I recently met with Chef Sam Talbot (of recent Top Chef fame) to talk about sustainable seafood. He asked me about "Blackburn's Day Boat Cod"- a trademark used by Cleanfish to market cod from the Gloucester Seafood Display Auction on which it owns a seat. He was curious if it was the "real thing," i.e., truly day boat, rod and reel caught, and sustainable; and how it compared to our CSF cod.
I was really baffled on how to respond. The fact is that very little cod is caught with a rod and reel, most is caught with gill nets, trawls and longlines. What is sold as "hook and line" cod is generally from tub trawls- a form of long lining. And for "day boat" status, many of the smaller boats just go out for a day or two- the real issue is the nets and long lines they dropped may be out for longer periods.
If you watch the Cleanfish video (http://www.cleanfish.com/video_blackburn.html) on the cod it definitely leaves the impression all Blackburn's Day Boat Cod is caught by jigging with a rod and reel. This is pretty hard to believe, and even the fishermen on the video is fishing on a boat set up to gill net and run tub trawls. The video and the Cleanfish marketing materials also make clear that Cleanfish sits on the Gloucester Auction and buys off the auction floor. The sustainability claims for this product merely regurgitate the current marine fisheries regulations- essentially the Cleanfish claim is this cod is sustainable because it is caught legally under some pretty damn good regulations. Not very persuasive to me.
The fact is cod is still considered overfished, and overfishing is ongoing. This information is from the folks that still permit cod fishing. Go figure.
So what did I tell Sam? I told him that all I knew was that Blackburn's Day Boat Cod was part of Cleanfish's branding strategy, and that based on the company's own claims it came off the auction house floor. It is thus commodity cod that is part of the overall overfishing of the species, and not sustainable in my view.
I also told Sam that is why our CSF fish is so different. We buy directly from the boats and fishermen cooperatives not at the auction. We support small family owned boats and provide full traceability. When you buy our fish you have access directly to the fisherman or harvester. This traceability makes our fish more than a commodity, it makes it part of a food web that directly connects producers to consumers. This is essential if we wish to build a sustainable food network.
The fact remains though that even our support of local family fishermen must be balanced with the industry overfishing of cod and other species. I feel that we must support only our CSF fishermen and not the auction house fish that may come from industrial fishing fleets. I also feel this support must be limited as we all work together to eliminate industrial overfishing.
I will continue to work for a sustainable wild fishery that relies on direct connections to artisanal fishermen and communities and ceases the industrial exploitation of our marine resources. In so doing though, we must all be wary of sustainability claims that are designed to build market share and not encourage sustainable practices.
Buyer beware.
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