Posted by Chris on May 16, 2003 at 14:53:42:
SAN FRANCISCO PASSES RESOLUTION CALLING
FOR RESTAURANTS AND MARKETS TO SERVE LOCALLY
CAUGHT AND SUSTAINABLY HARVESTED SEAFOOD, OTHER
GOVERNMENTS TO FOLLOW?: The City and County of San
Francisco became the first urban municipality in the U.S. to pass a
resolution calling on its restaurants and markets to serve locally-caught
and sustainably harvested seafood. In addition to throwing their support
behind the local fishing community and fish conservation, the San
Francisco Board of Supervisors also voted on 6 May to encourage its
seafood restaurants and markets to "take a pass on Chilean sea bass."
San Francisco Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval was the author of both
resolutions. The two measures were sponsored by a broad coalition,
including PCFFA and IFR, the National Environmental Trust (NET),
The Ocean Conservancy, and the Golden Gate Restaurant Association
(see Sublegals, 7:16/03).
The first resolution encourages local restaurants and markets to
support local fisheries and provide information to consumers about the
sustainability of the seafood product and the health benefits and risks.
This measure was aimed at supporting some of San Francisco's leading
restaurants, including Jardinere, Farallon, Scoma's, Hayes Street Grill
and Acme Chophouse that have been emphasizing locally-produced
foods and sustainable fisheries on their menus, and to encourage other
restaurants and markets to promote local and sustainably-caught fish.
The measure's sponsors hope to take a message to some of the City's
restaurants that still serve imported farmed salmon and other fish, when
local and sustainably harvested seafood is available from fishermen and
wholesalers (see Sublegals, 7:17/01). It further calls for better health
information about different types of fish including risks (e.g., mercury in
tilefish, colorants in farmed salmon) and benefits (e.g., Omega-3s in
wild salmon and sardines).
The second resolution calls on all chefs, retailers, wholesalers and
consumers to stop serving, selling, buying or consuming Patagonian and
Antarctic toothfish, sold as Chilean Sea Bass, until illegal fishing is
stopped and effective conservation measures are in place. On 7 May, a
day after the San Francisco Board action, an announcement came out of
Brussels that a new international alliance of legal Patagonian toothfish
harvesters had formed to protect sustainable toothfish resources. Among
its first actions, the Coalition of Legal Toothfish Operators (COLTO)
offered a reward of $100,000 (US) for information leading to the
conviction of fishermen, companies, directors or employees involved in
illegal fishing operations. For more information on the Toothfish
organization, go to www.colto.org. For more information on the San
Francisco resolutions, call Natasha Benjamin at (415) 561-3474 or go to:
www.sfgov.org.