The Commons: From Tragedy to Communion

The compelling narrative of ocean conservation is a story of responsible seafood consumption; a tale of keeping human needs and wants in balance with what nature can provide. And just as a shift in consumer tastes from small forage fish to large predatory species eventually led to the overharvesting of some of the most popular fish in the sea, there is an opportunity now to restore dwindling populations and damaged marine ecosystems by shifting those preferences back. Chefs can play a key role in influencing individuals' preferences for seafood: from featuring recipes with lesser known sustainable species, to recommending lower trophic-level fish as a substitute for conventional predatory favorites, to reeducating the public on the seasonality of different seafoods, and on what constitutes an appropriate portion of protein. Each of these strategies can be effective at driving demand toward products that (directly or indirectly) support efforts to rebuild depleted populations and return ecosystems to balance. This is the concept of restorative seafood: the pathway from unsustainable to sustainable that connects the seafood eater to the fish in the water. Restorative seafood provides a context for our actions as consumers and allows for incremental improvement as the supply chain develops new habits and technologies to replace currently deleterious practices. It rewards fishermen that adopt ecosystem-sensitive harvesting methods, and restores our health as we learn to eat heart-healthy seafood in a responsible manner. In short, restorative seafood drives consumers toward a more diverse menu that emphasizes smaller more inherently sustainable species, and is how eaters must interact with ocean resources if diversity and abundance are to thrive once again.