Shrimp...

I have been ordering Maine wild shrimp this past month.

They truly are delicious delicacies that pop in your mouth.  Whichever way I cook them (sautéed, or in a soup), I cook them until they are 'just cooked' and then serve them.  Very similar to cooking scallops, I pull them off  the heat before they are fully cooked through, as they continue to cook once removed from the pan.

So, before the Maine shrimp are also in depleted supply, I say enjoy them while we have them!

I am often asked to share a dish with my family when we are in Thai, Vietnamese or Chinese restaurants. While I welcome the idea of plate sharing, I am careful to agree  until I am sure we are not eating shrimp (or any other non-sustainable animal).

It’s a rarity to find wild shrimp.

About 75% of shrimp today comes from farms in Asia.  This would be the equivalent to a feed lot in the ocean.

The farmed shrimp have been living in overcrowded pens and fed a diet of corn and antibiotics!   The past several years saw massive shrimp farm development in places like Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Bangladesh, and China. Farms  have brought the price of shrimp down considerably (just think about inexpensive frozen bags-o'-shrimp available at grocery stores), but this is also devastating the environment.

Building shrimp farms requires clearing mangrove forests, a vital part of coastal ecosystems. Already, shrimp ponds have destroyed 5% of the world's mangroves - in some estuaries, 80% of the mangroves are gone. Plus, Asian shrimp ponds use massive amounts of antibiotics and pesticides to prevent diseases from sickening shrimp. That chemical-laden water along with shrimp excrement washes into the ocean. Much of it also ends up on your dinner plate. I’ll pass.

I was purchasing American wild shrimp prior to last summer.  About 11% of wild shrimp came out of the gulf prior to the PB oil spill - guardian.co.uk/environment.

There is wild shrimp to be found, but if it is larger and shelled, sold cheap in a big bag, it isn’t wild American!

I’ve been reading Paul Greenberg’s book called Four Fish (read interview), which is a quick read on the history of our most common table fish. He does a good job of telling the history of the industry and also of presenting the complicated issues occuring with fish farms - the industry continuing to try to supply the demand of food on the tables and at the same time finding balance in depletion.  I was struck by the thought of a commercial fisherman who can make $350,000 for a blue fin tuna and the ethics he or she is faced with in taking this animal.

Bottom Line:

Eat loads of mackerel, anchovies and sardines. With farmed fish, look for a fish that grows fast and is grown in a way where it doesn't interact with the wild - it’s better to eat fish that do not eat fish meal - and if you ask and they don’t know - don’t buy!

Oh… it gets complicated…

Please join me for the cooking class next week on February 15th:  All About Fish.  Not only will we explore ways of cooking fish, but we will also learn about the sustainability of the fishing industry - Join me!

Image Credit:  snowpea&bokchoi