In January 2014, I moved to Sitka from New York City.
In the NYC kitchens I worked in, it was common knowledge that the best fish came from Alaska. Sure, striped bass is good, branzino and dorade are a uniform, manageable size and Dover sole is exotic. But the exciting fish, the most beautiful, and enchanting — halibut and salmon — are from Alaska. King crab, snow crab and oysters also showed up on occasion, to the cooks’ and our guests’ delight.
Fine dining may not pay well, but it does offer the reward of working with incredible product. The Alaska products were treated with a palatable sense of reverence when they were delivered, perhaps equal parts respect for the excellent product, respect for the price tag and fear of the wrath of the chef if any part of the fish or sea creature was mistreated or wasted. When I told my soon-to-be-former co-workers at a Michelin starred restaurant I was moving to a 9,000-person town in Alaska, they all had the same response. First, they were shocked at the size of the small island community, and second, with a bit of envy, the would say, “Oh, that’s where The Fish comes from.”
When I thought about opening a restaurant in Sitka, I thought about how I could thrive within the confines of the available products. A seafood restaurant was my natural inclination. Not only was it the type of food I enjoyed cooking the most, but Sitka’s biggest industry is commercial fishing. I support my community by buying the fish locally, and it is a truly excellent product. My business depends on responsible fisheries management and policies to ensure sustainable harvests into the future.
Perhaps the most important of our nation’s fishery policies is the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation Management Act (MSA), first enacted in 1976 and later amended in 1996 and 2006 to help rebuild America’s fisheries and restore coastal fishing economies. The MSA is once again up for reauthorization and Congress is currently weighing different versions that could dramatically alter the future health of our country’s fisheries. Fishermen aren’t the only ones whose livelihoods will be impacted by the new MSA that Congress adopts.
Anyone who buys, cooks or eats wild seafood has a stake in the reauthorization of the MSA. As a business owner who depends on consistent access to commercially harvested local seafood, I will be impacted by the future of the MSA. Many restaurant owners, like myself, depend on reliable access to local and abundant fish stocks. I hope that other chefs, restaurants and seafood industry leaders will join me in supporting an MSA that looks out for our nation’s fish, local fishermen and fish lovers. More specifically, Congress needs to adopt an MSA that upholds accurate and timely fish stock assessments and harvest monitoring, unequivocal enforcement of annual catch limits, and shared accountability across all fishing sectors. MSA needs to maintain access to fish stocks for community-based fishermen and make sure those fish stocks are healthy and productive now and in the future. Now is not the time to weaken the most important fishery management legislation we have, especially when Americans are being encouraged to consume more seafood for better health.
As someone who depends on our country’s seafood supply, I urge U.S. Congressman Don Young and U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, to look out for the future of Alaska’s most valued — and delicious — resource and support a new MSA that upholds science-based fishery management, shared accountability across all fishing sectors, and safeguards the health of our coastal fishing economies. The future of our fishing communities and menus depends on it.
• Renee Trafton is the chef and owner of Beak Restaurant. She resides in Sitka.
