Georgia Magazine - June 2012 - (Page 38)

Fantastic ﬁsh Local and exotic ﬁns BY JANE F GARVEY . PANO KARATASSOS JR. C onsumers who enjoy ﬁsh or prefer it as a protein source face a raft of concerns today about overﬁshing, sustainability, cost, farm-raised vs. wildcaught and whether ﬁsh are safe to eat at all. Supply is becoming increasingly threatened. Some areas have experienced almost total depletion of ﬁsh stocks, and this can have dangerous implications for social and political stability. Sorting out all of this is daunting, but while we need to be aware of the issues facing ﬁsh consumption today, we shouldn’t delete it from our diets. The National Fisheries Institute (NFI) provides a good source of information about seafood: www.aboutseafood.com, including concerns about mercury levels, health and nutrition information and dietary guidelines. Above: At Kyma, a ﬁne dining Greek restaurant in Atlanta, fresh ﬁsh ﬂown in daily from around the globe make a splendid presentation—and ﬁne eating! Left: Fresh tuna may be eaten raw as sashimi (without rice) or sushi (with rice), or may be quickly seared and served rare with a ponzu dipping sauce. INLAND SEAFOOD Getting a variety of ﬁsh is important for enhancing enjoyment as well as varying the nutritional quotient. One of Georgia’s major ﬁsh and seafood distributors is Tucker-based Inland Seafood. Its founder, Joel Knox, has spent more than half his life nurturing this company, which claims to be the largest seafood distributor in the Southeast. Inland’s Operations Manager Robert Pidgeon says the health beneﬁts of eating ﬁsh outweigh the negatives. “There’s so much testing,” he says, pointing out that 10 percent of swordﬁsh must 38 be green-ticketed, showing it’s been subjected to random testing. The list of ﬁsh considered low in mercury is long, and includes varieties popular in the South, such as catﬁsh, ﬂounder, rainbow trout, farmraised tilapia and farmed or wildcaught salmon. Inland purveys some 120,000 pounds of farm-raised salmon per week, says Pidgeon, a testament to its popularity. Herring and sardines are good choices, and many markets today offer fresh sardines, which are larger than the ones in a can and fabulous grilled. Getting a variety of ﬁsh is important for enhancing enjoyment as well as varying the nutritional quotient. Georgians typically focus on two ﬁsh, both freshwater: trout and catﬁsh. Some parts of the state also cook a lot of mullet, which is delicious smoked (and, yes, fried). But Georgia is close enough to the Gulf of Mexico to enjoy ﬁsh from that source, which seems to have been restored to customer conﬁdence since the BP spill. Grouper and amberjack register as the most popular of the Gulf ﬁsh. And Georgia has a bit of Atlantic Ocean coastline, where ﬁn ﬁsh, including tuna, are harvested. More online at www.georgiamagazine.org Some 27 Atlantic ﬁsh species, however, are closed to ﬁshing for the ﬁrst four months of the year to help them repopulate. The key to enjoying ﬁsh is not to overcook it. Restaurant Eugene in Atlanta recently featured sustainably caught Gulf swordﬁsh with a peppercorn and coriander seed crust, and cooked until just pink. The ﬂavor, texture and sweetness were unbelievable. Pidgeon says the size of the swordﬁsh being landed currently “seems to be increasing,” meaning the ﬁsh is rebounding. “It’s a success story,” he says. While large distributors (such as Inland) service institutions, grocery chains and restaurants, small distributors contribute by hustling freshly caught ﬁsh from the boats to the restaurants they serve around the state. From the Atlanta area, Wesley Nolan—his company is Wes Brings You Fish—has a house in Norcross and another in Tampa, Fla., and he likes to spend time in both places. So he drives down Monday, then checks in with his suppliers on the docks on Tuesday and gets reports of what boats are coming in with what GEORGIA MAGAZINE http://www.aboutseafood.com http://www.georgiamagazine.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - June 2012

Georgia Magazine - June 2012
Table of Contents
Viewpoint
Mailbox
Liberty Notes
Picture This?
Georgia News
Calendar of Events
Currents
Georgia’s Energy Outlook
Wholesome Fun and Shaping Winners
Where to Stay and Eat When Visiting the Rock Ranch in the Rock, and Winshape Retreat in Rome
Take to the Road
Travel Guide
My Georgia
Georgia Gardens
Georgia Cooks
Second Helping: Fish
Snapshot
Bonus Snapshot Submissions
Plant of the Month; Liberty Notes
Energy-efficiency Tips
June’s Online Trivia Contest

Georgia Magazine - June 2012