What’s Cooking
A quarterly publication of the South Carolina Aquarium’s Sustainable Seafood Initiative Winter 2008 Welcome!
General News
Welcome to the newest SSI partner: Divine Fish House. The 2007 SSI Partner of the Year is.... The Boathouse at Breach Inlet! Congratulations to Chef Charles Arena whose activities in 2007 netted a record-breaking points total. Not only did Chef Arena host two sustainable seafood dinners in 2007, he also gave cooking demonstrations at the South Carolina Aquarium and the Southeast Wildlife Exposition, participated in a cooking competition at the Sustainable Seafood Festival, and played a part in the “Revealing the Deep” film premiere and dinner event at the Aquarium. We’re very thankful to Chef Arena and the other Sustainable Seafood Partners that made 2007 such a success. Runners-up for the 2007 Partner of the Year include Middleton Place, Earth Fare and Cypress.
Congratulations to Middleton Place!
The Restaurant at Middleton Place is the first SSI partner to complete a menu assessment. Based on their winter 2007 menu Middleton Place was awarded Platinum Partner status! Other restaurants currently undergoing assessments include The Boathouse at Breach Inlet and CQ’s. All SSI restaurant partners are eligible to apply for upgraded artnership. To become a Platinum or Gold Partner, the seafood on your menu will be assessed for sustainability. Platinum and Gold Partners will be recognized as such on all promotional materials and will be eligible for special promotions and enhanced media opportunities. Contact Megan Westmeyer at (843)579-8502 for more information.
Kevin Hutchinson, of South Santee Aquaculture’s Swimming Rock Fish Farm, holds two of his farm-raised striped bass this winter’s Signature Seafood.
Upcoming Events
Wednesday, January 30 – Sustainable Seafood Dinner at Fish featuring local snapper and grouper harvested by Mark Marhefka Saturday, February 23 – Winter Sustainable Seafood and Wine Dinner at Middleton Place Saturday, March 1 – Sustainable Seafood and Beermaster Dinner at The Boathouse on East Bay, in conjuction with the Distinctively Charleston Food + Wine Festival SAVE THE DATE!! 2008 SUSTAINABLE SEAFOOD FESTIVAL - SUNDAY, OCTOBER 26
Inside This Issue Striped Bass, Winter Signature Seafood.................2 Partner Activities.......................................................2 Atlantic Snapper Grouper Update..........................3 Allocation Amendment............................................4 Current SSI Partners.................................................4
Our goal is to promote the conservation of fishery resources and the use of sustainable, especially local and domestic, seafood in restaurants.
Signature Seafood, Winter 2008: Farm-raised Striped Bass
Winter is here, and wild-caught seafood is harder to come by and more expensive. Fortunately, it’s the perfect time of year to feature locally farm-raised fish and we have the perfect source for you! Swimming Rock Fish Farm, now under the management of Kevin Hutchinson of South Santee Aquaculture, is offering full-blooded striped bass as well as high quality tilapia for sale to restaurants. They’ll even deliver live fish directly to your restaurant – seafood doesn’t get any fresher than that. Hutchinson took over Swimming Rock Fish Farm after the retirement of previous owner Rick Eager in 2007. He has continued Eager’s sustainable aquaculture methods and plans to expand the operation to include production of cobia, pompano and summer flounder. Swimming Rock’s fish are raised in a combination of ponds, raceways and fiberglass tanks. All of the water comes from the nearby Toogoodoo Creek and is returned there after an extensive settling and water-quality testing. The fish are fed a healthy diet including as little fishmeal as possible, relying more on proteins derived from agricultural crops. In addition, the striped bass are kept in salt-water for the last two weeks before harvest to flush away the muddy flavor found in some farm-raised fish. If you’d like to try Swimming Rock fish in your restaurant please contact South Santee Aquaculture at (888)254-2387. Because wild striped bass are classified as a gamefish in South Carolina you will need to obtain a free Aquaculture Gamefish Retail License from DNR – for your convenience, the application in included with this newsletter. The pertinent legislation (the S.C. Aquaculture Act) can be found at www.scstatehouse.net in the S.C. Code of Laws, Title 50, Chapter 18.
