National Seafood Month: October 2015

So here I am, a pescatarian, and I posted an entire blog featuring “the other white meat,” pork, because Astronaut Reid Wiseman mentioned sweet and sour pork as a favorite space food in a tweet chat.‎‎  Sycophantic fangirling aside, I feel I might save face with a foodie blog I would actually partake of…SEAFOOD! 

Image via @FDA.gov

Georgia Aquarium's mention of a National Seafood Month offered a great segue and chance at redemption. Seeing their Twitter announcement made me chuckle, a conservation aquarium announcing seafood month. I tweeted how I felt somewhat redeemed for loving the ocean fauna and feeling *cannibalistic* as I might think 'yum' with a Bubba list of recipes comically floating around my head when I view certain types of the ocean inhabitants.

Image via Newsweek.com

Newsweek tormented me for weeks with this article about sustainable fishing. The particular variety of fish, sardines(s) invariably inspired the culinary vision, "light dusting of seasoned flour, flash fry in hot oil to crispy, golden brown and juicy inside, carmelize onions and hot peppers to garnish. Serve with skinny fries, or bread and avocado, or with a brown stew sauce over rice and pigeon peas." this is all visualized in a flash as I resisted the urge to respond and scrolled on by quickly. 

Image via @CaribCookSchool

National Seafood Month (October 2015) excites my culinary and gastronomic fancies.  I'm thinking we could create an East Coast Kai Ryssdal burger with a crispy onion crusted tuna steak, an Astro_Reid Hardwood Grilled Swordfish, a Astro_Alex Red Snapper Ceviche, some CraigyFerg Shark Filets, seafood tom yum, pumpkin risotto topped with crispy calamari, Neil Tyson Bourbon BBQ Salmon with  Harvest Wild Rice medley,  braised red cabbage, Sagal Sea Bass, Chef Jason Howard’s Fish Casserole with Bream (pictured above), Haddock Etouffe, Codruple (bacalaitos/akra, mofongo, pickup with cucumber salad, creole style with roasted sweet potato, dumplings.) 

Image via @gsobsports

And it's football season, so break out the wet naps and let's dig into a seafood fest—Fish-Fry where I’m from: spicy peel & eat broiled shrimp, seafood gumbo (sans sausage,) clam chowder, lobster bisque, garlic crab, conch in lemon butter sauce, grilled clams, mussels cioppino, roasted sardines, crispy assorted fruits de mer. Oh yeah, will need lots of baked and fried potatoes, corn on the cob or sauteed, butter, remoulade, cocktail sauce, slaw, salad, and beverages. Watch out now. Who said chicken and beef ruled the party. Nope. N'at-allll.‎

Image via Twitter

Has this sufficiently whetted your appetite for some seafood? And redeemed me, somewhat, for that unabashed fan-girling post? ‎

Poster via @EatingAtAdelphi

National Seafood Month, however, is about the serious business of sustainable seafood. Eileen Sobek, Assistant Adminstrator for NOAA Fisheries, a division of the U. S. National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration ushered in the commemoration with this message: 

Our fisheries are among the largest and most sustainable in the world, and all U.S. seafood is responsibly harvested and grown under a strong monitoring, management, and enforcement regime that works to keep the marine environment healthy, fish and shellfish populations thriving, and our seafood industry on the job. 

A steady, sustainable supply of safe, healthy seafood is a critical ingredient to keeping our coastal communities and working waterfronts resilient, both environmentally and economically. And we know that our investments in science-based fisheries management are paying off. In 2013, U.S. fishermen landed 9.9 billion pounds of fish and shellfish worth $5.5 billion—that’s an increase of 245 million pounds and an additional $388 million compared to 2012. And in 2014, the number of U.S. fish stocks rebuilt since 2000 increased to 37. As a result of the combined efforts of NOAA Fisheries, the regional fishery management councils, and all of our partners, the number of stocks listed as subject to overfishing or overfished continues to decline and are at an all-time low.

Read her full message and some of the activitiies of the month here.

Poster via @Seafood4Health

Sustainable fishing encourages healthy eating and living. Geographic exploration of National Seafood Month ‎can stir up cultural roots. Make it a #FishFriday, #SeafoodSaturday, or explore through other cultures like a Moroccan tandoor, Japanese sushi, Spanish ceviche or paella, Jamaican escovitch, Italian cioppino or French bouillabaise, or a favorite Southern (USA) brunch treat--fish and grits (yummy with shrimp too.)  

Image via allposters.com

As child of the sun, native of the islands that form a gateway to the Americas on the Atlantic side, encirling the Caribbean Sea, our delicious fruits de mer are immortalized in song. Before Bubba we had the Caribbean folk musicians like Jamesie and the Happy Seven of the Virgin Islands, as well my native French/British culture, sing odes to the bounties of the sea. Jamesie’s fish market song was (and still is) a great way to teach and learn about the marine biology of the ocean and sea around us.

Scott's Seafood (Sacramento, CA) adds an exotic flair
with plantain, avocado, corn coulis.

At the halfway mark of seafood month, what fishy adventure can you incorporate into your dining and activities. Any fish today? (haha, lyrics from a Frenglish folk song: Poisson, poisson, fait un belle dejeuner...any fish today, madam? (Fish, fish, makes a lovely lunch...any fish today, madam?) Share with us via pic on Twitter @DeepDish_.