Twisted Fish Restaurants Honored as “Friends of the Ocean”
Press Release Date: October 6, 2009
Location: Juneau, AK
Contact:
Anna Baxter | email: abaxter@oceana.org
Anna Baxter
Citing its promotion of healthy, delicious, and sustainably managed Alaska seafood, the Twisted Fish restaurants in Juneau, Alaska and Palm Springs, California were presented with a “Business Friend of the Ocean” award by Oceana. An international non-profit organization committed to restoring and protecting the world’s oceans, Oceana praised the Twisted Fish restaurants for its menu that includes ocean-friendly seafood such as wild ocean salmon and halibut caught by local fishermen.
“Murray Damitio and Reecia Wilson of the Twisted Fish offer top quality, fresh ocean seafood like succulent Alaska wild salmon and halibut,” said Jim Ayers, North Pacific Regional Director of Oceana. “Local promotion of responsibly managed wild salmon is essential to the livelihood and health of Alaskans and ultimately, the health of our Oceans. Alaska’s fisheries are an important part of the state’s economy, Alaska Native culture, and the environment.”
Wild salmon’s omega-3 fatty acid levels are believed to protect against cardiovascular disease and cancer and are reported to be two or three times higher than farmed salmon. “It is healthier than tofu, better for the environment than organic produce, and it tastes a lot better than either,” said Geoff Shester, Fisheries Project Coordinator, Oceana’s North Pacific Office.
Chances are that salmon served at many restaurants is a farmed Atlantic salmon which spends its entire life in a net pen and is not as healthy as a natural, wild Pacific salmon. Farmed salmon have been found to have levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), known to cause reproductive and immunological damage to humans, that are 10 times that found in wild salmon. The color of farmed salmon is artificial and without a synthetic dye added to its feed would be the same as halibut.
“Farmed Atlantic salmon threaten the strongest wild salmon stocks left on earth,” Ayers said. “Farmed salmon escapees total in the hundreds of thousands every year, are known to breed in wild streams in British Columbia where they displace wild salmon, and spread disease and parasites. Over 600 have been found as far away as Alaska waters. And a farm of 200,000 salmon releases the same untreated solid waste into the water as a city of 20,000 people.”
While farmed salmon may be cheaper, increasing evidence points to the fact that salmon farms are bad for the environment, bad for local fishermen, and are unhealthy for consumers. “The public needs to know the adverse health affects of farmed salmon, we need to investigate the impacts of marine aquaculture pollution, and we should support businesses that promote wild salmon,” Ayers said. “Americans, all people, have a right to know what they are eating. The Twisted Fish is a Business Friend of the Oceans by promoting wild Alaska seafood that promotes healthy oceans and healthy Alaskans.”
Each year, Twisted Fish sponsors a luncheon after the Alaska Fishermen’s Memorial and Blessing of the Fleet. Tom Gemmell, Executive Director of the United Fishermen of Alaska agreed, saying, “Murray Damitio and Reecia Wilson of the Twisted Fish are friends of Alaska fishermen and families. By featuring Alaska wild seafood products, the Twisted Fish is a warm port in Juneau and Palm Springs for all those who truly love quality seafood.”
Contact: Jim Ayers, Oceana North Pacific Region Director (907) 586-4050
Oceana is a non-profit international advocacy organization dedicated to protecting and restoring the world’s oceans through policy advocacy, science, law and public education. Founded in 2001, Oceana’s constituency includes members and activists from more than 190 countries and territories who are committed to saving the world’s marine environment. In 2002, the American Oceans Campaign became part of Oceana’s international effort to protect ocean eco-systems and sustain the circle of life. Oceana, headquartered in Washington, D.C., has additional offices in key U.S. coastal areas and will open offices in Latin America and Europe in 2003. For more information, please visit www.oceana.org
