Chefs & environmentalists work to protect restore and conserve marine fish stocks

"It's like clear-cutting forests -- it's the same logic," Leape says. "They're clear-cutting the bottom of our oceans and clearing out all of the fish."

Leape says the conservation movement is not a "don't eat fish campaign." He says the point is that he and others want this generation and future generations to keep eating fish. But Leape becomes concerned when he sees studies that say the amount of fish in the North Atlantic has dropped 50 percent the past 50 years.
"We need to take significant action if we want the fish around," he says.
A freshwater problem, too
Although much of the focus is on ocean fishing, Edward Rutherford with the University of Michigan's School of Natural Resources and Environment says some lessons can be learned for the Great Lakes as well. He says bycatch is not a concern in the Great Lakes but overfishing should be.

"A number of things could lower the perch stocks in Lake Michigan, and overfishing is one of those," Rutherford says. "There's also habitat alteration due to exotic species coming in like zebra mussels. These are all factors that could lower the nursery habitat. Combine that with overfishing of adults and this is what brings the yellow perch population down."

Rutherford says nuisance species such as the zebra mussel are changing habitats and affecting the food available for young fish. A recent study showed zebra mussels had nearly eliminated diporeia, a crucial food for whitefish, from lakes Michigan and Huron. "People should be concerned," he says.

Before heading to work Friday, Michael Trombley, executive chef at the Golden Mushroom in Southfield, saw a cooking segment on the Food Network featuring Chilean sea bass. Trombley was dismayed, saying the network "should know better."
Because of TV segments like that and other things, Trombley says there is an ignorance out there about the overfishing problem.

"Stupidly we are overfishing," Trombley says. "Fish will be wiped off the planet. Why are we doing this?"
He thinks chefs and restaurant owners can do a lot to educate diners, either by word of mouth or by describing how fish are caught on the menu.
"If people were educated about it, we wouldn't be overfishing," Trombley says. "If we're more aware as consumers and as restaurateurs and create less of a demand, hopefully we can make an impact."