Finfolk Magazine by Fin Wang

ISSUE 09 SUMMER 2019

WE LOVE SEA, AND FOOD

BIG D ATA HELPING THE FIGHT AGAINST OVERFISHING

MUSSEL MEN

and more !

Danish fishermen are growing the molluscs on lines and selling their fresh produce to people willing to shell out for a gourmet delicacy.

T H E U G LY F I S H A prized catch for San Francisco Bay Area school cafeterias

SUMMERTIME SEAFOOD Quick to cook and easy to prepare, our summer seafood dishes prove that sometimes less really is more. ISSUE 09

FINFOLK

COLD WAT E R , WA R M HEART D AT E & T I M E

August, 17 5:45 AM–7:30AM VENUE

Honolulu Fish Auction

Join us to find out the secret lies in a warm-blooded opah fish and what makes Hawaii Seafood the “best in class” in terms of quality, safety and sustainability. 02

ISSUE 09

Download Finfolk Tour Guide App Our official mobile tour guide app is your passport to all cities that has its iconic seafood industry and marine species.

For complete tour information and app, go to finfolk.com

ISSUE 09

Contents SUMMER 2016

WORLD: JUTLAND, DENMARK

Mussel Men

SEAFOOD PROFILE

In a Half Shell Amazing facts about blue mussels

Environmentally aware pioneers are growing the molluscs on lines and selling their fresh produce to people in Denmark.

—

TECHNOLOGY

Big Data Helping the Fight Against Overfishing Environmentalists are using sophisticated technology of their own to peel away that cloak of invisibility.

—

STORY

PEOPLE

The Ugly Fish

Code Blue: Saving Our Oceans

A prized catch for San Francisco Bay Area school cafeterias

One woman’s dream to create national parks in the sea 16

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21 28

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R E S TA U R A N T S : SAN FRANCISCO

Hillside Supper Club: Supper, Snail & Sustainability Do you crave sustainable food? You’ll find It in spades at this inspired San Francisco supperclub.

—

Hot Ten at San Francisco Do you crave sustainable food? You’ll find It in spades at this inspired San Francisco supperclub.

—

RECIPES

FINFOLK TOUR

Summertime Seafood

Unalaska: Catch of the Day

Quick to cook and easy to prepare, these

One of our Finfolk, David Newsom, traveled

summer seafood dishes prove that

to Unalaska where life is so dangerous &

sometimes less really is more.

vivid—not a lot of margin for errors. And so

terribly beautiful.

—

57 58

—

ISSUE 09

“ W E ’ R E F I N A L LY A B O U T T O G E T L U C K Y. ” K A J - LY K K E L A R S E N The manager of Dansk Linemusling, Denmark’s leading blue-mussel farm

WORLD

JUTLAND, DENMARK

WRITER

P H OTO G R A P H E R

Kim Flyvbjerg

Collin Howell

For years Danish fishermen have dredged the country’s waters for mussels to be frozen or canned. But now environmentally aware pioneers are growing the molluscs on lines and selling their fresh produce to people willing to shell out for a gourmet delicacy.

Cutting through the Jutland peninsula, Limfjorden is the

a veritable gold rush raged in the Limfjorden region

largest “fjord”(actually a sea inlet) in Denmark. Still, it’s

after an EU and Danish government-financed pilot proj-

only a five-minute trip by ferry from the small town of

ect between 1999 and 2001 cleared the way for farming

Sundsøre to the slightly larger one of Hvalpsund on the

line-grown mussels. Suddenly, everybody wanted a

far shore. But once you’re back on dry land, you find

piece of the action: Larsen’s company will have a turn-

yourself in Denmark’s Wild West.

over of €500,000 this year.

When I ask the man in the tourist office (or rather

“A lot of folks smelled money. Today, only the hardcore

“shed”) where I can find the blue-mussel farmers, he

companies are left. The whole mussel-farming business

chews his tobacco before telling me to, “go ask ‘Fishing

is a lot tougher than we were told. We’ve had to cling on,

Net’ Peter”. I track Peter down, who then nods in the

to figure everything out at the same time – from the

direction of two men down the road. One of them is

actual production to finding our market. But it looks as

Kaj-Lykke Larsen and he is having his mussel boat

if we’re finally about to get lucky,” he says.

fixed; some restless kids stole it the other night and ran it aground.

Despite the country’s modest size, Denmark has Europe’s fourth longest coastline—7,300km—due to its

Larsen is the manager of Dansk Linemusling, Denmark’s

many small islands. It also has a long tradition of eating

leading blue-mussel farm. It might be hard to imagine

oysters and blue mussels—their shells have been found

but this man, with his greying beard and broken boat, is

in archaeological digs at sites dating back to 4,000BC.

the representative of a sustainable, eco-friendly gour-

But while their ancestors enjoyed fruits de mer on a

met business that is winning an international following.

daily basis, most modern Danes don’t give a clam about

Larsen confirms the Wild West analogy: a few years ago,

molluscs, and most of today’s harvest is exported.

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K N OW YO U R MUSSEL P. 28 In a Half Shell—Facts about Mussels

Jutland Peninsula

Skagerrak

Jutland, also known as the Cimbrian Peninsula, is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and the northern portion of Germany.

NORTH JUTLANDIC ISLAND

Kattegat

NORTHERN JUTLAND

NORTHERN SCHLESWIG

FUNEN

DENMARK

GREMANY SOUTHERN

L I M FJ O R D E N

Wadden Sea

SCHLESWIG

The Limfjord is a shallow part of the sea, located in Denmark where it is regarded as a fjord ever since the Vikings. However it has inlets both

HOLSTEIN

from the North Sea and Kattegat and hence separates the island of North Jutlandic Island from the rest of the Jutland Peninsula. The Limfjord is not a fjord in the English geological sense in—in Danish, as in Norwegian the term “fjord” can refer to a wide range of waterways.

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Despite the country’s modest size, Denmark has Europe’s fourth longest coastline—7,300km—due to its many small islands.

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For decades, Danish fishermen have scraped the bot-

ing it of nitrogen and phosphorus. Yet nature can

tonnes a year. But by 2005, due to ecological concerns,

destroy the crop, too. If the water becomes too warm in

production halved. However, mussels scraped from

summer and algae multiply out of control, it can deoxy-

fjords are either frozen or canned, while those reared by

genate the water and trigger the release of hydrogen

Dansk Linemusling are sold fresh.

sulphide from the fjord’s bed, which in a short time kills

To understand the new gourmet connection, we have to go back to the harbour at Hvalpsund. Larsen and the mechanic have fixed their boat, Line Rotholm—a small

02 Løgstør is also known as the Town of Mussels owing to the town’s location right by the sea where this tasty delicacy is found.

the mussels. But if everything goes to plan, within just 10 months, the mussels are ready to harvest. There are around 12 mussel farmers in Denmark. Larsen

aluminium vessel with a 240hp motor and a strong

and Dansk Linemusling will produce roughly 500 tonnes

crane that lifts the mussel lines out of the water.

of line-grown mussels this year, a third of the estimated

With an ideal water temperature and salt balance, and a healthy supply of plankton and algae, Limfjorden provides excellent conditions for mussels. In many respects, this is an easy business but it is vulnerable, too. Larval mussels attach themselves to lines that are anchored to the fjord’s bed by slabs of concrete. Buoys keep them at the right level—too high in winter and they could be

03 If everything goes to plan, within just 10 months, the mussels are ready to harvest

While feeding, the molluscs also clean the water, filter-

tom of fjords for blue mussels, harvesting up to 150,000

killed by ice. As the mussels grow, the farmer releases

Danish total. Using the crane on the Line Rotholm, Larsen pulls some of his 167 lines of mussels up from the depths of the grey water. The molluscs hang together in a torso-shaped cluster. Larsen picks off a few, and with his soiled hands, opens one with his Swiss army knife, handing it over with a “bon appétit”. The firm, mango-coloured meat is on par with a great oyster. “According to our Dutch customers, we produce the best

some and places others in “stockings” attached to the

mussels in Europe. They like the fact that Danish mus-

ropes. The stockings dissolve after two weeks, by which

sels are the largest and the meat has a firm consistency,”

time, the mussels have formed large clusters.

says Larsen with pride. ISSUE 09

SEAFOOD PROFILE

IN A HALF SHELL AMAZING FAC T S about BLUE MUSSELS TRY OUR MUSSEL RECIPE! P. 54â&#x20AC;&#x201D;55 Mussels with White Wine

Mussels, Blue Mytilus edulis Mussels farmed on the sea floor as well as in suspended systems worldwide are a “Best Choice” because of the minimal impact to surrounding ecosystems or cumulative ecosystem impacts. One ongoing area of concern with mussel farming is the potential impact of broadcast spawning and subsequent establishment of a non-native species.

E N V I R O N M E N TA L I M PAC T

Mussels provide net environmental benefits by removing excess nutrients and improving water quality.

FEEDS

Growing mussels require no feed—they filter phytoplankton directly from the water column.

FA R M I N G M E T H O D S

Mussels can be grown in tidal areas or the open ocean. They can be grown directly on the beach bottom or suspended in the water column.

H U M A N H E A LT H

Shellfish toxins and bacteria occur natually in the environment and can cause food-born illness. State and federal regulations require monitoring of farmed mussels to ensure they are safe to eat.

N U T R I T I O N FAC T S

CONSUMER GUIDES

Sustainability SERVINGS

SERVING WEIGHT

n/a

CALORIES

Best Choice

Availability Available year-round

PROTEIN

11.9 g

FAT, TOTAL

2.24 g

SATURATED FATTY ACIDS, TOTAL

0.4 g

CARBOHYDRATE

SUGARS, TOTAL

FIBER, TOTAL DIETARY

CHOLESTEROL

8 mg

SELENIUM

n/a

Mussels are low in saturated fat

86 mg

and excellent sources of omega-3

SODIUM

Source Tidal areas or offshore, mostly in New England, Washington and California

Taste Tender meat and sweet flavor

Health Benifit

fatty acids.

AMAZING FAC T S about B L U E MUSSELS

An old food source

Mussels have been cultivated for almost 800 years in Europe, and have been used as a food source for more then 20,000 years. In fact, prehistoric settlements in Scotland can often be identified by the large mounds of mussel shells found nearby.

