Family Traveler

WHAT’S THECATCH?WithWorldOceansDayaroundthecorner,I’mheretohelpyoucelebratetheamazingbountyoffishinourwaters(notjustthemorepopularsalmonandcod),andtoarmyouwiththeknowledgetomakeinformed,ethicalchoicesaboutwhatyou’rebuying.Wherefishisconcerned,youmighthavenoticedtheword‘sustainable’isslappedonlotsofthingsthesedays,butwhatthisreallymeanscanoftenbeconfusingandbadlyexplained.Really,itshouldmeanthefishinquestionhasbeentakenfromahabitatwhereitisplentiful,inawaythatwon’taffecttheecosysteminthelong-termanddoesn’timpactonotherspeciesatriskduringthefishingprocess.It’sincrediblyhardtomeasurethis,asfishareliterallyamovingtarget,buttheMarineStewardshipCouncil–asmallindependentorganisation–ismonitoringthesituationandaccreditingfisheriesthatworkresponsibly.Forinformationyoucanbesurecomesfromagoodsource,visitmsc.org.TheonlydownsideisthattheMSCisasmallorganisation,andwhileit’sworkinghard,itwilltaketimetogetaroundtoeveryfishery.So,ifyoudon’tseetheMSClogo,thatdoesn’tnecessarilymeanthefishisn’tsustainable,itjustmeansyoumightneedtoaskafewmorequestionsbeforeyoubuyit.Asyoucansee,theissuesaroundfisharen’teasytotackle.Wenowhavethetechnologytoplundertheseainwayswecouldneverdreamofbefore.Asmallcrewoffishermenwithsonarandsatellitecanzoneinonashoalandliterallysweepthemup.Andthequotasystemdoesn’tseemtobeworking.Iffishermenhaulinmorethanthey’reallowedto,they’vegottothrowthoseextrafishbackinthesea- butusuallythey’realreadydeadinthenets,sothisisatragicwaste.DiscardingfishlikethisisbeingbannedinEUfisheriesatthemoment,butitcouldbeawhilebeforethisstopshappeningforgood.Governmentinterventiondoesn’tseemtobeworkingwellorquicklyenoughinEurope,sowe’vegottolookforpracticalsolutionswecanapplyinourdailylives.OurchanginglifestylesandgenerallackofcookingknowledgehasmeantourfishhorizonshavenarrowedtothepointwheresupermarketshavecreatedpopstarsForgetthe‘FishBig5’,saysJAMIEOLIVER–ourwatersareteemingwithlesser-knownbutequallydeliciousfish.Andwhat’smore,they’resustainable.SowhynottreatyourfamilytosomeofJamie’smouthwateringrecipesfeaturingsuchwondersaspouting,gurnard,coleyandmore?oftuna,haddock,prawns,codandsalmon.This‘BigFive’makeupnearly 90 %ofthefishweconsumeintheUK,andourdependenceonthemmeanstheyareoftenoverfished.Thisshiftissosad,becauseitmeansyoungergenerationsaren’tgettingachancetofallinlovewithdeliciousfishlikepollack,dab,gurnard,coleyorpouting.Icompletelygetthefactthatmetellingyoutoeatmorefishseemsastrangesolutiontotheseproblems,butwhenyouthinkofitaseasingpressureontheBigFivewhilegettingcheaper,equallydeliciousfishonyourtableatthesametime,hopefullywhatI’msayingmakesstartstomakesomesense.Myapproachhasbeentofindthemostsucculent,tastyfishouttheresowecanallexpandourfishhorizons.Theserecipesfeaturefishthatareusuallythediscarded,unlovedbycatch.Gurnardandpouting,inparticular,arecheapandespeciallygood.Ibetnobodycouldtellthedifferencebetweenfishandchipsmadewithpoutingandcod.Poutinghasgreatflavour,greattextureand,bestofall,there’sloadsofitinourwaters.Iknowmanyparentsarenervousaboutcookingfishfortheirkids,butI’vefoundthroughtrialanderrorthathowyoupresentitisthesecrettosuccess.Poutingfishfingersandsweetpotatowedgesareaneasywin,andcomfortingfishpiesarealwaysafavouriteinmyhouse–mywife,Jools,makesanepicone.Fishpiesworkwithanykindoffish(evenfrozen),sothey’regreatifyou’reonabudget- trymixingitupinthisrecipewithgurnard,coleyorpouting,oraskyourfishmongerwhathe’drecommend.CrabishugelyunderratedintheUK,andcanbestronginflavour,butI’vefoundaddingittofishcakesisusuallyenoughtofoolevenmyyoungestones;andifyou’refeelingbrave,myharissasardinesaresomethingelse.Ifthere’sanythingweshouldtakeawayfromthis,it’sthatevenifyoujustshopalittledifferentlyandtryoneoftheserecipestonightinsteadofyourusualsalmonorcod,thatcouldstillbeenoughtomakeadifference.Ifwedon’tdoanythingaboutthesituationinourseas,itwillaffectourchildrenandgrandchildreninwayswecan’tanticipate.So,Isaywidenyourchoicesandhelpsavetheseas.It’sanissuewithmurkywaters,butIhopewe’llbecleverenoughtotaketheinitiative.58THESERECIPESFEATUREFISHTHATAREUSUALLYTHEUNLOVEDBYCATCH