Becky Selengut - Good fish: 100 sustainable seafood recipes from the Pacific Coast

Im thrilled to be able to dive back into the world of sustainable seafood and offer this fully updated and expanded edition of Good Fish to new and old readers alike. A lot has changed since the book first rolled out in 2011, and the good news is that Pacific Coast fisheries are being better managed and were starting to see the results. Many fish populations have begun to come back due to good laws with teeth and collaboration between government, nonprofits, and fishermen. Several Pacific rockfish species, for example, are bouncing back from severe overfishing. Aquaculture (fish farming) has made great technological advances, such as reducing waste while helping to meet a greater demand for seafood.

There is still more work to be done, of course. Climate change is leading to warmer waters, which negatively affect habitat and species. Mislabeling of species continues to be rampant; bycatch is still a problem. But on the whole, the good news outweighs the bad, and Ive been happy to see consumers asking more questions and looking critically at where their seafood is coming from. America is nowmore than evera great country to source your seafood from. As I said back in 2011, the single best thing you can do to preserve our fish for the future is to source your seafood domestically. Im happy to say that the fifteen species selected in the first edition are still good fish, thanks to the hard work, patience, and discipline of our oceans stakeholders.

The original edition of this book focused on species common to markets in Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and California. With the addition of mahi-mahi and wahoo in this new one, I got to play around with two excellent Hawaiian fish staples as well. Herring, a fantastic littlefish harvested in Alaska and California, finds its way into a few recipes; razor clams, dug up on the coasts of Alaska, Washington, and Oregon, join the rest of its West Coast clam brethren (geoduck and manila clams). Pacific cod, or true cod, mostly known to the home cook in fish-and-chips form, gets run through its paces as an affordable and sustainable option. One of my favorite fish, lingcod, missed the boat in the first edition for space reasons, and Im so happy to have more room to include it here. The wild salmon section has been much expanded, organized around species and best cooking methods: moist-heat cooking for the leaner pink and keta (chum) and dry-heat techniques for the richer coho, sockeye, and king. Finally, halibut also gets an expansion with a couple new recipes.

Regardless of which seafood covered in this new edition appeals to you most, I hope you enjoy cooking these recipes and sharing them around your table. Feel free to reach out to me anytime via my website: BeckySelengut.com. I love hearing from you.

Becky, March 2018

REMEMBER THESE GOOD FISH RULES

F: Farmed can be OK (verify that it is done responsibly).

I: Investigate your source (ask questions; support good chefs, fishmongers, and markets).

S: Smaller is better (limit portion size; eat smaller fish, like sardines and young albacore).