A N AT O M Y O F B L U E M U S S E L

Exhalant Siphon Foot

Byssus Threads Mantle

The “beards”

Mussels are sedentary and fix themselves to substrata such as rocks by byssus threads or “beards”. These chitinous threads are produced as a liquid which then sets in the seawater.

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Super glue

The byssal threads of mussels are so strong that they can cling to even a Teflon surface. Scientists are now trying to develop a mussel-based adhesive for use in eye surgery.

Survive in the intertidal zone

To survive in the exposed and often harsh inter-tidal areas, the mussel can seal itself by tightly closing its valves and trapping water within.

Size

The size of the mussel varies with the season. They are largest and fleshiest in October and smallest in March.

Gender

The mantles of lady mussels are orange while gents’ are creamy white.

MUSSEL’S GENDER Female (left) / Male (right)

Water filter

Mussels feed entirely on plankton. To do this they can filter up to 65 litres of water a day.

They boost your nutrient intake

Tasty, nutritious and low in sodium and saturated fat, mussels provide a readily absorbed source of B & C vitamins, amino acids, Omega 3 fatty acids, and vital minerals including iron, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium and zinc.

Slow mussel killer

The dog whelk is one of the mussel’s main predators. It bores a hole through the shell and sucks out the soft parts. But the mussel sometimes has enough time to exact revenge by attaching a byssal thread onto the dog whelk’s shell thus trapping it. The whelk then starves to death imprisoned on the dead mussel shell.

More portein, less fat

Ounce for ounce mussel meat contains more protein than beef stock, much less fat, many more mineral nutrients and a quarter of the calories.

DOG WHELK The dog whelk, dogwhelk, or Atlantic dogwinkle, scientific name Nucella lapillus, is a species of predatory sea snail, a carnivorous marine gastropod mollusc in the family Muricidae, the rock snails.

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STORY

THE FISH A P R I Z E D C AT C H F O R S A N F R A N C I S C O B AY A R E A SCHOOL CAFETERIAS

ISSUE 09

T E! YE US LY C I O UG LI E D

t to ugh b ro s i er o ss e adi i n M y ) . Th re n ods nt of g o u f h o a lly C e a a tc S y n c sh A e re itio F re ont s trad ow s. B ay i n g ( M ha ut n chool h b d s , i s ay L a n tc h ” f n i w a t i a n r c row ket fo “by n th ar b e e ’s a m e r e h t

ISSUE 09

WRITER

P H OTO G R A P H E R

Tara Duggan

James Tensuan

Just don’t let the kids see the actual fish. Grenadier may be a star of the bycatch program, but it is one ugly cuss. A deep water dweller, its nicknames—underwater squirrel or rattail—come from its large head, bulging eyes and weirdly skinny tail.

Cafeteria fish: Those two words are almost guaranteed

its large head, bulging eyes and weirdly skinny tail. It fits

to send shudders down the lunch line. But that’s chang-

right into the country’s current obsession with “ugly”

ing as Oakland, Monterey and other school districts take

foods that are routinely wasted, such as the estimated

part in an innovative program that connects them to

10 to 30 percent of American produce that gets thrown

local fishermen who can offer less-popular, yet still tasty,

out because it doesn’t meet supermarket cosmetic stan-

species at an affordable price. As a result, many local

dards. But looks don’t matter when the fish is filleted,

high school students will see local fish in their lunch-

and both school menu planners and students have

room this school year. And they’re going to like it, says

found its flavor “delightful,” said Kristen Truchinski,

Amy Glodde, menu planner in Oakland Unified School

general manager of Acre Gourmet, which provides lunch

District’s nutrition services department. “We just tested it with some high school kids, and it went over really well,” said Glodde, who plans to serve fish tacos made with Pacific grenadier. The grenadier is

01 Fish tacos, made with local underutilized fish like grenadier, are prepared for the lunch line at Monterey High School.

service to four San Francisco private schools. She also calls the fish drastically more affordable than other local options. That fits the bill for Oakland and other school districts

bycatch — unintentionally caught when fisherman go

that have been looking for local sources of quality

after black cod — and hundreds of tons of it are thrown

seafood—along with meat and poultry—since signing

out annually because it doesn’t have a significant com-

on to California Thursdays, a farm-to-school initiative

mercial market. The mild, flaky fish will be supplied by

started by the Center for Ecoliteracy in Berkeley.

Monterey seafood purveyor Real Good Fish as part of

So far, 42 public school districts have committed to

its Bay2Tray program. Just don’t let the kids see the

serve only food grown or raised in California (or

actual fish. Grenadier may be a star of the bycatch pro-

caught in its waters) on Thursdays, at least monthly.

gram, but it is one ugly cuss. A deep water dweller, its nicknames—underwater squirrel or rattail—come from

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LO C A L A N D A F F O R DA B L E Finding local protein that fits into school budgets of less than $1 per lunch entree is a huge challenge. “It’s really easy to focus on the fruits and the vegetables” when using California ingredients, Glodde said. “But moving to the (protein at the) center of the plate is where Oakland is headed.” It’s a win-win for schools and fishermen. There are at least three types of grenadier in local waters, among the many local seafood species that

per pound after the cost of filleting, skinning, storage and distribution. So Gerard pairs it with those less-expensive vegetables and grains. Bay2Tray is part of a growing national movement among chefs and environmentalists to promote what are traditionally called trash fish—though that phrase is going out of favor because of its negative messaging, especially when it comes to feeding schoolchildren. “People call anything that’s not salmon trash,” says Maria

are undervalued because they’re unfamiliar, perishable

Finn, who coordinates the Bay2Tray program and also

or difficult to process. West Coast fishermen typically

writes about seafood and has contributed to The

get 25 cents a pound for whole grenadier, which makes

Chronicle. She prefers “underutilized species” while

them not even worth dragging off the boat, and as a

acknowledging it’s not as catchy. The cost of cleaning

result they threw 240 tons of dead grenadier back

and filleting often determines whether less valued types

into the ocean in 2013, the last year for which there

of seafood make it to market. Because of labor costs,

are records. “The price is so low,” said Sumai “Pat” Zeng, whose husband, who goes by Do, is a Moss Landing long-line fisherman. (He doesn’t speak English well, so Zeng is

about 90 percent of squid from California is sent to China frozen, then defrosted, cleaned, refrozen and shipped back here, writes Paul Greenberg, author of “American Catch: The Fight for Our Local Seafood.”

the family communicator.) “It’s a good fish, very flaky.

Greenberg offers this other counterintuitive fact: Ninety

But there’s no market for it.”

percent of the seafood Americans eat is imported and mostly farmed, while one-third of our own seafood,

EASY ON THE NOSE For black cod, Do receives $1.50 to more than $3.50 a pound, depending on the size, but there are limits on how much he can catch. Grenadier inhabits roughly the same habitat as the black cod, and the higher price that

mostly wild, is exported. To add to the irony, West Coast grenadier species get only a yellow or “good alternative” rating from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program, rather than earning a green or “best choice” label.

Real Good Fish offers—though only 45 cents—will at least persuade fishermen like him not to throw it away.

LONG LIFE

This wallflower of the sea has another plus: It holds up

That’s because there’s not enough data about grenadier

well in a cafeteria, without giving off a fishy scent, unlike

populations, said Santi Roberts, Seafood Watch science

more oily types of seafood. This last point is probably

manager. Seafood assessments “tend to focus on the

most important of all.

species that are more important either environmentally

“The lunchroom can’t smell fishy,” Truchinski said. Monterey Peninsula Unified School District has been purchasing grenadier through Bay2Tray since early 2014. It has hosted Bay2Tray fishermen in school assemblies, and at least one science teacher has integrated the program into the curriculum. “Monterey was founded on fishing, and over half our staff is married to a fisherman or is a daughter or son of a fisherman,” said Jenn Gerard, the district’s director of nutrition services. “The irony is that the children were

or commercially,” he said. Also, grenadier is long-lived, sometimes making it over 70 years, so its population could be hard to recover if overfished, Roberts said. As long as this bug-eyed, rat-tailed fish remains bycatch, its use can reduce food waste, give children access to a fresh source of protein and provides fishermen with a new income stream. “It would take a very long time to even make a dent in the bycatch,” Finn said.

looking at the Monterey Bay from their classroom and then going to the cafe to get frozen pollock fish sticks,” made with fish imported from Asia.

N AT I O N A L M O V E M E N T 02 Culinary Specialist Stephanie Lip prepares to put tortillas in the oven at Monterey High School in Monterey, Calif.

Gerard plans to order 2,500 pounds of Bay2Tray grenadier fillets this school year to use in dishes like rice bowls with chipotle-baked grenadier, cilantro lime rice, roasted bell peppers, roasted corn and black beans. While grenadier is less expensive than other local fish, it’s still $5

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BIG DA 24

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G TA TECHNOLOGY

HELPING THE FIGHT AGAINST OVERFISHING

and more !

ISSUE 09

When Brian Schwartz, a Johns Hopkins University epidemiologist researching the public health impacts of hydraulic fracturing, read about an environmental group that uses satellite imagery and aerial photography to track environmental degradation, he was intrigued. It was the summer of 2013, and the group, SkyTruth, had just launched a crowdsourcing project on its website to map fracking activity in Pennsylvania. The site provided volunteers with U.S. government aerial images from across the state and a brief

“IF YOU CAN SEE IT, YOU CAN CHANGE IT.”

tutorial on how to identify fracking locations. Within a month, more than 200 volunteers sorted through 9,000 images to pinpoint 2,724 fracking wellpads. Schwartz ended up using this data in a study published in October in the journal Epidemiology, showing that women living near hydraulic fracturing sites in 40 Pennsylvania counties faced a significantly elevated risk of giving birth prematurely. That’s precisely the sort of result that John Amos, SkyTruth’s president, envisioned when he founded the group in 2001. He since has become part data analyst, part environmental advocate and part satellite-imagery proselytizer as he looks for ways to use remote sensing to call attention to little-noticed environmental damage.

