fresh fish (and support local fishermen financially) by paying for a share of the local seafood catch at the beginning of the year and then, in their weekly CSA package, they enjoy whatever fish fillet is the catch of the day.
But what to do with the 65 percent of the weight of the fish that is left over after it’s filleted? Sean has started to offer this supply, traditionally discarded as waste, to restaurant chefs like Dan Barber, Michael Anthony, Bill Telepan, April Bloomfield, and me, who are keen to support local fishermen like Sean and to cook with less commonly known parts of the fish.
There is also a whole other area of large-scale waste, called bycatch. When fish are caught in nets, many more besides the “desirable” fish are caught up in them, and die. These dead fish, the bycatch, are thrown back into the ocean. This is a much larger problem for commercial scale trawlers.
For me, working with this bycatch was like finding a treasure chest. It included waste fish: fish considered the bottom of the heap among seafood, such as the Atlantic gurnard (sea robin). Sean tells me that the sea robin has a similarly great flavor and texture to its cousin, the red gurnard (a popular fish in Europe), so now it’s in demand.
Ultimately, Sean’s inspiring vision is to create a system that reflects the true catch of the day, meaning that, in his words, “the chef isn’t the boss. Nature is.”