South Carolina Chefs Promote Sustainable Seafood Initiative

Sep 13, 2010 – The global seafood industry is currently facing rough waters, particularly when one considers that the world’s oceans are being overfished and certain species are being depleted rapidly. Fortunately, there are indications that the seafood and restaurant industries are taking strides in order to make long-term changes that will begin to reverse the trend of overfishing around the world. One industry leader in particular, South Carolina’s Sustainable Seafood Initiative (SSI), has set itself apart as a unique, driving force for change in the seafood and restaurant industries. With an emphasis upon responsible management and consumption of the world’s seafood populations, the South Carolina SSI has made sustainable seafood an increasingly popular option for great chefs and restaurants throughout South Carolina, most notably at CQ’s Restaurant in Hilton Head, SC.

According to Eric Sayers, Executive Chef at CQ’s, the initiative’s primary focus is maintaining quality seafood supplies for consumers while conserving the needs of fish and shellfish populations in waters around the world. The Lowrey Group, which owns and operates CQ’s, places an emphasis upon purchasing and serving locally and domestically caught seafood. Chef Sayers’ fresh selections of sustainable seafood include unique recipes featuring local, Atlantic caught shrimp, Prince Edward Island mussels and local, line-caught Wreck Fish from the waters off nearby Charleston, South Carolina.

South Carolina’s Sustainable Seafood Initiative (SSI) has forged long-term partnerships with outstanding restaurants that continuously exceed the requirements of the program, with select participants receiving prestigious "Platinum Partner" status for their continuous support of the SSI. The Lowrey Group’s Celebrations Catering & Events division is a member of the SSI, offering sustainable seafood options for catered events, such as wedding receptions and corporate retreats.

Recently, CQ's Chef Sayers joined forces with fellow SSI "Platinum Partner" Chefs Jeremiah Bacon of Carolina's Restaurant and Charles Arena of The Boathouse in Charleston, SC. The chefs took advantage of the unique opportunity, blending their expertise and passions for sustainable seafood, as they prepared a highly memorable gourmet dinner that truly demonstrated the importance of South Carolina’s Sustainable Seafood Initiative. The SSI hosts monthly dinner series that features restaurants and chefs that participate in the SSI. Typically, a gourmet meal consisting of four or five courses of sustainable seafood is paired with unique wines or beers, and guests are briefed and educated on timely developments surrounding the growing importance and popularity of the SSI.

Overall, South Carolina’s Sustainable Seafood Initiative is greatly enhancing the public’s awareness of overfishing as it relates to threatened marine species around the world, as well as emphasizing the oceans’ delicate ecological balance as a whole.

Source: South Carolina's Sustainable Seafood Initiative