—SKYTRUTH

This month, SkyTruth’s website is displaying a map showing the global prevalence of flaring, the wasteful and carbon-spewing oil industry practice of burning natural gas and other drilling byproducts. Through most of December, SkyTruth and another satellite-focused nonprofit, Moscow-based Transparent World, displayed images of a burning oil platform and a 2,300-barrel oil

Environmentalists are using sophisticated technology of their own to peel away that cloak of invisibility.

slick in the Caspian Sea. The platform’s owner, Azerbaijan’s state-owned oil company, SOCAR, denied that any spill had occurred. SkyTruth’s defining moment came in 2010, when Amos—analyzing satellite photographs—sounded the alarm that the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was far larger than the petroleum company, BP, and the U.S. government were acknowledging.

WRITER

Jacques Leslie

“If you can see it,” says SkyTruth’s motto, displayed at the top of its website, “you can change it.” One indication of SkyTruth’s influence is a cautionary headline that appeared after SkyTruth formed a partnership with Google

ISSUE 09

and the nonprofit Oceana in November 2014

SkyTruth has benefited enormously from

But soon after the site’s launch in 2011, users

to launch a system called Global Fishing

the explosion in the last 15 years in satellite

found that information posted on it was entered in the wrong field, misspelled chem-

Watch, which uses the satellite transpon-

imagery and other digital technologies.

ders found aboard most large fishing

When Amos started SkyTruth, a single

ical trade names or omitted key facts

vessels to track the activities of the world’s

Landsat satellite image cost $4,400; now

deemed proprietary. The site thwarted

the entire U.S. government collection—

researchers by requiring postings in a for-

more than 4.7 million images and growing

mat that computers couldn’t read.

fishing fleets.

“Big Brother is watching,” “Big Brother is watching,” warned World Fishing & Aquaculture, a trade journal. That admonition could be extended to all the extractive industries—oil and gas, mining, logging and fishing—whose operations can be tracked by remote sensing. A growing number of governments conduct environmental observation by satellite, including Brazil, which monitors deforestation in the Amazon. And environmental groups commonly use remote sensing tools. One prominent example is Global Forest Watch, a system launched two years by Washington-based

daily—is available for free.

nies to use FracFocus to disclose their

ery become cheap, but the capacity to

chemical use, a 2013 Harvard Law School

analyze, duplicate, send and store satellite

report concluded that FracFocus “fails as a

data has expanded by orders of magnitude.

regulatory compliance tool.” SkyTruth’s lead

In fact, satellite technology is considered a

programmer, Paul Woods, devised a way

subset of a larger field, geospatial intelli-

around some of FracFocus’ barriers by writ-

gence, which has tens of thousands of

ing software that “scraped” all the chemical

practitioners around the world employing

data from the tens of thousands of reports

an array of optical, thermal, radar and radio-

posted on the site. Then he posted it in a

metric remote sensing tools.

database on SkyTruth’s website.

“It’s evolved from a problem of getting

In addition, under pressure from SkyTruth,

imagery to deciding which image do I want

other environmental groups and an Energy

to pluck out of this massive cloud,” Amos

Department advisory board, FracFocus

told me.

agreed to make its data available in

The finding by Schwartz, the Johns Hopkins

World Resources Institute to monitor

epidemiologist, on premature births sug-

logging and fires in the world’s forests.

gests a correlation between fracking and

Russia-based Transparent World employs

poor human health; but because the chemi-

satellite imagery for many purposes, includ-

cal trigger wasn’t identified, the link isn’t

ing monitoring of protected areas and

regarded as causal.

observing the impacts of dam construction.

Although 23 states require fracking compa-

Not only have satellites and satellite imag-

From more than 1,000 available chemicals,

Amos, 52, said he considered himself an

fracking operators select a dozen or so that

environmentalist even while he spent a

fit the geological challenges of a particular

machine-readable form beginning in May. These developments have yielded more information for researchers, such as Schwartz, who are investigating fracking’s health impact. “This is a very wonky issue that makes people’s eyes glaze over,” Amos said. “But it’s where the rubber meets the road in terms of understanding if fracking is bad for you.”

decade working for oil and gas companies

site. People living near the site typically

as a satellite imagery analyst looking for

can’t find out whether their wells and aqui-

national attention was in April 2010, when

drilling sites. He quit in 2000 to start a

fers have been contaminated because the

Amos received a Google alert that an oil platform called Deepwater Horizon, 50

The first time that SkyTruth attracted

non-profit that would apply his skills to

cost of testing for all 1,000 chemicals is pro-

environmental protection. For years he

hibitive, and operators treat each site’s

miles off the Louisiana coast, had exploded

ran SkyTruth from the basement of his

chemical recipe as a trade secret.

and burned. Amos knew explosions such as

Shepherdstown, West Virginia, home on

this one were uncommon and usually led to

an annual budget of less than $100,000,

spills. He began searching for satellite pho-

and he still speaks of “begging” for satellite images from commercial providers. Although SkyTruth has expanded in recent years to eight employees supported by a $600,000 budget, it is still tiny, particularly compared to the U.S. government’s massive satellite resources. Nevertheless, SkyTruth has delved into realms that the government has avoided. One reason, Amos said, is that satellite imagery analysis is so unfamiliar that “nobody has known what to ask for”—thus, one of SkyTruth’s missions is to show what’s possible. Its usual method is to release a trove of environment-related data, then invite researchers and crowdsource ama-

“It’s evolved from a problem of getting imagery to deciding which image do I want to pluck out of this massive cloud.” The quandary led Amos to venture beyond

tos, but the first ones he found were obscured by clouds Meanwhile, BP, which leased the rig, and the Coast Guard, echoing BP, maintained that the ruptured well beneath the rig was leak-

satellite imagery into the larger field of

ing oil at a rate of 1,000 barrels a day—a

geospatial data. Along with several bet-

major spill but perhaps not a catastrophic

ter-known environmental groups, SkyTruth

one. The number was vital, for it would help

argued for disclosure of the recipe used at

determine the scale and strategy of the leak

each fracking site. Two industry lobbying

containment effort, the eventual cost to BP

groups, the American Petroleum Institute

in fines and damages, and the scope of

and America’s Natural Gas Alliance, defused

preparations for the next spill. It took Amos

mounting Congressional pressure for man-

six days to acquire clear images.

datory disclosure by launching a website, FracFocus, where operators could post their recipes voluntarily.

His first thought, he said, was: “Oh. my God! This is much bigger than anybody realizes.” He calculated that the slick was 50 miles

teurs to analyze it.

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long and covered 817 square miles. He out-

The decision marked the first time the EPA

lined the slick, along with his calculations,

had reversed a coal mine’s permit under the

and posted both on SkyTruth’s website.

Clean Water Act.

Within a day, Ian MacDonald, a Florida State University oceanographer and oil slick authority, notified Amos that the leak’s flow rate was much bigger than a thousand barrels a day. Using Amos’ calculations of the slick’s size and conservative assumptions about its thickness, MacDonald concluded that it was “not unreasonable” that the leak was 20 times BP’s initial estimate. Undermined by SkyTruth’s numbers, the N at i o n a l O ce a n i c a n d At m o s p h e r i c Administration conceded the next day that BP’s initial estimate was too low: Over BP’s public objections, NOAA revised the government estimate to 5,000 barrels a day. Two months later—prodded, in part, by

In search of images that tell environmental stories, SkyTruth pays close attention to news reports, but occasionally it finds stories of its own. One example is what is probably the Gulf of Mexico’s longest-running commercial oil spill, at the site of a rig destroyed by an underwater mudslide during Hurricane Ivan in 2004. The slide buried 28 wells on the sea floor under 100 feet of mud, which made sealing them extremely difficult. The rig’s owner, Taylor Energy Company, went bankrupt trying. Amos discovered the leaks in 2010 while studying Hurricane Katrina’s impacts, and has been sounding an alarm ever since.

SkyTruth—government scientists concluded

The leaks have trickled steadily into the

that the initial flow rate was 62,000 barrels

Gulf’s waters since 2004 at a rate Amos esti-

a day, 62 times BP’s initial estimate. SkyTruth

mates at between one and 20 barrels a day,

also has affected the course of mountaintop

creating a slick that is sometimes 20 miles

removal coal mining. Appalachian states

long. The wells are 10 miles offshore in fed-

have issued hundreds of permits for moun-

erally managed water, but no federal agency

taintop removal mines, but they’ve rarely

has tried to seal the leak.

checked to see whether the mines have stayed within the permitted boundaries.

Given the issues SkyTruth has been involved with, the group has attracted surprisingly little criticism, perhaps because so much of

“Oh my God! This is much bigger than anybody realizes.”

SkyTruth, seeing really is believing. A nota-

Permits are supposed to be issued only

testified at a U.S. Senate subcommittee

its work is grounded in visual data—for ble exception occurred in 2009 when Amos

after assessing impacts on downstream

hearing on the underappreciated risks of

waterways, and a study of 10 West Virginia

deepwater oil drilling.

counties published in 2004 by the state’s environmental protection department found that nearly 40 percent of mines in 10 counties were situated outside permitted locations. Acting on a request from Appalachian Voices, a North Carolina-based nonprofit that opposes mountaintop 01 Global Fishing Watch, a prototype tool unveiled today by Google and two conservation groups, maps the voyages of 25,000 large vessels during 2012 and 2013 and highlights where they engaged in fishing behavior (yellow and orange patches). Users can zoom in to identify and track individual vessels and see where they may have engaged in unlicensed fishing in marine protected areas or other nations’ exclusive economic zones (light blue boundary lines).

removal mining, SkyTruth devised a tech-

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D.-La.), attacked Amos for overlooking the oil industry’s safety record and economic benefits. “You do a great disservice by not telling the American people the truth about drilling and putting it in the perspective it deserves,” Landrieu told Amos.

nique for identifying the mines from satellite

Landrieu didn’t give Amos a chance to

images, then mapped their growth over

respond, but, as it turned out, he didn’t have

three decades and posted the results on its

to. The BP spill occurred five months later.

website in 2009. The information was used in six peer-reviewed academic articles, including a Duke University study that found that once 5 percent of a watershed is mined, water quality in its rivers and streams usually fails to meet state standards. That study in turn provided empirical backing for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 2011 revocation of a

02 Fishermen can benefit even as fish numbers rise, scientists argue.

mine permit in West Virginia that had been issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

ISSUE 09

Sylvia Earle watchs a squid in a time before our full impact on the ocean was clear.

