At a time when many of us worry about what sort of fish we should be eating, one Californian reader kindly sent me the exemplary menu from a special seafood dinner held at Oliveto restaurant in Oakland.
It’s a fine example of a restaurant taking great care: each fish on the menu is cross-referenced to a list of 29 sources and harvest methods, from Boston mackerel (caught by traps off Rhode Island) to tai snapper (caught by hook and line in New Zealand).
I sent the menu to Charles Clover, whose book The End of the Line (now an excellent film) highlighted the overfishing crisis and exposed many leading chefs’ indifference to the issue. It was “a menu from the future, information-wise; shame about the halibut and swordfish”, he replied. Atlantic halibut, he said, is an endangered species, while swordfish is a top predator, whose demise affects the entire fish population – and it is liable to overfishing.