Partner Activities The South Carolina Aquarium’s Fourth Annual Sustainable Seafood Festival celebrated local and sustainable seafood to record attendance and sales numbers on October 21. Guest attendance doubled
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from previous years, with over 700 people joining in the festivities to provide support for the South Carolina Aquarium’s conservation program, the Sustainable Seafood Initiative. Rep. Henry E. Brown, Jr. serving as the Festival’s Honorary Chair applauded the South Carolina Aquarium’s efforts to promote marine conservation. Twelve local chefs faced off against each other in three cooking contests featuring shrimp, wreckfish and clams (results below). Five more chefs performed individual cooking demonstrations throughout the day. One of the most popular highlights of the event, the High School Recipe Contest awarded over $48,000 in renewable scholarships to Johnson & Wales University to 6 local students. We would like to thank the following SSI partners, whose participation made the 2007 Festival the biggest success yet: 39 Rue de Jean, The Boathouse on East Bay, The Boathouse at Breach Inlet, CQ’s, Carolina’s, Coast, Cru Café, Cypress, Earth Fare, Fish, Hominy Grill, The Restaurant at Middleton Place, Old Firehouse Restaurant, Old Village Post House, Sea Island Grill, Tristan, and Umi Pacific Grille. The Fourth Annual Sustainable Seafood Festival was sponsored in part by Bonterra Vineyards, The Bridge 105.5, Charleston Magazine, Earth Fare, Fox 24 and MY TV Charleston, Johnson & Wales University, Palmetto Brewing Company, Pepsi, St. Johns Yacht Harbor, Southeast BioDiesel, South Carolina Seafood Alliance and Wild American Shrimp, Inc. Shrimp Cook-Off 1st Place: Tristan, Chef Ciaran Duffy Runner-up: Old Firehouse Restaurant, Chef Bill Twaler Wreckfish Cook-Off 1st Place: Old Village Post House, Chef Tim Armstrong Runner-up: Middleton Place Restaurant, Chef Brandon Buck Clam Cook-Off 1st Place: CQ’s, Chef Eric Sayers Runner-up: Sea Island Grill, Chef Cooper Thomas
What’s Cooking - Winter 2008
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High School Recipe Contest Seniors 1st Place: Leila Schardt - Wando High School 2nd Place: Chelsea Gantt – Rock Hill High School and the Applied Technology Center 3rd Place: Justin Edgar – Wando High School Juniors 1st Place: Kiki Hannapel – Wando High School 2nd Place: Julia Jantzi – Wando High School 3rd Place: Jessica Ralston – Wando High School
On November 1 Chef Ryan Herrmann of The Boathouse on East Bay hosted his final Sustainable Seafood event before beginning a sabbatical from the culinary industry to spend more time with his young son. An intimate group of sustainable seafood devotees gathered at The Boathouse to bid farewell to Chef Herrmann and dine on a four course sustainable seafood dinner including spiny lobster, rock shrimp and wreckfish paired with sustainable wines from Lolonis Winery. On Tuesday, November 6th the Lower Ocean Gallery of the South Carolina Aquarium was transformed into a high definition theater and the Great Hall became a white tablecloth restaurant for the premiere of “Revealing the Deep”. The film, a new documentary produced by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, raises awareness of deep-sea coral habitats – unique and vulnerable ecosystems – and the research and management efforts needed to protect them. The dinner featured species that depend on these deep-sea coral ecosystems, yet are sustainably harvested by local fishermen. Chef Charles Arena of The Boathouse at Breach Inlet, Chef Jon Banta of 39 Rue de Jean and Chef Peyton Smith of the Embassy Suites Hotel Airport-Convention Center each prepared a course.
designing a five course menu including clams, mussels, shrimp, oysters, triggerfish, striped bass, vermilion snapper and red porgy. Not only was the seafood harvested locally, but the harvesters themselves were present at the dinner to explain their craft. Toby Van Buren, who supplied the clams, mussels, and oysters, taught the guests about South Carolina clams and how he cultivates the shellfish to increase his harvest. Mark Marhefka, a local snapper and grouper fisherman, supplied the triggerfish, snapper and porgy and described life as an offshore fisherman and how he harvests the elusive creatures. Rick Eager, of Swimming Rock Fish Farm, raised the striped bass on his farm in nearby Meggett, SC. He gave the guests an idea of what it takes to sustainably raise an anadromous fish in ponds and tanks on land.
