Sustaining Hawaii's Seafood

How do you convince restaurant patrons in Hawaii to eat smaller — and so more sustainable — portions of wild seafood?

"You gotta give them more rice," joked Neil Murphy, the corporate executive chef for Merriman's Restaurants, one of the islands' most renowned purveyors of fine dining.

But all kidding aside, Pacific Regional Cuisine co-founder Peter Merriman has made a unique commitment to increasing the viability of wild-caught and farmed fish in Hawaii. His first-ever company-wide initiative — covering namesake restaurants on Maui, Kauai and the Big Island, plus Monkeypod Kitchen in Wailea — is supporting the work of the Hawaii Fish Trust not only with a $5,000 donation, but with daily "Sustainable Seafood Specials" through September.

The specials pair a 3-ounce piece of wild Hawaii caught fish — such as mahi mahi, opakapaka, lehi, monchong, uku, ono or opah — with 3 ounces of locally raised seafood, such as the Big Island's trademarked Kona Kampachi or sweet prawns from Kauai.

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