PEOPLE

S AV I N G O U R OCEANS

One womanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dream to create national parks in the sea

WRITER

P H OTO G R A P H E R

Bryan Walsh

Matt Jones

Sylvia Earle is a dedicated advocate for the world’s oceans and the creatures that live in them. Her voice speaks with wonder and amazement at the glory of the oceans and with urgency to awaken the public from its ignorance about the role the oceans plays in all of our lives and the importance of maintaining their health.

LEGO’S MINIFIG OF S Y LV I A E A R L E

LEGO recently released a minifigurine modeled after Women Divers Hall of Famer Dr. Sylvia Earle. “Her Deepness” comes included in a bunch of new LEGO Deep Sea Explorer kits. Earle’s official minifigurines weren’t the first made in her likeness. Science writer and LEGO enthusiast Maia Weinstock made one of Earle that was presented to Her Deepness at the 2014 Glamour Woman of the Year Award ceremony.

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he Sargasso Sea has no shores. The 2 million-sq.-mi. body of water in the middle of the Atlantic is defined by

two features: the ocean currents forming the North Atlantic subtropical gyre, which

cycles around the sea, and sargassum, the free-floating golden-brown seaweed. The

“We’ve got to somehow stabilize our connection to nature so that in 50 years from now, 500 years, 5,000 years from now there will still be a wild system and respect for what it takes to sustain us.”

sargassum can be found scattered throughout the sea, sometimes entwined in vast waterborne mats. When Christopher Columbus encountered the sargassum while crossing the Atlantic, he ordered his men to fathom the depths, believing he had struck land. The oceanographer Sylvia Earle, though she prefers not to think in land-based metaphors, calls the sargassum “the golden rain forest of the sea,” a base for scores of juvenile creatures, a floating nursery in a sea that was long believed to be a watery desert. She has traveled to Bermuda, on the

— S Y LV I A E A R L E

western fringes of the Sargasso Sea, to see the sargassum and the ocean life she has worked for decades to protect. “The sargassum is the shelter,” she says as her boat passes beyond Bermuda’s coral reefs. “It is the island in the stream.” It’s an island that can be tough to find. The late-summer hurricanes that plague the Atlantic had churned the waters off Bermuda like an eggbeater, breaking up the biggest sargassum mats. But eventually, after the shallows give way to the cobalt blue of the open ocean, the signal is given: Sargassum, ho! Woven into the weed are pink filaments of coral spawn, eggs and sperm together—“a starter kit for a new coral reef,” according to Earle, who slips over the side and into the ocean. The warm water is deep, but the sun can shine through the sea more than 200 ft. down, the light broken only by the golden shade of sargassum mats. Beneath the surface are thousands, perhaps millions of coral eggs, each smaller than the period at the end of this sentence, leaving Earle to swim through a sea of stars. After nearly an

JIM SUIT The JIM suit is an atmospheric diving suit (ADS), which is designed to maintain an interior pressure of one atmosphere despite exterior pressures, eliminating the majority of physiological dangers associated with deep diving. In 1979, oceanographer Sylvia Earle set a human depth record of 1250 feet (381m) using a JIM suit.

hour, she emerges from the water, dripping and smiling. “Every time I see a big batch of eggs, I know another generation is coming,” she says. “I know there’s hope.” In her more than 50-year career in ocean science, Earle has studied the deep, dived it and written about it. Now she’s trying to save the oceans, and she’s focusing on one simple idea: protect them. Create true

ISSUE 09

reserves—marine protected areas (MPAs)—

Earle aims to stop it. She has launched the

on the high seas, sanctuaries for everything

nonprofit Mission Blue to build support for

that swims, just as governments have

marine sanctuaries around sensitive hot

created parks on land. About 12% of the

spots—she calls them hope spots—in the

planet’s land surface is conserved in some

endangered oceans, including the high seas

way, but little more than 1% of the 139.5

beyond any one country’s control. If her

million sq. mi. of the oceans have any pro-

goal is audacious—we don’t even have the

tection whatsoever. To Earle, that discrepancy helps explain why we’ve treated the oceans as a “supermarket and a sewer.” First through overfishing: factory trawlers and long-liners, operating with generous government subsidies, have stripped the seas of their abundance, and many scientists estimate that we’ve lost at least 90% of large predatory fish like sharks and swordfish as populations of once abundant commercial species like bluefin tuna have crashed. Our appetite for fish has disrupted the aquatic food chain, degrading the coral reefs that sustain ocean life around the planet. Pollution and fertilizer runoff from agriculture have helped push one-third of the more than 700 reef-building corals close to extinction; 70% of all coral reefs could be gone by midcentury.

“The loss we could suffer goes beyond aesthetics, it’s a loss to ourselves.” Even worse are changes to the very chemistry of the seas. The oceans have gradually warmed, depriving species of nutrients and triggering deadly coral-bleaching events. Unusually high temperatures this year could wipe out coral around the planet, accelerating the destruction of the most valuable habitats in the oceans. Thanks to all the fossil fuels humans have burned, the seas have also become more acidic because dissolving CO in water lowers the pH—the oceans store 50 times as much carbon as the atmosphere does—and that change will have consequences no one can predict, though none are likely to be positive. The seas seem as

legal institutions yet to protect international waters—so is Earle. “I can’t think of many others who’ve been as persistent and vocal and forward-thinking on the oceans as Sylvia,” says Greg Stone, chief scientist for oceans at Conservation International. “The world is opening up to her message.” The often fractious marine-conservation movement—along with new corporate allies like attention under the Mission Blue banner,

life, sleeping and waking—earning her the

focusing on reducing overfishing and

nickname Her Deepness. At 75, the elfin

expanding protection. The island nations of the central Pacific—

She began her career in the heroic age of

waters on the planet—are moving to create

ocean exploration, when Jacques Cousteau

a network of protection across their ocean-

roamed the seas in his ship Calypso and the

scape, and the Obama Administration has

Trieste went to the bottom of the Mariana

announced an oceans policy that involves

Trench. But she’s also seen the degradation

managing U.S. waters, not just exploiting

of the oceans up close—the tortures

them. “This idea’s time has come,” says ven-

endured by her home waters in the Gulf of

ture capitalist David Shaw, who has devoted

Mexico, the steady evidence that we were

time and money to Earle’s ideas. “And Sylvia

fishing out the seas. And she is aware that

embodies it.”

we’ve lost far more than we can know. There is evidence, sketchy but still there, that sea

FROM PIONEER TO PROTECTOR

director of the Pew Environment Group. “It’s a loss to ourselves.”

New England were once so abundant that the fish jumped onto ships, and oysters so plentiful that 700 million were sold in New

the field. She was allowed on a scientific

York City in 1880.

voyage in the early ‘60s only after she agreed to help with the dishes and the cooking. She began diving off Florida at 17— using a helmet, compressed air and weights —and by 1970 she was an aquanaut, leading an all-female team of scientists who lived and worked for two weeks in an undersea station off a Caribbean island. It was then that she learned to love diving deep, seeing the ocean far below and far away from

The desire to go deeper eventually pushed

thetics,” says Josh Reichert, managing

even in our recent memory, that cod off

ence in the 1950s, there were few women in

human beings.

waters to purify themselves, we were wrong.

life was once far more robust than it was

When Earle began working in marine sci-

invulnerable as they are immense. But if we

“The loss we could suffer goes beyond aes-

Earle still dives. “Every time I slip into the ocean,” she says, “it’s like going home.”

home to some of the last truly pristine open

thought the oceans were too vast for human beings to affect or we were counting on the

SARGASSUM

Google—is making a concerted push for

Earle out of academia. She co-founded a company to design and build her own subs, and in 1979 she set the record for solo untethered diving, walking on the seafloor 1,250 ft. below the surface in a JIM, or atmospheric diving suit. She’s spent about 7,000 hours diving—that’s nearly 10 months of her

The result is what the French marine scientist Daniel Pauly has called “shifting baselines”: we can’t tell how bad it’s gotten because we don’t remember how good it was. “The seas today are at very low abundance for many of the things that we rely on for food,” says Callum Roberts, a marine-conservation biologist at England’s University of York. “Many species have fallen a thousandfold from what they once were.”

arle has always been involved in conservation—she was the chief scientist a t t h e N a t i o n a l O ce a n i c a n d

Atmospheric Administration in the early 1990s and is an explorer in residence at the National Geographic Society—but over the past few years, she’s looked to intensify those efforts. Marine conservation, however,

ISSUE 09

Dr. Sylvia Earle prepares for her historic dive in the JIM suit. in 1979 she set the record for solo untethered diving, walking on the seafloor 1,250 ft. below the surface in a JIM, or atmospheric diving suit.

ISSUE 09

TEKTITE II all-female team, led by Sylvia Earle (far right), in rebreather training

ISSUE 09

Mission Blue won the 2015 News &

01 Earle and her team of aquanauts launch the Tektite II project, 6th July 1970.

Documentary Emmy® Award for Outstanding Editing—Documentary and Long Form The new documentary, “Mission Blue,” available

02 In 2009, Earle won a TED Prize. With TED’s support, she launched Mission Blue, which aims to establish marine protected areas around the globe.

starting today on Netflix, traces Sylvia’s life of wonder and exploration, and her dedication to awakening the world to the need to give the ocean time and space to recover. The film bears the same name as her ocean conservation alliance born out of the wish she made upon receiving the 2009 TED Prize. Co-directed by Fisher Stevens (“The Cove”) and Robert Nixon (“Gorillas in the Mist”), the film, like Sylvia herself, doesn’t pull punches. It is hard hitting, but also inspiring. This is in keeping with her experience of the ocean itself, a vast and awesome location and community, at once fragile and powerful enough that while its immediate future is in our hands, our long-term future depends utterly on its continued health and functioning. Check out the documentary on: www.netflix.com

regional fishery organizations to the

has always been a stepchild in environmen-

Papahanaumokuakea Marine National

talism, and the groups involved are often

Monument in northwestern Hawaii, protect-

International Seabed Authority, there’s no

small and fractured. Earle was looking for a

ing nearly 140,000 sq. mi. of ocean, and this

clear way to create reserves in international waters.

big stage, and she got one in 2009, when

year Britain created the largest MPA in the

she addressed Technology, Entertainment,

world, around the Chagos Archipelago in

Design (TED), the major conference that

the Indian Ocean.

