For Bart Van Olphen, it all started with a love for cooking and eating seafood. Realizing that most of our oceans are being overfished, he started to travel in a search for the most sustainable fishing communities around the globe. In his acclaimed book The Tinned Fish Cookbook (The Experiment, 2020), he shared the superstar potential of canned tuna, salmon, anchovies and more, along with teaching how to recognize eco-friendly fish. In his latest cookbook Veggies & Fish (The Experiment, 2021), this chef and sustainable fishing advocate shows how veggies and sustainably harvested fish are perfect for each other.
Bart Van Olphen’s Salmon Tataki Salad
Cooking Tips:
1. When you buy fish, you should always look out for the MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) or ASC (Aquaculture Stewardship Council) label, or consult a seafood guide like the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch (seafoodwatch.org) or the Marine Stewardship Council (msc.org).
2. By using vegetables as the focus of your dishes, you don’t have to serve huge portions of fish.
3. I recommend eating more frozen and canned seafood. Why? Fish is caught during height of season and then frozen or canned to an increasingly high standard. It’s easy to check the packaging if the fish has been certified sustainable. So, to contribute to the health of the oceans, you don’t always need to opt for fresh fish.
