by Derek James Ho   www.eatdrinknbmerry.com

Up until a few years ago, my early images of Santa Barbara were rather narrow-minded and quite collegiate. I remember walking around UC Santa Barbara’s Isla Vista party zone with red solo cups held upside-down to show police that we weren’t publicly drinking. I remember seeing videos of bare-footed, stoned fans rocking out to Jack Johnson’s sleepy, mostly boring, jams at the Santa Barbara Bowl. Oh yeah, and one of Father Serra’s crumbly …

Japanese seafood is fine – unless you eat it

A series of news outlets are reporting that sampled fish near the crippled Fukushima reactor are showing high levels of radioactivity, which isn’t too surprising since workers at the plant dump over 1000 tons of contaminated water into the ocean Monday night. Excellent. The findings are stoking fears in seafood markets and restaurants around the world, perhaps unreasonably at this point.
The Wall Stree Journal reports that Japanese authorities discovered …

(Serves: 4 people)

Red Beet Purée
1 large beet or two medium beets
3 shallots
2 tablespoons butter
sea salt to taste
fresh black pepper to taste
vegetable stock to cover

Peel and chop the beets into small pieces, peel and chop the shallots into small pieces. Melt a tablespoon of butter in a small sauce pan, add the shallots and allow to sweat for a couple minutes, add …

Investigating where your seafood is from and how it is produced is key to sourcing responsibly.  These suggested questions and considerations can help you learn about and understand the provenance of your seafood.  Talking with your supplier about these issues ensures they understand that sustainable seafood is important to you.  Your supplier may not be able to answer all your questions, but by asking these questions and raising awareness you are helping to develop a more responsible …

 
by Jill Johnson taken from Epicure Santa Barbara:  www.ediblecommunities.com/santabarbara/summer-2010/edible-profile.htm 
In these days of well-manicured paper-pushing people who produce little of intrinsic value, it is a breath of fresh air, albeit salt-tinged sea air, to meet local fisherman Kenny Schmidt. 
His hands are large, tanned and gnarled from years of being in a long-term relationship with the natural world of sun, ocean and various creatures therein. His bronzed countenance is deeply etched, the signs of a life lived fully …

by Stephanie Mutz
Sam Shrout is a fisherman out of the port of Santa Barbara.  He started his commercial fishing career diving for abalone more than 30 years ago.  Since then he has obtained lobster, rock crab, rockfish and sea urchin permits.  He also traps kellets whelk (large sea snails) in his crab traps, and has a market for them too.  His motivation for having so many licenses is the diversity – having the opportunity to do different things at …

article re-printed from Seafood Business June 2010 issue
By James Wright
June 01, 2010
Whether it’s forests, fuel or food, sustainability constantly challenges what we think we know about the world’s natural resources and the impact of human behavior on the environment – especially life below the ocean’s surface. Sustainable seafood is a fluid issue that’s perpetually in flux. Ask three people in the seafood industry what sustainability means – and what sources of information they rely on most to …

KNOW YOUR FISHERMAN!  Buy direct from the boat, or your local fish market.  More support for local fisheries vs. exporting overseas by importing Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported (IUU) fish and aquaculture products. The reality check here is that we “Green” US citizens end up fueling unsustainable and unsafe practices overseas in the very act of making sustainable and healthy practices here all the more difficult and costly….it is your responsibility to know what you are feeding your body, and your family.
Watch video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0F8x4i5GYE&feature=related
Contact CFSB …

To find a fisherman or market in Santa Barbara where you can get fresh, seasonal and sustainable seafood go to:  www.ifrfish.org/where/santa-barbara-area
The Problem
As our food infrastructure has grown throughout the past century, people have become disconnected from their food sources and less aware of the origin of their food.
Nowadays, less and less people are engaged in work as food producers and much of our nation’s food is imported thousands of miles using nonrenewable sources of energy which contribute …

Seafood
The Santa Barbara Channel is one of the nation’s richest sources of bountiful, sustainable and high-quality seafood. Santa Barbara Harbor’s 100+ local fishermen catch between six and ten million pounds of seafood annually, which, considering its positive effect on related businesses, equates to a $30 million industry.
Depending on the season, the catch of the day may include spiny lobster, ridgeback shrimp, spot prawn, rock crab, white sea bass, California halibut, yellowtail, albacore, swordfish, thresher and mako shark, …