connects tech heavyweights with innovative scientists and thinkers. Every year TED grants a prize to one speaker who makes a “wish to change the world.” Earle’s was simple: “a campaign to ignite public support for a global network of marine protected areas.” She won the prize. “We recognized that her mission to save the ocean is one that can only be achieved if we harness all of the resources available to us,” says Chris Anderson, TED’s curator. PA R K S O F T H E S E A MPAS aren’t a new idea. Countries have been giving some protection to priceless pieces of the ocean, like Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, for years. The MPAs have even been growing in number recently. In 2006, President George W. Bush created the

“The high seas are the least protected areas in the world,” says Elliott Norse, head of the

Studies have shown that MPAs can allow

Marine Conservation Biology Institute.

fish and coral to recover from exploitation,

That’s why Earle has decided to focus on

and they have spillover benefits for unpro-

creating MPAs in the high seas, the heart of

tected waters outside their borders. But

the ocean. As part of her prize, she received

MPAs still make up just a tiny fraction of

support from TED to form Mission Blue and

total ocean area, and in most of them, fish-

launched it with a special TED conference

ing is still allowed. (Imagine if hunting were

held on board a ship off the Galápagos

permitted in Yellowstone Park and you have

Islands this April. (She chose the Galápagos

an idea of the difference between land con-

for more than just the scenery. Although

servation and its blue counterpart.) And

97% of the islands’ land is strictly protected,

there is virtually no protection for the high

just 3% of the surrounding ocean is, and the

seas, the 64% of the oceans that is beyond

difference shows.) Philanthropists, venture

the jurisdiction of any single nation.

capitalists and celebrities—including the

(Governments have claim to the waters in

greenish actors Edward Norton and

their exclusive economic zones, extending

Leonardo DiCaprio—listened to marine sci-

200 miles beyond their coastlines.) Though

entists and environmentalists detail the

there are a number of global bodies that

global ocean crisis; the result was $17 million

deal with parts of the high seas, from

in commitments for a number of initiatives,

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â&#x20AC;&#x201D; S Y LV I A E A R L E

ISSUE 09

including the creation of the first real high

creating protected areas, she wants true

seas MPA, in the Sargasso. “This is new terri-

marine sanctuaries, where fishing would be

tory for all of us,” says Dan Laffoley, marine

largely off limits, at least for a time. That

“Every time I slip into the ocean, it’s like going home.”

vice chair for the International Union for

brings opposition from the fishing industry,

The National Geographic Society has taken

Conservation of Nature’s World Commission

which has long been skeptical of the value

Earle’s Mission Blue and built on it, seeking

on Protected Areas. “The Sargasso Sea

of MPAs and doubtful that the seas are

to establish a unified and global ocean-con-

could provide a road map for creating more

really in danger of being overfished. That’s

servation movement. (Earle herself has

protection elsewhere.” That’s because the Sargasso has one feature going for it that Earle’s other hope spots— which range from the Gakkel Ridge in the Arctic to the Ross Sea off Antarctica—lack: Bermuda. The 21-sq.-mi. island, a British overseas territory, has a long history of acting for ocean conservation, having passed a law in 1620 prohibiting the killing of young sea turtles. “We look at the sea every day,” says Phillipe Rouja, acting director of Bermuda’s department of conservation services. “You can’t tell us that we don’t care about it.” Though conservationists still need further approval and support from other nations bordering the Sargasso Sea— including the U.S. and Britain—Bermuda’s leadership has helped the idea take off.

hard to believe. Fishermen have been able

launched a side group called SEAlliance,

to mask the drop in fish populations only by

which will focus chiefly on MPAs.) Google is

going farther from shore and going farther

getting into the action. After Earle pointed

down the aquatic food chain while taking

out that the Google Earth application

advantage of improving subsidies and tech-

treated the seas as one big blue blank, the

nology. Eventually they’ll run out of room

company added new functions that allow

and fish. But MPAs alone, no matter how

users to plunge into the deep. The nations

large, can’t save vulnerable areas of the

of the Pacific, led by the tiny island of

ocean from the impact of warming and,

Kiribati, are working toward creating the

worse, gradual acidification, which will

Pacific Oceanscape, a linked, protected

alter the chemistry of the oceans in a way

area in the middle of the world’s biggest

the world hasn’t seen for millions of years.

body of water. “We need to move beyond

“Once you screw with acidification, no one

our coasts,” says President Anote Tong of

knows what’s going to happen,” says Tony

Kiribati. “The ocean is much larger than any

Knap, executive director of BIOS. To Earle,

one nation.”

however, climate change and its effects are just more reasons to get serious about carving out MPAs.

The ocean is bigger than all of us, and yet each of us can affect it via our actions. That might be the scariest news of all for the blue.

And if Earle’s vision catches on and other

Areas of the ocean with protection are more

If the oceans are suffering in a world with

nations start working together to put aside

resilient to nearly all threats than those

nearly 7 billion human beings, more than

open ocean, Bermudan officials believe

left undefended. And even fishermen should

60% of whom live on or near a coastline,

that leading the charge could pay political

support the idea of marine reserves.

what will happen when there are 9 billion or

and economic dividends for their people, as well as for the planet. “We are absolutely interested in saving the Sargasso Sea,” says Ewart Brown, Bermuda’s Premier. “We’re in the perfect location for Bermuda to become the center of this.”

Research from economist Rashid Sumaila found that overfishing leads to global catch losses costing the industry up to $36 billion a year. If the global fish population is a bank account, we’re cutting into our principal by

more? “It’s really hard to conjure up much of a sense of well-being, because it just keeps getting worse,” said oceanographer Jeremy Jackson—aptly known in science circles as Dr. Doom—in a talk this year.

overfishing, and we should all know by now

Think about it too long and it’s easy to sink

hanks to the work of scientists at the

that’s not sustainable. Creating reserves

into despair, but Earle floats above—or per-

Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences

and giving fish a breather allows the interest

haps below—it. “There is no other planet,”

(BIOS), one of the oldest oceano-

to build back up. “You fish less, and you end

she says. “No water anywhere else. We have

graphic institutes in the world, parts of the

up catching more,” says York University’s

to save this.” If it becomes too much, she

Sargasso Sea have been more closely stud-

Callum Roberts.

can always slip into the sea, where she’s

ied than almost anywhere else in the open ocean. And there’s something magical about the Sargasso, a symbol of borderless mystery. The European and American eels hatch in the Sargasso Sea, then travel to

spent so much of her life, moving with a balBRINGING ORDER TO THE

letic grace, in sync with the sea life she loves.

OPEN SEAS

On her most recent dive in the Sargasso Sea,

What this means, ultimately, is that we can

coastal and inland waters, in one of the most

no longer treat the open ocean as ungov-

enigmatic migrations in the natural world,

erned space—for our sake (Earle is fond of

before returning to the sargassum to spawn

reminding people that the oxygen in every

and die. And while its remoteness has so far

other breath comes from the ocean) and the

saved the Sargasso Sea from the damage

sake of all that lives beneath the surface.

done to other parts of the ocean, there are

The good news is that there’s evidence of a

emerging threats, including the risk that the

sea change in attitude. Earlier this summer,

sargassum might be harvested for biofuel

the Obama Administration created a federal

or fertilizer, robbing this aquatic nursery of

oceans policy that aims to govern U.S.

its cradles. Earle, for her part, is an absolut-

waters in a comprehensive manner instead

ist. She won’t eat fish any longer—“I don’t

of keeping fishing, recreation and energy in

eat my dive buddies,” she says—and urges

separate silos.

Earle drifts past an algae-covered shipwreck, one of scores of vessels claimed by Bermuda’s reefs. Seven thousand hours of diving, and every minute beneath the waves still excites her. She lands gently on the seafloor, following the path of a tiny arrow crab, one of the few signs of life in the gorgeous but empty waters. The sediment rises around her, and she disappears in a cloud of underwater dust. She’s at home.

others to do the same. When she talks about ISSUE 09

R E S TA U R A N T S

San Francisco

HILLSIDE SUPPER CLUB SUPPER, SNAIL & S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

Do you crave sustainable food? Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll find It in spades at this inspired San Francisco supperclub.

ISSUE 09

THE

SNA

r the ot fo masc r s to r refe il is a e a h n s it he Th e ic h hich ,w nt (w urant veme re s t a ime t d mo o e k fo ta low ple to the s o e p s ) or urage food e n co make e to e tim y and k jo a t n e to to le p o ds pe remin meal. their y jo en

CHEFâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S SECRET RECIPE P. 52 Seared Black Bass With Scallion-Chile Relish

ISSUE 09

WRITER

P H OTO G R A P H E R

Julie Ann Fineman

Ashley Batz

“Sustainability goes without saying. Farmers need us and we need them so it’s not our philosophy, it’s our way of life.” —HILLSIDE SUPPER CLUB

01 Founded by two chefs who enjoy the camaraderie of eating and drinking together: Tony Ferrari (left) & Jonathan Sutton (right) 02 One of most recent iterations of the pot pie on Hillside’s menu was a duck confit

Wander the steep streets of Bernal Heights in San

renowned eateries, and even bits in far-away places,

Francisco and you’re bound to stumble on a gem called

they always stayed in touch. Jonathan was working for

the Hillside Supperclub. Bernal Heights was recently

Michael Mina’s restaurant in Washington, DC when

named the hottest neighborhood in the country and it’s

Tony earned a James Beard scholarship to work with

no coincidence that this Supperclub is right here

farmers in the San Francisco area. Tony embarked on

because the chef/owners say their eatery is about much

the gig and was constantly raving about the food, the

more than food—it’s about the neighborhood. When we

farms, and all the fun he as having. Jonathan, who

heard a couple of 20-something-year-olds were running

grew up in Washington, says the idea of returning to the

a supperclub in the funky blue building, we assumed the

West Coast kept sounding better until he finally took

duo scarcely works and are likely hungover most days.

the plunge, packed up, and got a gig at Mina’s flagship

We were wrong. Downright. Categorically. Wrong.

SF restaurant.

