The Whole Fish

As part of our youth education curriculum this year, we will be stressing the effective use of each and every part of the fish that we catch and keep.

While this concept is not new by any standards- as all of our ancestors utilized their resources in this way, often out of pure necessity- mankind has become increasingly wasteful, and today, people do away with many things that, only a few generations ago, would have been used, repurposed or fixed. We at Save The Harbor/ Save The Bay feel that this practice is something that is greatly beneficial to mankind and will help us to live more sustainable lives on this marvelous planet.

Bruce demonstrating how to properly fillet a large striper.

Fortunately this frugal mentality has never quite disappeared from society, and in recent years, it has even gained popularity in what many would consider to be high-class circles. The “snout to tail” movement that has gained traction in the culinary world is just such a trend. As so called foodies have become more adventurous, so to have the chefs catering to them, and now parts of animals that were once considered distasteful by American standards are now being praised as delicacies.

Some adventurous eaters trying freshly prepared ceviche and sashimi.

 Our Whole Fish movement at Save The Harbor/ Save The Bay will take cues from this trend. On top of providing education on fish anatomy, we will take the usable meat from the fish we catch, including the fillets and cheeks, and distribute them to our staff and program partners. The more adventurous may even considering taking home fish roe if it is available, or even the heads, which make fantastic soup stock. While most of the insides and bones will not be eaten they can certainly be used as bait to catch other fish, or more crabs and lobster than one could count. In this way we hope to show the children in our program that, in an ideal world, nothing will be wasted.