Fish2Fork: Restaurant Ranking with a Sustainable Seafood Agenda

Move over Michelin: When it comes to seafood, there's a new restaurant guide in town. And this time, sustainability and transparency count more than ambiance.

Fish2Fork is the brainchild of End of the Line's Charles Clover.  Its agenda: to wield restaurant rankings as a weapon against overfishing. The tactic: shame those with bad practices and reward those doing the right thing.

The online guide creates a ranking of each resaturant based on three factors: 1) an extensive online questionnaire (filled out by the restaurant and/or its customers) about sourcing policy and the species served; 2) the menu; and 3) the information provided to the customer, primarily based on the restaurant's website.

Fish2Fork posts reviews of the resaturants with the final ranking, ranging from five blue fish (the best) to five red fish (the worst).  And they don't mince their words: "Any restaurant rated 5 Red Fish... is totally unacceptable when there are so many good alternatives available and shows a complete disregard for our planet and its fish stocks."

So far, they've ranked about 60 restaurants in the U.S. but hope that number will increase as more fish aficionados start calling out their local fish bars. Those ranked in Washington, D.C. display the full range from four blue fish (Blue Ridge) to five red (Kaz Sushi Bistro).

But, will tattle-telling create enough pressure to force restaurateurs to change their buying practices?  And, is there enough purchasing power in restaurants to influence the fishing industry?

I think the answer to both questions is yes. Greenpeace has used the bad rap tactic to successfully shame grocery stores into purchasing more sustainable seafood in the U.K. (and is now starting here).  And it seems to work with restaurants, too. The launch of Fish2Fork in the U.K, promoted by naked celebrities, led several restaurants to pull endangered bluefin tuna and Atlantic halibut off their menus.

And, since over half of seafood consumed in the U.S. occurs in restaurants, it seems like changes in restaurant purchasing could pressure fisheries to shift their practices.  Targeting restaurants, like grocery stores, is a form of vertical agitation, an approach seafood sustainability researcher, Jennifer Jacquet, argues is more effective than traditional consumer awareness campaigns.

While there is room for improvement (many will debate which ranking or labeling system is best for determining what is a sustainably caught fish), I think the overall approach is a good one. It combines education with consumer action and a bit of espionage. So grab your bow-tie camera and dark shades and start saving those damsel(fish) in distress, 007-style.

Photo credit: viZZZual.com