The two chefs we’re referring to—Tony Ferrari and

Tony’s James Beard junket (which was awarded based

Jonathan Sutton—met at culinary school in Miami, then

on a recommendation by a mentor chef) was pure gold.

found themselves cooking side-by-side for four-star

It was his first time on the West coast and he worked

chef Christian Delouvrier at La Goulue. It was a very pro-

with farmers and purveyors, one after the other. One

fessional restaurant. A very traditional, very old school,

week it was ducks. One week it was cheese. Another

very French restaurant—down to the brigade system

week was foraging mushrooms. Yet another week was

kitchen: “How much time on vegetables? How long on

working at a vineyard. “It made me appreciate the prod-

sauce?” Everyone worked a station to cook part of a

ucts chefs work with so much more,” says Tony. “We

dish they eventually brought together. At the time, Tony

don’t truly grasp where products come from or how

was on fish; Jonathan was on meat; and neither was

they’re grown - or how much WORK (he says the word

long on patience when the other cooks were a no-show

with emphasis and a huge groan) goes into it.”

for their shift.

When the two got together in San Francisco, they hung

Two explicit things forge this pair’s palpable bond:

around the underground supper clubs with a bunch of

Italian families and downright doggedness about food.

chef friends. They’d each create courses at different

The chefs eventually went their separate ways. And

events. “We weren’t talking about opening a restaurant

though their ensuing journeys entailed pedigreed chefs,

together,” says Jonathan, “Or at least not yet (a

ISSUE 09

restaurant is every chef’s dream) but the people who

Everything, and we mean everything at HSC is made

ate our food kept encouraging us to do our own pop-

from scratch—from the renowned lamb potpies to the

ups and the enthusiasm was just incredible.” Tony adds, “It made sense, so we figured let’s give it a try.” If you’ve eaten at HSC you know the food is inspired. What inspires us as much as the fare, though, is their

duck pate—and they are determined to source locally. “Sustainability goes without saying. Farmers need us and we need them so it’s not our philosophy, it’s our way of life.”

commitment to sustainability. First and foremost, the

The pair sources sustainable-fish from San Francisco

duo is so smart about ordering food there’s rarely any

purveyors and friends at TwoXSea, including their

waste. “We order what we need based on business and

branded McFarland Springs Trout. They praise Jim

the market. We’re solid,” Tony says frankly. If there is an

Reichardt at Liberty Farms in Sonoma County for his

overage, they bring out the old-world traditions: curing,

duck. Lisa Gottreich at Bohemian Creamery gets a nod

smoking, making sausages and stocks. Nothing—abso-

to her one-woman show for beautiful cheeses created

lutely nothing—is thrown away. “First it’s money down

naturally from bacteria in the air. Their signature HSC

the drain,” says Tony, “It also disrespects the work of the

lamb pie (which you really must see in person) features

farmers. Every little piece goes to use. We smoke

American lamb from Superior Farms. Weirauch Farm &

trout. We make pickles. We do Charcuterie (the French

Creamery is the blessed cheesemaker for numerous

term for dry-cured meats like prosciutto, capocollo,

HSC dishes. And the list goes on.

and salame).” Here’s the kicker: if they ever have leftovers or some-

That beautiful octopus posing with Tony came from Water2Table and was as tasty as it was photogenic. It

thing that just wasn’t a hit (hard to believe), they wrap

was also Spanish, which chefs Tony and Jonathan say

up goodie bags and send food home with guests.

simply can’t be beat. “It’s the Mediterranean waters,”

Sometimes they sit down and have a staff family meal.

Tony explains. “The octopus is so consistent and flavor-

Focaccia isn’t going stale here and pate is never thrown

ful—naturally briny. They catch it and flash freeze them

in the trash. “If there’s something that just doesn’t work

onsite. There’s nothing better.”

in a recipe, like an onion root, it’s composted,” Tony adds. If you’re not convinced HSC is a neighborly place, this will clinch it: when the chefs take a vacation or a week off at Christmas, they call the neighborhood and tell everyone to come take what they want. “Our neighbors eat like kings!”

The duo says they fell head-over-heels in love with the San Francisco Bay area, so just like their neighbors (that’s how they refer to their patrons) they love to play around—they happen to do it with food. “We’re just two guys working hard, cooking good food, and we want people to come meet us in person,” Jonathan says. “We love making new friends—that’s what a

“Come as strangers, leave as friends.”

supper club is—a way to meet your neighbors and have a social experience.”

HSC is in a great foodie town, so we had to ask about abundant peak-of-harvest food from farmers and purveyors who have too much and need to move it quick. Do they get calls from farmers or cheesemakers very often? “We get calls, but we also reach out to them a lot and say something like ‘we’re doing a special dinner and

“We want families and friends to come enjoy this great atmosphere and not be afraid to try new things. It’s important for us to have relationships. In fact, we love creating relationships as much as we love creating food,” Tony says. “HSC is so much bigger than just food.”

want to use a new product’,” Tony explains. “It works out for us and them: they have an abundance so it’s usually a little cheaper; we use it while it’s peak of flavor and nutrients; there’s no waste; and we get to be creative.” All patrons aren’t foodies who will try almost anything though, right? “That’s the beauty of San Francisco,” says Jonathan. “People here understand food, they go out to

HILLSIDE SUPPER CLUB ADDRESS

eat a lot, and they want to try new things. We don’t have to cook the same old, same old. We play with the menu constantly and there’s always something new.”

300 Precita Ave San Francisco, CA 94110

PHONE

(415) 285.6005

HOURS

S U N

5pm–9pm

We’re a neighborhood spot and we have a lot of regu-

MON

6pm–10pm

lars, so we switch stuff up a lot and everyone loves that.

T U E

Closed

People know us, so they ask about the story behind new

WED

6pm–10pm

dishes like ‘What farm? What was your inspiration?’ We

T H U

6pm–10pm

explain every detail to our staff and we tell the stories to

F R I

6pm–11pm

our guests. The food becomes an experience.”

S A T

6pm–11pm

Tony jumps in, “You can’t use offal cuts just anywhere.

ISSUE 09

Seared Black Bass With Scallion-Chile Relish

CHEFS Tony Ferrari & Jonathan Sutton

With its clean flavor and forgiving, crispable skin, black bass is…no trouble. (Sorry.) Dress it up with a versatile spicy relish.

from Hillside Supper Club

INGREDIENTS

P R E PA R AT I O N

Searvings: 4

Active: 15 min / Total: 15 min

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high until

4 5–6-ounce skin-on black bass fillets Kosher salt

very hot but not smoking. Season bass with salt and pepper and

and freshly ground black pepper

cook, skin side down, gently pressing occasionally with a spatula

1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced

to ensure contact with skillet, until skin is browned and crisp and flesh is nearly opaque, 6–8 minutes. Turn and cook until flesh is

1 serrano chile, thinly sliced 2 cups cilantro leaves with tender stems 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds

Season and cook the bass

opaque throughout, about 1 minute longer. 02

Make the relish Meanwhile, toss scallions, chile, cilantro, lime juice, sesame seeds, and remaining 2 Tbsp. oil in a medium bowl; season with salt. Serve bass with scallion-chile relish.

ISSUE 09

Sunchoke curry with black lime, cod and grapefruit at ALâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Place

Sweet tasting Pacific Oyster with a slightly smoky finish at Hog Island Oyster Bar

LK FO S N FI ICK P

HOT TEN at

SAN FRANCISCO

The best seafood is fresh, and prepared in such a way as to accent the natural flavors of the sea without overwhelming them. Some, like raw bar oysters and clams, need nothing more than a sharp knife and skilled hand to unleash the briny seasonings of the sea. Here are the top 10 seafood restaurants in San Francisco Bay Area.

Roasted Shrimp with Chile Gremolata at Maven

ISSUE 09

Chorizo and Clam Paella at Waterbar

1760

Pier 47 on Al Scoma Way

1760 Polk St.

Scoma’s is a traditional seafood restaurant in San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf. It’s known for friendly service, family traditions &

1760 offers approachable, modern, ingredient-driven cuisine in a casual atmosphere, creating a warm and welcoming place for locals to dine

fresh Italian seafood.

and drink.

S C O M A’ S

WAT E R B A R

M AV E N

399 The Embarcadero

598 Haight St.

Regarded as San Francisco’s foremost seafood restaurant, Waterbar continues to set new standards of sustainability, variety, and excellence in the sourcing, preparation and presentation of

Maven is an innovative bar & restaurant in San Francisco’s Lower Haight neighborhood. At Maven’s core is a paired menu, which couples creative cocktails with delicious small plates.

food from the sea.

Pacific Coast Bouillabaisse at Sous Beurre Kitchen

SA N F R A N C I S C O BAY

08 03

HOG ISLAND OYS T E R B A R 1 Ferry Bld. 11A, The Embarcadero Enjoy incredible seafood in a stunning setting. Located in the historic Ferry Building on San Francisco’s waterfront, Hog Island Oyster Bar offers the finest selection of oysters, craft cocktails, and an ever-changing seasonal seafood menu.

AL’S PLACE 1499 Valencia St. The plates at Al’s Place in the Mission look like art, and taste pretty great too. “Best New Restaurant in the US 2015” ain’t a bad calling card either. 09

HILLSIDE SUPPER CLUB 300 Precita Ave

TWENTY FIVE LUSK 25 Lusk St. Twenty Five Lusk, in San Francisco’s SOMA district, combines a dynamic restaurant, lounge and bar offering creative cuisine, beautiful domestic and international wines, and inspired cocktails. 05

S TAT E B I R D PROVISIONS 1529 Fillmore St. State Bird Provisions is an adventurous, inventive, delicious, thoughtful contemporary American restaurant.

Founded by two chefs who enjoy the camaraderie of eating and drinking together, the Hillside Supper Club promotes introducing new friends, experiencing different foods, and experimenting with fun ingredients, all while building a community around the principals of simplicity and sustainability. 10

SOUS BEURRE KITCHEN 2704 24th St. Sous Beurre Kitchen is a Southern French Provincial restaurant nestled in San Francisco’s Mission district, serving local, seasonal & sustainable fare.

RECIPES

E A S Y, H E A L T H Y R E C I P E S

for

SUMMERTIME SEAFOOD Quick to cook and easy to prepare, these summer seafood dishes prove that sometimes less really is more.

