Mar 1, 2018

Sustainable Seafood Week PH 2018: Insights of the Opening Event at Marriott Manila


All Local Seafood: Do you want your boodle fight to have such great seafood? It might surprise you to discover that the primary ingredients in this featured boodle fight are home-grown. 

Sustainable Seafood

With the longest shoreline in the world, when adding all the islands shorelines, and with numerous water forms such as lakes and rivers, the Philippines has vast wealth when it comes to marine resources, specifically, seafood. 

The opening event of the Philippine Sustainable Seafood Week 2018 held on Feb. 26 at the Grand Ballroom A of Marriott Manila was an eye-opener. It focused on our country and the vast wealth of food that we can harvest from our seas and other water forms. 

The splendid seafood feast of the opening event had no unknown, imported, exotic catch as what was served was our very own shellfish, seaweeds, crustaceans, and fish that are of international standard when it comes to freshness, size, texture, and taste.


Leveling up the texture and taste factors more was the exquisite gourmet touch of the chefs from the various food establishments that participate in this cause.


We all know that great chefs can create wonderful dishes. The truth is, as every cook knows, the quality of the dish will just be as superb as the ingredients and that is why excellent chefs demand only the best.



That is what makes the difference when choosing what seafood to serve. We choose to have the best. We can choose to make a difference and take care of our seafood. 

For those who wonder why this cause is so very vital to our nation and to the whole world for that matter, it is the resources that we have which may be depleted in the near future. Aside from that, this cause will make our country greatly benefit from the knowledge and support given by the Sustainable Seafood cause group.

That might not be enough for those of us who are not affected directly as we might not be in that industry and just consume seafood. Yet, it is very relevant to us all, as it can help us win the fight against hunger and poverty, especially for those who live in the villages near the shore, if we all unite, take action, and adhere to the principles of this cause.

Sustainable Seafood Questions

Closer to home, take a moment to consider that seafood dish you last consumed. The sustainability queries that may be asked before buying and consuming your next seafood meal include:

Where did this come from? 

Those who go frequently go to the fish market know that certain fish like milkfish (bangus)comes from a different area by looking at fin tail to say, "That is from Dagupan." Still, when there is a red tide alert, news advisories state that we must not to buy or eat a specific kind of shellfish, even if the vendor insists that it comes from a different place that has no red tide. Ever wonder why some tilapia are mestizo while some are brown? Aside from the location, it is good to have the assurance that the water conditions that the seafood came from is good - and that is where Sustainable Seafood can help. 

How was it caught? Illegal fishing methods such as dynamite fishing dramatically change the way it looks. Ever seen fish with partially broken heads, sunken eyes with some scales missing? In the Filipino term, it looks "bugbog" which directly translates to beaten up - and those are the signs of the catch of dynamite fishing. 

Save Our Seafood, Eat Better

We know we should expect better seafood but it seems impossible to find. Instead, we might even end up with juvenile ones like those small, filleted milk fish that have been preserved in vinegar (daing na bangus). Ever wonder why those small fish are being sold? It could be a number of reasons, such as these being caught not being thrown back into the water to grow into full harvest length. 

Times may be difficult and a fisherman might have to catch all that he can, juvenile or not, without nary a thought about the future. What that fisherman does not realize is that the reason that he catches less now is because that is the destruction done by those ahead of him that disregarded the future, and the bleak future has happened as there is less fish to catch as the juvenile fish would have ensured his catch for the near future. 

Sustainable Seafood answers these questions that are of primary concern. It also protects, saves, and makes better our seafood for our needs now and that of the future generation. 


We Can Make the Changes Needed 

We can do more for caring and protecting. We can upgrade the quality and processes of our harvests, and provide ways for the small fishing industries to enter the international market. If we take care of what we can eat now, we can be able to do all that it takes to ensure a better future for our children and our children's children - and we can enjoy the benefits of having an international standard seafood industry.

Tell me, as you looked at the pictures of the seafood in this blog post - when was the last time you were able to buy such high-quality seafood ingredients? You can eat better seafood and those in the industry will be able to even lower prices when there is a profusion of seafood, like before.

                                               
Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. 

Author's Note: Water is Water

In 2008, our own tawilis was on the brink of extinction and recently, as our President Duterte said, ""But you go into the water, it's smelly. Smell of what? S***, Because everything that goes out in Boracay… it's destroying the environment or the Republic of the Philippines and creating a disaster coming." 



Water is water and that is the chemical truth of it. What is in the water makes it either salty like sea water. Did you ever wonder while eating seafood - what might just be in the water?
 



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