Fishery Management Updates Proposed Regulations for Gag and Vermilion The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC) is considering alternatives to reduce harvest and end overfishing for two popular local species, gag grouper and vermilion snapper. Thus far alternatives for gag include a spawning closure January-April that would include red, black and scamp grouper, separate commercial quotas for the Carolinas and GA/FL and changes to the recreational bag limit. For vermilion snapper, alternatives include seasonal closures, two commercial quotas occurring at different times of the year, and adjustments to the size and bag limits. Newer, improved data will be incorporated into the vermilion snapper stock assessment before regulations are established. Some fishermen believe this new data will reveal that the stock is healthier than the current stock assessment predicts. Other alternatives that may be included in this amendment that would affect the commercial fishery are requirement of dehooking tools, venting tools and continued on page 4
The Boathouse at Breach Inlet hosted their second dinner of 2007 on Tuesday, December 4. Chef Charles Arena outdid himself once again, by What’s Cooking - Winter 2008
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the use of circle hooks. This amendment will also include alternatives for allocating the Total Allowable Catch between recreational and commercial fishermen. Public hearings on will begin this spring. Public Scoping for Allocation Amendment The SAFMC is beginning development of a Comprehensive Allocation Amendment to establish guidelines for determining allocations between commercial and recreational fishermen in all fisheries. This issue directly impacts the restaurant and retail seafood sectors because it dictates how much seafood will be available for you to purchase versus that which is available for the recreational fishing public to catch. Currently, allocations are usually based on catch history. In other words, if commercial fishermen have caught 60% of the total harvest of a species over the last 10 year, they would likely be given a quota to enable them to continue harvesting 60% of the total allowable catch in the future, and recreational fishermen would be allocated the other 40%. Economics can also play a role in allocation. Because fisheries are a public resource, the economic benefit to the public is sometimes considered. Recreational fishing advocates often citethe economic
Charleston Restaurants 39 Rue De Jean A.W. Shuck’s Blossom The Boathouse Restaurants Bocci’s Carolina’s Carolina Catering Charleston Crab House Circa 1886 Coast Cru Café & Catering Cypress Lowcountry Grille Daniel Island Club Embassy Suites Hotel, Airport-Convention Center EVO Pizzeria The Fat Hen
impact of recreational fisheries through hotels, boats, fishing gear, bait, tackle and so on. Conversely, the cired economic impact of commercial fisheries is often limited to the money generated at the dock, the initial point of sale. As chefs, you know that grouper sold for $4/lb at a dock is worth far more by the time it is served to a guest in your restaurant. This is an opportunity for chefs and retailers to influence the future supply of seafood by voicing your desire for strong commercial allocations to offer seafood to those who cannot catch fish for themselves, or those who prefer to buy their seafood from restaurants and retailers. A public scoping meeting will be held on Wednesday, February 20 to address the Comprehensive Allocation Amendment and other current issues in local fisheries management. The public scoping meeting will include an informal round table discussion with council staff, council representatives and other stakeholders and will provide an opportunity for all attendees to go on record and provide their input. We’ll provide you more information as the date grows closer; we hope to see you there.
SSI Partners
FIG FISH Fleet Landing Hank’s Seafood Restaurant High Cotton Hominy Grill Hyman’s Seafood Il Cortile del Re Island Chef - A Complete Personal Chef Service Magnolias McCrady’s Middleton Place Restaurant Old Firehouse Restaurant Old Village Post House Peninsula Grill Poogan’s Porch Red Drum Gastropub
The River Course Sea Island Grill Slightly North of Broad Stephen Duvall Catering & Events Tides at the Beach Club Tommy Condon’s Triangle Char and Bar Tristan Voysey’s at Cassique Woodlands Resort and Inn Beaufort and Hilton Head Restaurants Alligator Grille Seafood Restaurant and Sushi Bar CQ’s Restaurant Panini’s Café
Grand Strand Restaurants Divine Fish House* Umi Pacific Grille Retail and Community Partners Aramark Special Events Catering at the College of of Charleston Charleston Cooks! Cindy’s Seafood & Country Market Earth Fare Slow Food Charleston Swimming Rock Fish Hatchery *New Partner
The Sustainable Seafood Initiative is supported in part by a grant to the South Carolina Aquarium from the Curtis and Edith Munson Foundation. What’s Cooking is a quarterly publication from the Sustainable Seafood Initiative at the South Carolina Aquarium. Please contact Megan Westmeyer at (843) 579-8502 or mwestmeyer@scaquarium.org with any questions or to be removed from this distribution list.
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What’s Cooking - Winter 2008