Rather than spotlight one aquatic species this month, I’d like to salute the ocean-loving work of Fog Harbor Fish House, which recently became Fisherman’s Wharf’s first San Francisco Seafood Watch Alliance® Partner restaurant
Restaurants like Fog Harbor Fish House that participate in the San Francisco Seafood Watch Alliance Restaurant Program make a commitment to serving ocean-friendly seafood while educating their staff and communicating their commitment to diners.
By Kati Schmidt
Published: September, 2011
Rather than spotlight one aquatic species this month, I’d like to salute the ocean-loving work of Fog Harbor Fish House, which recently became Fisherman’s Wharf’s first San Francisco Seafood Watch Alliance® Partner restaurant. Fog Harbor serves over 220,000 visitors every year with a menu that is now filled with 100 percent sustainable seafood, including wild-caught salmon, Dungeness crab, Oregon pink shrimp and Pacific cod.
In partnership with Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program, the San Francisco Seafood Watch Alliance Restaurant Program, co-founded by Aquarium of the Bay, works to help Bay Area restaurants make a commitment to serving ocean-friendly seafood while educating their staff and communicating their commitment to diners.
Sustainable seafood is fished or farmed in ways that do not negatively affect fish populations or the environment. The program gives one of three color ratings to seafood: green, for best choice; yellow, for good alternative; or red, for avoid. Partner restaurants like Fog Harbor, and more than 30 others in the Bay Area, remove from their menus all red items—including farmed salmon, one of the worst offenders due to salmon farming’s heavy toll on the environment.
Welcoming Fog Harbor as Fisherman’s Wharf’s first San Francisco Seafood Watch Alliance partner is a proud moment for the Aquarium, and a true testament to the power of relationships built with our neighbors at PIER 39, said John Frawley, president and CEO of Aquarium of the Bay and its partner organization, the Bay Institute. Our conservation team has worked closely with the restaurant over the past year, from initial menu changes to their 100 percent dedication to serving sustainable seafood. With 10 million visitors exploring and dining in Fisherman’s Wharf each year, Fog Harbor’s dedication is taking delicious, sustainable seafood to scale.
We are excited to become Fisherman’s Wharf’s first sustainable seafood restaurant. This helps us take our legacy of creating delicious seafood even further, said Bob Partrite, vice president of operations for Fog Harbor Fish House.
Working with Bob, and the entire Fog Harbor staff, to bring their patrons a menu full of seafood that supports healthy oceans has been such a rewarding experience. Their dedication and perseverance in achieving this goal is a bold example for other restaurants to follow, said Crystal Sanders, conservation manager for the Aquarium.
Fog Harbor relies on Water2Table, a seafood purveyor, to source local fare. Within the food industry, ‘sustainability’ has in many ways become a buzz word, said Water2Table owner Joe Conte. My method is focused on going back to the roots of celebrating fish that is fresh, caught locally, seasonal and well-handled. Conte formed Water2Table after working in the restaurant industry for over 25 years. His business model involves working directly with local, hook-and-line fisherman and providing seafood to local restaurants, sourced down to the exact fishing boat and catch method.
Aquarium of the Bay, California Academy of Sciences and the San Francisco Zoo launched the San Francisco Seafood Watch Alliance in 2009 to help raise consumer, restaurateur and seafood industry awareness of the importance of acquiring seafood from sustainable sources. The organizations provide regional support for Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program. Aquarium of the Bay has helped recruit more than 30 Bay Area partner restaurants since the Alliance was formed in 2009.
Make a day of sustainable seafood celebration with a meal at Fog Harbor Fish House and a visit to Aquarium of the Bay, where daily programs are lead on sustainable seafood, while providing opportunities to connect with local aquatic animals. Find other San Francisco Seafood Watch Alliance restaurants at www.aquariumofthebay.org, and additional details to help you vote with your fork in favor of the ocean, at www.seafoodwatch.org.
Kati Schmidt is the Public Relations Manager for Aquarium of the Bay and The Bay Institute, nonprofit organizations dedicated to protecting, restoring and inspiring conservation of San Francisco Bay and its watershed. A Bay Area native and aspiring Great American novelist, Kati enjoys the professional and personal muses found from strolling and cycling along, and occasionally even swimming in San Francisco Bay and beyond.
