Most U.S. citizens have never heard of the Patagonian Toothfish. But many have enjoyed its moist, white flesh at upscale seafood restaurants across the nation. The fish is commonly known in the United States by a name devised to increase its marketability - Chilean sea bass. The popularity of Chilean sea bass as a menu item in restaurants was pushing the fish to the edge of collapse. Ten years ago, Chilean sea bass was virtually unknown in the United States, but since then the fish has become a staple on
many upscale menus Increasingly dire warnings suggested that the trendy toothfish had become too popular for its own good. Environmentalists warned that unless demand is reduced, the fish could face commercial extinction in as little as five years. Steadily declining annual catches signaled trouble and led environmental groups to partner with some of the chefs who first popularized the dish in a campaign to reduce demand for the toothfish. The goal of the “Take a Pass on Chilean Sea Bass” campaign was to encourage chefs to remove the beleaguered fish from their menus until population began to recover from widespread and dangerous over fishing, most of which is done by illegal “pirate” fishing boat.
More than 1000 chefs nationwide agreed to give the prehistoric-looking fish a break. “Chefs are the opinion leaders of the food world” said Andrea Kavanagh, campaign manager for the National Environmental Trust (NET), which spearheaded the campaign. “We began with six cities, premier U.S. dining markets, and asked chefs to agree to stop serving the fish until populations began to recover. Now chefs in other cities are coming to us to sign up, and taking Chilean sea bass off their menus.” Restaurant sales account for some 70 percent of the Chilean sea bass consumed in the United States. Kavanagh also hopes, however to involve consumers in the programme and encourage them not to purchase the fish at their local markets. By drastically reducing demand for fish, the campaign hoped to curb the illegal fishing that threatens the survival of the species. One chef who signed onto the campaign is Cesare Casella of the acclaimed Tuscan restaurant Beppe in New York City’s Flatiron district. “The chefs were responsible for creating a trend,” said Casella, “but if we can stop the use of Chilean sea bass the demand will drop for the illegal fish,” he continued. “In the last few years, they have been getting smaller and smaller, while the quality is getting worse. Now, most of the Chilean sea bass on the market is illegal, and it has been frozen. I agree 100 percent with the campaign to improve the stocks of this fish for the future.”
The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), the 24-member international body charged with regulating trade in Patagonian Toothfish, has been successful in recent years both in reducing the Illegal, Unregulated, and Unreported (IUU) fishing in Toothfish and in documenting vessel locations and catch amounts. Each of the last two years (2004 and 2005) has seen dramatic declines in the number of IUU fish taken. Moreover, the last several years have seen the advent of two new technologies, the electronic Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) which uses satellite technology to confirm vessels are within allowed areas, and the electronic Catch Documentation Scheme (CDS) which electronically records catch amounts and prevents various types of fraud. These new technologies promise to strengthen CCAMLR’s regulatory and enforcement abilities in the years ahead.
As a result of these improvements, and due to close cooperation between CCAMLR nations, it is now possible for those purchasing Toothfish to confirm with their fishmongers or restauranteurs that the product they have purchased was harvested and documented according to CCAMLR regulations. The campaign by the chefs and environmentalists continues, as of March 2006, due to concerns about slow recovery of the fish-stock.
For more information on the campaign, see http://www.net.org/marine/csb/ or contact Gerry Leape gleape@net.org or Andrea Kavanagh akavanagh@net.org For more information on CCAMLR and its efforts with the Toothfish, see http://www.ccamlr.org/
pu/E/sc/fish-monit/iuu-intro.htm