Wild or cultured? That is the question. If you have a choice of fish, do you go only for the wild or does it matter overall? In the end, the human body does not discern that protein molecules from a cultured fish are any different than those from a wild source.
I once had a gent request to eat only wild oysters. "None of that cultured stuff," he said. In the world of the oyster, about 95 per cent of the oysters that reach market have been cultured in some form or another. If an oyster that is farmed spawns off and creates that rogue "wild oyster" outside their pens, the taste and texture are still the same. The shell is the only noticeable difference.
So why worry about your fish? I find that the diners in Toronto like to know where their food is coming from these days. It’s harder to label the location of origin of wild fish because you have to personally know the fisher, their port of call, and how the fish is transported to the table. In addition, wild fish can be wonderfully inconsistent and very seasonal.
Lately, we’ve been receiving a wild ling cod with a tracing tag on the tail. I traced it to Captain Tony of Tofino, B.C., and the fish was caught two days prior. Fantastic — and Capt. Tony was happy that the fish reached Toronto. Still, the trouble with wild fish is that we keep eating the tasty ones to the point of extinction. Cod, Atlantic salmon, and many others are either gone, or close to it.
Meanwhile, cultured fish can be traced down to the day that the fish was harvested, how it was raised, and who drove it to your door. Culturing allows consistency in stock, and in some cases, custom growth (the size and colour of a fish).
But too much culture in an area can be devastating to the surrounding environment. Closed cell culture tends to be among the softest on the environment as the water that is used for the fish is filtered on the way into the farm and then filtered on the way out. Scotian halibut produces a beautiful halibut that come to us in a five to seven pound size that is just right to roast on the bone — hard to do with the 150 pound wilds.
As a restauranteur, we have the same choices to think about, although I feel that I have more of a responsibility as I serve more fish and therefore have a greater impact on the environment.
I think we have to move towards a balance of both wild and cultured. If we start to use more cultured product, the wild will have a better chance to naturally rebuild their stocks. The culturalists also have to get smarter and more environmentally conscious about their practices to reduce the environmental impact. As the wild fish come into season we can enjoy a variety that is short lived, and therefore special.
In Toronto, we are lucky that we do not have an ocean in front of us because we get a variety of fish from all over the globe. But we don’t even have to go that far. We have some wonderful culturalists right in our own backyard. Jim Giggie of Tottenham, and the trout growers of Manatoulin Island can produce a trout that’s light in colour, clean, grassy in taste, and so fresh that when it hits my door hours later the fish is still in rigor and needs a day before we can cook it properly.
Ask the questions when you next cook a fish supper or sit down at the restaurant. Find out where your fish comes from and make a balanced choice to help the environment.
Shuckingly yours, Patrick
Patrick McMurray is the owner of Starfish Oyster Bed & Grill and The Ceili Cottage. He is also a World Champion Oyster Shucker. Catch his blog weekly at PostCity.com.