S C A L L O P S with HERBED BROWN BUTTER P. 5 8 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; 5 9

ISSUE 09

G R I L L E D B R A N Z I N O with CILANTRO-MINT RELISH P. 5 6 — 5 7

COOKING TIPS

F I L L YO U R P L AT E When it’s too hot to cook, the less time spent at the stove, the better. Turn our pared-down seafood dishes into meals with any of these quick side ideas. Just Add Toast Some crusty bread–grilled or toasted, then rubbed with garlic and drizzled with olive oil–is the perfect way to sop up every last drop of mussel broth or chorizo pan sauce. Keep It Cool (and Crunchy) Pair the whole grilled fish with a refreshing cucumber and fennel salad: Chop the vegetables and add a handful of your favorite fresh herbs, a bit of olive oil, and a splash of lime juice or rice vinegar. Done. Start Shucking Cut the kernels from a few ears of corn and saute them in a skillet with butter, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Serve with the cod, scallops, or whole grilled fish. For a salad, toss raw kernels with scallions, chopped tomato, and cilantro. Dress with a red wine vinaigrette and serve alongside any fish you wish.

C AT C H I T W H I L E YO U C A N Like produce, seafood has peak months when local varieties are available or especially abundant. In Southern California, summer means amberjack and Pacific mackerel; farther north, it’s all about king salmon, king crab, and pink shrimp. In New England, this is a great time of year for cod and swordfish, while red snapper and white shrimp are being celebrated in the Southeast.The seafood showcased here should be available year-round, but it’s always worth asking your fishmonger for the local catch. If you want to fish around, try substituting bass or snapper for branzino, swordfish or halibut for cod, and albacore for bigeye tuna.

GRILLED BRANZINO with C I L A N T R O - M I N T RELISH Grilling whole fish is not as tricky as it sounds. We tie ours with kitchen twine, which makes them easy to handle.

ISSUE 09

INGREDIENTS

CHEF

Searvings: 4

Tatiana Levha from Little Boat

2 European seabass, whole ½ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro

1529 Fillmore St, San Francisco

¼ cup fresh lime juice

(415) 391-8311 / littleboat.com

1 tsp. grated peeled ginger 1 tsp. sugar ½ cup finely chopped fresh mint plus 4 sprigs for stuffing

YO U R S E A F O O D

Seabass

2 red chiles (such as Fresno or serrano), with seeds, thinly sliced, divided

For complete seafood profile,

⅓ cup plus 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil

go to www.finfolk.com

Kosher salt 1/4 small white onion, finely chopped 2 whole branzino or small red snapper, cleaned

P R E PA R AT I O N

1 lime, thinly sliced

Active: 15 min / Total: 15 min

Make the relish Prepare grill for medium-high heat. Mix onion, cilantro, lime juice, ginger, sugar, chopped mint, half of chiles, and ⅓ cup oil in a medium bowl; season with salt. Set relish aside.

Grill the fish and serve Season inside of fish with salt. Stuff with mint sprigs, lime slices, and remaining chiles; tie with kitchen twine. Drizzle with remaining 1 Tbsp. oil; season with salt. Grill fish until skin is crisp and flesh is flaky and opaque down to the bone, about 5 minutes per side. (If a small knife slides easily through the thickest part of flesh, the fish

N U T R I T I O N FAC T S

is done.) Serve with relish.

CALORIES

640 kcal

FAT

33 g

SATURATED FAT

CHOLESTEROL

180 mg

CARBOHYDRATES

23 g

DIETARY FIBER

TOTAL SUGARS

PROTEIN

55 g

SODIUM

1610 g

ISSUE 09

M U S S E L S with WHITE WINE Spoon some aioli on a piece of toast, dunk it in the broth, and eat it along with the white wine-soaked mussels. Repeat.

ISSUE 09

INGREDIENTS

CHEF

Searvings: 4

Aaron London from ALâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s House

4 lbs Blue mussels Lemon Aioli

1499 Valencia St, San Francisco

1 large egg yolk

(415) 416-6136 / alshouse.com

1 garlic clove, finely grated 1 tsp (or more) fresh lemon juice 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

YO U R S E A F O O D

Kosher salt

Mussels

For complete seafood profile,

2 tbsp olive oil

go to www.finfolk.com

1 medium yellow onion, chopped Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

P R E PA R AT I O N

2 tablespoons tomato paste

Active: 15 min / Total: 15 min

1/2 cup white wine 4 pounds mussels, debearded, scrubbed

Make the lemon aioli Whisk egg yolk, garlic, and lemon juice in a medium bowl.

2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves

Whisking constantly, drizzle in vegetable oil, then olive oil in a

Sliced country-style bread, toasted (for serving)

slow, steady stream; whisk until aioli is emulsified. 02

Make the broth Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring, until it begins to darken, about 2 minutes. Add wine and bring to a

N U T R I T I O N FAC T S

boil. Reduce heat and simmer until liquid is slightly reduced, about 1 minute.

CALORIES

640 kcal

FAT

33 g

SATURATED FAT

medium. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mussels open (discard

CHOLESTEROL

180 mg

any that do not open), 10â&#x20AC;&#x201C;12 minutes.

CARBOHYDRATES

23 g

DIETARY FIBER

TOTAL SUGARS

PROTEIN

55 g

SODIUM

1610 g

Cook the mussels Add mussels and 1/2 cup water to pot, cover, and reduce heat to

Serve Ladle mussels and broth into shallow bowls and top with thyme; serve with bread and lemon aioli.

ISSUE 09

C O D with C H O R I Z O and B R E A D C R U M B S Adding vinegar to the chorizo topping cuts the richness of the sausage and brightens the entire dish.

ISSUE 09

INGREDIENTS

CHEF

Searvings: 4

Elena Reygadas

4 6-oz. pieces Cod or halibut, skinless fillets 4 Tbsp. olive oil, divided

from Rosetta

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 598 Haight St, San Francisco

1 Tbsp. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

(415) 693-9900 / rosetta.com

1 Tbsp. fresh oregano leaves 1 small shallot, thinly sliced 2 oz. smoked Spanish chorizo, halved, thinly

YO U R S E A F O O D

sliced

Cod

2 Tbsp. Sherry or red wine vinegar

For complete seafood profile,

4 6-oz. pieces skinless cod or halibut fillets

go to www.finfolk.com

2 3/4-inch-thick slices country-style bread, crusts removed

P R E PA R AT I O N

Active: 15 min / Total: 15 min

Make the breadcrumbs Heat oven to 425Â°. Pulse bread in a food processor until coarse crumbs form. Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add breadcrumbs. Cook, stirring often, until golden and crisp, about 3 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Transfer mixture to a bowl, add parsley and oregano; toss to combine. Wipe out skillet.

Make the chorizo mixture Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in same skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallot

N U T R I T I O N FAC T S

and chorizo and cook, stirring often, until chorizo is just crisp, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and mix in vinegar; season

CALORIES

640 kcal

FAT

33 g

SATURATED FAT

CHOLESTEROL

180 mg

CARBOHYDRATES

23 g

DIETARY FIBER

TOTAL SUGARS

PROTEIN

55 g

SODIUM

1610 g

with salt and pepper. Wipe out skillet. 03

Cook the cod Heat remaining 1 Tbsp. oil in same skillet over medium-high heat. Season cod with salt and pepper and cook until bottom side begins to turn opaque, about 3 minutes. Transfer skillet to oven and roast until fish is cooked through, about 5 minutes longer.

Serve Serve cod topped with chorizo mixture and toasted breadcrumbs.

ISSUE 09

S C A L L O P S with HERBED BROWN BUTTER Ask for “dry” scallops at your fish market; they are free of preservatives and release very little liquid while cooking, which is key to getting a good crusty sear.

ISSUE 09

INGREDIENTS

CHEF

Searvings: 4

Michael Mauschbaugh

1 lb. sea scallops, side muscle removed Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

from Sous Beurre Kitchen

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

2704 24th St, San Francisco (415) 874-9831 / sousbeurre.com

4 sprigs herbs (such as tarragon, lemon thyme, or sage) 2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

YO U R S E A F O O D

1 tablespoon olive oil

Scallop For complete seafood profile, go to www.finfolk.com

P R E PA R AT I O N

Active: 10 min / Total: 10 min

Cook the scallops Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season scallops with salt and pepper and cook until deep golden brown on 1 side, about 3 minutes.

Add herbs Turn scallops and add butter and herbs to pan. Continue cooking, spooning butter over scallops often, until scallops are cooked through and butter is brown and smells nutty, about 3 minutes longer.

N U T R I T I O N FAC T S

Serve Add lemon juice. Serve scallops with brown butter pan sauce.

CALORIES

640 kcal

FAT

33 g

SATURATED FAT

CHOLESTEROL

180 mg

CARBOHYDRATES

23 g

DIETARY FIBER

TOTAL SUGARS

PROTEIN

55 g

SODIUM

1610 g

ISSUE 09

Looking through a porthole of a ship. The International Port of Dutch Harbor is the busiest port in North America.

ISSUE 09

FINFOLK TOUR

C AT C H O F T H E D AY One of our Finfolk, David Newsom, traveled to Unalaska where life is so dangerous & vividâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;not a lot of margin for errors. And so terribly beautiful.

FINFOLK

T O U R D AT E

ISSUE 09

WRITER

P H OTO G R A P H E R

David Newsom

David Newsom & Ashley Batz

The remote Alaskan outpost of Unalaska boasts the US’s biggest commercial port, thanks to a hugely profitable fishing season. And don’t forget the oil Industry and a hit TV series...

