Thursday, September 19, 2013

A victim of its own success

I love fish but seldom get to eat it because my better half is not a great fan. It is the bones that apparently put her off so a fillet of cod is fine but a whole fish on a plate is a definite no no.

In my case, I don’t mind negotiating the bones by eating the flesh from one side, removing the whole skeleton and then eating the other side. That is what I do with a trout and what I do with sea bass or lubino as it is called around these parts.

roastedseabasswithch_85255_16x9  Sea bass has been much vaunted by chefs because of its delicate flavour. It can take on chilli and other pungent ingredients or it can be gently suffused with herbs. It is also a fish that anglers enjoy catching because it fights well.

The problem is that the sea bass is a victim of its own success and is now being overfished reducing stocks by 20% in the last year. True, you can get farmed sea bass but the flavour is very different. Actually, I suspect that the majority of fish in restaurants these days are farmed because they are well under size for an adult fish.  Smothered with a spicy sauce, most people (including me) would not know the difference.

No doubt there will be another species of fish that will take its place on the gourmet table and then that too will dwindle in stocks.

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