The program that caught my attention 6 years ago that has inspired me to do my part in communicating for Ocean awareness is Ocean Wise founded by the Vancouver Aquarium.  This conservation program was created to “educate and empower consumers about the issues surrounding sustainable seafood”.  According to Ocean Wise, “sustainable seafood can be defined as species that are caught or farmed in a way that ensures the long-term health and stability of that species, as well as the greater marine ecosystem”.

Ocean Wise is a very simple classification program, a species is either sustainable or unsustainable.  Species are recommended if they are:

1. Abundant and resilient to fishing pressures
2. Well managed with a comprehensive management plan based on current research
3. Harvested in a method that ensures limited by-catch on non-target and endangered species
4. Harvested in ways that limit damage to marine or aquatic habitats and negative interactions with other species.

(Ocean Wise)

The Ocean Wise department at Vancouver Aquarium uses internal and external resources to assess the well being of all species, keeping up with all the latest scientific literature released so to relay this information to all participating partners.  Their seafood database is always changing and adapting to ensure appropriate classifications.

Seeing as many of us enjoy our seafood in restaurants, a great place to start protecting ocean habitats and stressed species would be in the kitchens of our favourite local chefs. Ocean wise set out to work directly with interested restaurants and markets to keep them well informed with the latest scientific research thus making ocean friendly alternatives an easy choice for their menus.

Robert Clark Executive Chef of C Restaurant, a man I have had the honour to work with, was one of the first on board with this program and continues to be a spokesperson and representative for Ocean Wise restaurants in the city of Vancouver.  Although Ocean Wise does all of the research, restaurants are required to follow  strict guidelines in order to be granted with the trademarked Ocean Wise logo.  This includes a mandatory training meeting with employees to ensure that staff are well informed about the Ocean Wise program and the sustainable seafood available on their menus to further educate the public they serve each night.  I was one of those people at Raincity Grill, and it was a eye opening lesson, one that continues to inspire me to educate those around me about seafood sustainability.

Today over 100 restaurants in British Columbia are Ocean Wise recommended and the success of the program has  inspired other restaurants across the country to become involved.  However there is much work to be done across the central provinces and the east coast of Canada.

If you own a restaurant and would like more information about the Ocean Wise program please visit www.vanaqua.org or as a consumer you can visit the Vancouver Aquarium’s  website to view their participating restaurants so that you can make wiser dining decisions for your family!