From Anchorage, Alaska, it’s another three hours of fly-

everybody who needs to be in Unalaska gets there, even

ing over white-capped volcanoes, frozen tundra and the

if their luggage takes longer. Alaska’s ability to solve

Bering Sea before reaching the remote Aleutian island

problems around constantly changing logistics may

outpost of Unalaska. It’s mid-January—the start of the

prove to be a key factor in the region’s future success.

snow crab, cod and pollock season—and the canneries and fish processing plants are bringing in their seasonal workers. The 30-seater Pen Air turboprop planes that fly eight times a day in high season to Unalaska’s Dutch Harbor Airport are packed. Our plane stops to refuel for the second time in two

Unalaska is at the tip of the Aleutian island range— 1,280km southwest of Anchorage. From here you can see Russia which owns the last two islands in the Aleutian chain. The Aleutians are closer to Seoul than to New York and the weather is unforgiving. Wind gusts can reach 240km/h, but when spring arrives in mid-June,

hours at Cold Bay, an almost deserted town with a sin-

the volcanoes turn bright green and locals will tell you

gle aircraft hangar. The pilot hears that there are

about the hiking and blueberry picking—an image that

100km/h winds at Unalaska’s airport and decides to

seems to have a weirdly sustaining effect on their ability

unload the luggage to that he can add more fuel just in

to make it through the winter.

case all does not go to plan. Over the next hour, six more flights get stranded in Cold Bay’s hangar. Here, close to 200 people—visiting fishermen and crew from Discovery Channel’s Deadliest Catch show, cannery workers, Japanese businessmen and a

I remember in the days when jets used to land here, people would regularly get off the plane, trembling and crying,”

basketball team of boys from neighbouring King Cove—

Everyone here also has a near-miss story about landing

wait it out. There is one bathroom, a leftover pot of cof-

on the short runway at Dutch Harbor that sits in a wind

fee and the view outside is white in every direction. The pilot eventually decides it’s too dangerous to “launch to Dutch” and so all the planes fly the two hours back to Anchorage. No one seems surprised to be assigned hotel rooms and rescheduled flight times as they step off the plane. Over the next five days

ISSUE 09

tunnel between two mountains. “I remember in the days when jets used to land here, people would regularly get off the plane, trembling and crying,” says Unalaska’s mayor Shirley Marquardt. So why would anyone come here besides the fishermen who sometimes each make $30,000 (€22,000) for a few weeks of fishing? The flight to Unalaska is expensive and a studio apartment

01 Hilltop view of Unalaska and the US’s oldest Russian Orthodox church 02 Unalaskan bald eagle

ISSUE 09

After WWII, the king crab fishery in the Bering Sea began to develop and the first crab processing plants opened in Unalaska in the 1960s, and began the community’s evolution from a quiet village of 400 people to a busy and prosperous port town of approximately 4,000. Dutch Harbor is the main delivery port for the crab fleet featured on the Discovery Channel’s hit reality show, “The Deadliest Catch.”

ISSUE 09

can cost $1,200 (€874) a month to rent. Despite the

10,000 during the 18-week fishing season from January

challenges, or maybe because of them, Unalaska is on

to June—almost 8 percent are Unangan people, the

its way to becoming a key strategic outpost for the US.

native people of the Aleutian Islands, about 40 per Cent

Building on the infrastructure of the fishing industry

are white, 30 percent Asian and the rest are Mexican,

here, the island is finally in a position to take advantage

Russian, Samoan, European, Scandinavian and Icelandic.

of its logistical expertise.

Some 80 percent of the seafood landed here is exported

The International Port of Dutch Harbor is the closest ice-

to Asia, and Japanese seafood companies—Nippon

free deep-water port to the Arctic and a hub for Pacific

Suisan Kaisha (UniSea) and Maruha Nichiro (Westward

Rim cargo shipments. It will become more of a base as

Seafoods and Alyeska)—buy almost 7o percent of the

the Northwest Passage opens and when the Arctic Link,

quota for the Bering Sea pollock and cod fisheries.

a submarine fibre-optic cable, is laid from Europe to

Dutch-owned Kloosterboer has just built a shiny new

Asia. That cable will eventually put Unalaska at the

$150m (f Ho) freezing facility from where it transports

nexus of international telecommunications as well.

American Seafoods-branded fish in immaculate bright

Shell Oil’s new presence on the island is another catalyst

blue containers.

propelling Unalaska forwards. Shell has spent more than

The second best-known Unalaska export after seafood

$3bn (€2bn) in the region since 2006. The company

is the TV show Deadliest Catch. Discovery Channel has

built a $7m dock to store the world’s only circular oil rig,

been filming here for seven years and in 2009 spent

the Kulluk, and also the Nanuq, a $50m clean-up vessel.

$2.8m in the state and 60 percent of that in Unalaska.

John Kaighin, Shell’s marine contract manager, says the

We meet the crew on the Time Bandit crab fishing ves-

boat specialises in oil-spill response and is the only one

sel where producer Sheila McCormack is dressed in

based in the Arctic. Shell hopes to be drilling in the

snow pants and XtraTuf boots, the rubber footwear of

Arctic by June and, in response to Deepwater fears,

choice among fishermen in Dutch Harbor.

Kaighin says: “Here we would be drilling at 150ft compared to 5,000 in the Gulf.” He says Shell chose Unalaska because of the deep-water harbour, its protected port, support services, the airport, infrastructure and willingness to receive the Kulluk. “We’re here because of infrastructure cooperation and location,” he explains. “Plus, not everyone wants a circular rig in their harbour.” While Mayor Marquardt admits that “oil in the water

McCormack, who spends the whole season here every year and typically works 15-hour days, says: “The big challenge is getting bags in and out of here and moving shot tapes off the island to L.A. The island’s dial-up interact speed is a problem; we can’t download anything. There is no FedEx and movement of gear is a real problem. But bring it on. Give me a big enough challenge and I’ll get it done.”

would be a big problem for us. Our fishing industry would be sunk”, she and others seem placated by the fact that Shell will not be deep-water drilling. John Callahan at the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Regulation and Enforcement says, “There is no proposed drilling in commercial fishing grounds.” “Times are changing up here,” says marine salvage expert

Unalaska’s challenges definitely attract an independent,

Dan Magone. “Everyone is looking to the north for busi-

creative person. Mayor Marquardt, who came to

ness. You have the seas opening and we’re going to feel

Unalaska in I980, meets us at Amelia’s Cafe where the

the effects of hydrocarbons [natural gas and oil). The

owner Eldie brings her a Mexican coffee. Her mother

US will be drilling in the Chukchi Sea off the northwest

was a navy nurse and her dad flew search and rescue in

coast of Alaska, near Russia, this summer. And the North

Alaska for years. Marquardt is enthusiastic about

Sea Route, well, no one knows the rate of ice melt but it

Unalaska, its basketball team, its fish, its school system

may be useable in 10 years.”

and the possibilities for the region. “We have a stable

Increased marine traffic to the Arctic has already

economy, zero unemployment and a healthy community.

boosted Magone’s salvage business that comes to the aid of distressed boats. “Everyone comes to me with their worst day,” says Magone who works from an office on a rusty barge where the stuffed heads of moose, wild goats and bison—all shot by him and his wife—hang on 01 Mayor Shirley Marquardt 02 UniSea’s fish processing plant

“We have a stable economy, zero unemployment and a healthy community. What we do for fishing fleets, we can do for anyone,”

What we do for fishing fleets, we can do for anyone,” she says. “We’re ready. We can supply logistics and expediting and have the capacity to get gear here. Shell has set up complete operations in Unalaska. This is going to be its Arctic headquarters.”

the wall. Unalaska is the number one commercial fishing

Marquardt regularly travels to Juneau, Alaska’s capital

port in the US in terms of tonnage. This means more

city, where she sits on nine advisory boards and panels

kilos of fish cross its dock than anywhere else in the

including the Marine Advisory Board, Alaska governor

country and the area leads the world in sustainable fish-

Sean Parnell’s transition team and the Fish and Wildlife

ing practices for cod and pollock. Of the 4,000 people

Service. She is the Alaskan female politician who “could”

in Unalaska—the seasonal population swells to almost

and has little patience for quitters. “Sarah Palin is a

ISSUE 09

“Unalaska’s challenges definitely attract independent, creative persons.” —SHIRLEY MARQUARDT

ISSUE 09

delightful woman,” she adds. “But during her first year as governor, government was a great black hole. No one ever returned your calls. People were willing to give her time to grow into the position, but she let us down. She copped out when it got tough. She needed to put on her big girl pants and get over it. I don’t dislike her, but would I support her as president? No.” In her 14 years as mayor Marquardt has lobbied successfully for a $7m (€5m) city power plant and a new small-boat harbour. She is also hoping to raise hundreds of millions to assess whether the nearby Makushin volcano can provide the island with geothermal energy. She is on the radar of the Republican party; they have already approached her to run for a regional seat. But no development—on or around the volcano—can happen on the island without the blessing of Ounalashka Corporation, the native village corporation of Unalaska formed as part of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act in the 1970s. The Ounalashka Corporation owns much of the land and housing on the island, which gives it significant control of the economy and any future development.

“Everything is about to change.” Ounalasbka CEO Wendy Svarny-Hawthorne has been approached by several mines interested in making Unalaska their logistical base. “Alaska does not have a lot of protected deep-water ports,” she says. “We’re it. But what logistics centre is going to be able to work on a dial-up internet?” Luckily, the IT challenge is soon to be solved. The Kodiak Kenai Cable Company will reportedly lay fibre-optic cable by 2012 (as part of the Arctic Cable project) so that Unalaska and the surrounding islands will finally have proper internet. While Unalaska city awaits for Shell to start drilling (environmentalists and Native Americans have complained that regulators have not considered the impact of air pollutants from drilling on nearby communities) and its hi-tech connections to kick in, there is still a sense of timeless calm here. But as Ounalashka’s SvarnyHawthorne, a descendent of one of the original Unangan families on the island, acknowledges: “Everything is about to change.”

Besides the history, cultural opportunities and beautiful scenery, visitors come to Unalaska/Dutch Harbor to play outdoors. The island provides many outdoor activities including hiking, skiing, sportfishing, kayaking and bird/ wildlife watching.

ISSUE 09

FINFO

O C TA T H NIG at

10PM â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 5 Y F R I DA Y NTER R E E C EV N MASO T R O F

isco c n a r F n Sa

ISSUE 09

Shrimp, fish, tofu, chard. Come to eat sustainable and local food inspired tacos with other Finfolks and chef Christian Morabito from Hook Fish Co! For complete event information and schedule, go to finfolk.com/tour

ISSUE 09

World’s First 100% Agave Plant Surfboard That Marks Industry Change

Surfing is often likened to a spiritual experience. we characterize the traditional approach of building surfboards as more of a religion, rather than an industry. However, this religion is undeniably ruining the environment that surfers cherish most—Mother Nature—and Linden is ready to convert to a more sustainable alternative.

#AgaveSurfboard #LindenSurfboards

W W W. L I N D E N S U R F B O A R D S . C O M

ISSUE 09