By Laura Parlee, News Contributor
Four Dalhousie University students are making a difference in how Haligonians look at their fish and chips.
Marine biology students Jesse Kelly, Ainsley Hill, Tammy Wilson and Kandace O’Brien, working with some like-minded organizations, put together a website to centralize research and reviews about sustainable seafood available at restaurants in Halifax.
The students say they were inspired by the documentary “At the End of the Line”.
“The information was presented in such a significant way that we all knew we have the information, we had the time, so we should try and make a difference,” says Kelly.
Rob Johnson, from Seachoice, one of their partners, says consumer choices can protect ocean ecosystems.
“Sustainable seafood is fish and shellfish that’s caught or farmed in a manner that can be sustained over the long term without compromising the health of the ecosystems,” he says.
While many larger fishing companies use cost saving and high-yielding measures such as bottom trolling and dragging at the expense of ecosystems, sustainable fishing works to preserve and protect the environment of the targeted catch.
Johnson says sustainable seafood is harvested with more direct techniques that protect the ocean floor and avoid over-fishing.
“It’s important for people to become informed on these issues,” he says.
The students agreed, and their project is meant to be a practical tool to create this information.
The site includes reviews of various restaurants around the city that serve dishes made with sustainable seafood.
“We thought it would be a good resource for Halifax for tourists,” says Wilson. She says the site presents better options to those who “come here to eat fish.”
But working with restaurants was sometimes a challenge.
“Collecting the information was sometimes hard because restaurant managers and chefs are really busy and it’s hard to get all the information at once,” Hill says.
The Wooden Monkey is one of the restaurants profiled on the site. The Grafton Street establishment is known for its environmentally conscious cuisine.
Matt Gass, general manager of the Wooded Monkey, says the issue is important to him. The restaurant took halibut off the menu when they found out it was a vulnerable species. They have always offered sustainable seafood products such as hook and line haddock, lobster and mussels.
“We can’t keep destroying our oceans. Mother Nature has spent many thousands of years creating a balance, and we’re really messing it up.”
But Gass says they’re still a business and sometimes the options for sustainable dishes just aren’t available.
“The one most embarrassing part of the restaurant is the scallops that we get. They’re just regular Digby scallops, and they are dragged. There’s just such a demand for them,” he says. “There’s not a whole lot of dive scallops out there, and so the price is just unbelievable. It really wouldn’t be cost effective at all for us to get those scallops.”
He says they are working with the EAC on finding better options, but in the meantime are upfront about the origin of their scallops.
Gass says he is proud to be featured on websites such as www.yourchoicehalifax.ca.
“It’s hard on a daily basis to choose sustainable seafood,” he says. “It’s wonderful that we have links to these websites.”
Currently, the website has eight reviews of restaurants and organizations around the Halifax Regional Municipality that support sustainable seafood – a small portion of the many seafood serving establishments in Halifax.
The team hopes to continue to expand the site beyond the municipality, or even form partnerships with environmental groups in other cities.
“We’re definitely not the first, there’s a number … this idea is spreading.”
O’Brien has already graduated from Dal, and the other three students aren’t far behind – graduating within the next year. But they hope to keep the site up even after they go their separate ways.
“We’re hoping over the Christmas break to write up articles on related issues and get those posted, and we’d like to add a general comment section,” said Kelly.
And they’re still meeting with restaurants around town to develop a larger list of sustainable options.
“If you’re concerned for the future for your children you should try to make these sustainable choices,” Gass says. “The power of the consumer is just a powerful thing.”
The students don’t plan to encourage boycotts by highlighting restaurants that don’t use sustainable products.
“We’re hoping to keep it more positive,” says Hill.
But they do hope the website will increase demand for sustainable seafood. They hope restaurants that don’t offer it now will scramble to make the list.
“Hopefully they’ll come to us … and want to change,” says Kelly.
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