There’s Something Fishy Going On

Date: July 2023
Author: Laura Dodwell-Groves

Did you know...

With the world recently experiencing its two hottest days on record in the same week, there is renewed focus on ways to live in a more sustainable way.

A large part of it involves the food we eat, and variety is an important part of that. Here are some fun facts about some fishy food items you may be neglecting but should consider for your table.

Arctic Char

No other freshwater fish lives as far north, with their size, shape and colour changing to reflect the nutrition or environment of the world around them (imagine if we did that?!) This is a great substitute for salmon. Commercial fisheries for this species are run sustainably, with the sludge at the bottom of their tank (with all the poopy bits) collected to use as fertilizer.

Atlantic Mackerel

An incredibly abundant fish that is known to live up to 17 years, it is a fast mover that has to stay active to get enough oxygen to stay alive. Folklore mistakenly suggested that mackerel would eat the corpses of dead sailors, so it was viewed as unclean and not eaten for generations, helping it survive the early ravages of overfishing. Rich in all those wonderful things like Omega 3 fatty acids that your doctor tells you to eat, even if you’re not sure why.

Pacific Sablefish

One of the grandparents of the ocean, with recorded age of up to 94 years, we more commonly refer to this as black cod or butterfish. Reaching sexual maturity as early as two and laying eggs once or twice a year, perhaps we should call them the great-great-great-great-great… you get the idea. They communicate with each other with a unique sound which researchers call ‘rasps’. As to what they are saying? My money is on: if they knew how good we tasted with a miso sauce, we’d be in serious trouble.