Chef Robert Clark, Vancouver Aquarium's Teddie Geach

To help kick off Ocean Wise Month in Vancouver, ORU Restaurant at Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel hosted media and invited guests for an afternoon of sustainable seafood preparation, tasting, and education. Ocean Wise products mean an ocean-friendly seafood choice in terms of sustainability. If you’re interested in ensuring the health of our oceans for future generations, this is the only way to go.

Ocean Wise Month Media Launch-2

Ocean Wise works with over 500 partners across Canada and at over 1,300 locations to date, including restaurants, retailers, suppliers, culinary schools, sports and entertainment venues, and universities. Program partners can be found from Tofino to St. John’s, Newfoundland, proving that our ocean’s health is a growing and significant concern.

Dolf Dejong, Vancouver Aquarium's Vice President of Conservation and Education
[Dolf Dejong]

According to Dolf Dejong, Vancouver Aquarium’s Vice President of Conservation and Education, “We need to shift the way we consume seafood so that we can protect our waters before more our fish stocks are gone.”  

BC Spot prawns

A few examples of local and sustainable seafood items with the Ocean Wise seal of approval include:
– BC & Alaska Chinook, Chum, Coho, Pink, and Sockeye salmons (seine net, gill or troll caught)
– BC spot prawns (trap caught)
– Clams, mussels, oysters, and scallops (beach or suspension farmed)
– BC Albacore tuna (poll or troll caught)
– Pacific cod (bottom longline or trap caught)
– Pacific halibut (bottom longline or handline caught)

Ocean Wise Month Media Launch-5 Ocean Wise Month Media Launch-6

The upcoming (and sold out) Ocean Wise 2012 Chowder Chowdown competition will focus on ocean-friendly chowders paired with craft beer. This is one of my favourite annual events and I’m sorry to be missing out due to another commitment that week.

Ocean Wise Month Media Launch/Coho salmon prep Ocean Wise Month Media Launch-8
[The Daily Catch prepares Coho salmon]

Ocean Wise Month Media Launch-9 ORU Restaurant Executive Chef Darren Brown Ocean Wise Month Media Launch-4
[ORU Restaurant Executive Chef Darren Brown shucks local oysters]

Chefs Darren Brown (of Fairmont Pacific Rim’s ORU Restaurant), Robert Clark (formerly of C), and Dylan McCulloch and Ryan Johnson, co-founders of The Daily Catch on Commercial were on hand to demonstrate some of the ways to prepare sustainable seafood, from shucking Sawmill Bay oysters to slicing open a fresh Coho.

Robert Clark prepares the spot prawns

Robert Clark boiled up some BC spot prawns (a local favourite available during May and June), while the staff at ORU passed around a variety of beautifully prepared dishes for us to sample from the kitchen. I could really taste the freshness of the seafood while feeling good about eating it.

Spot prawn Escabeche, with avocado, heart-of-palm salsa Salmon tartare, cucumber, puffed rice, yuzu Sawmill Bay oyster p'o boy Ocean Wise Month Media Launch-4 Candied cold-smoked salmon, fried caper, preserved lemon marscapone

For more information on Ocean Wise, visit the website or download the free iPhone app, updated regularly with ocean-friendly seafood options.

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