Singapore's First Sustainable Seafood Festival 2014 - Pick The Right Catch For The Living Ocean

In less than a week's time, Singapore will be having it's first SUSTAINABLE SEAFOOD FESTIVAL from 8 to 15 June 2014.

You probably would have seen some advertisements at taxi stands and bus stops, posters from the media, and other forms of education and outreach activities such as marine-themed road shows, talks and exhibitions.

WWF-Singapore is creating a new movement for responsible seafood consumption in Singapore.

You will asking what is "Sustainable Seafood Festival" all about? Well, to answer your question. Sustainable seafood can be wild-caught or farmed raised, but must be harvested with care to maintain stable catch levels in the long-term without major harm to the environment and other marine life.

Sustainable seafood consumption ensures that our oceans can replenish itself and continue to provide for future generations. 

We as the consumers can make a difference by finding out where their fish comes from and by making responsible choices.

Here's a fast fact about our ocean on earth. 

About reading the facts above, you will also be asking how can we contribute or participate in this festival. 

There is an interactive online guide which you can use when dining out or buying seafood. 

Use WWF’s Singapore Seafood Guide here.
http://picktherightcatch.com/interactive-guide/
Over 250,000 copies of the guide has been distributed across Singapore and is available as a free download here.
Alternatively, you can save my pocket image for future use.

Look out for seafood that is certified by Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC). These ecolables ensure that your seafood are harvested responsibly.

Avoid eating endangered and red-listed seafood such as sharks, bluefin tuna, humphead wrasse, etc.

On 8 June 2014, World Oceans Day will spark the start of the one-week long Sustainable Seafood Festival. Check out http://picktherightcatch.com for more updates on their activities and events during the festival.

Just over the weekend, I attended a cooking workshop organised by WWF Singapore and its partners. 

It was an memorable learning and cooking workshop from Chef Lucas Glanville of Grand Hyatt Singapore. The cooking workshop was hosted at ToTT studio, where all of us learn how to prepare delicious ocean friendly dishes. 

I will not go into details on the recipes and processes, since you can find all the information here.

But I would love to share (some snapshots of the cooking scene) all the fun we had in the kitchen workshop. 

ToTT Studio - Where all the cooking fun begin

Ingredients for Tom Yam Pha (Spicy Fish Soup with Lemon Grass)

Baked Garlic and Parsley Mussels, before they go into the oven.

Cutting the Basa fish into smaller pieces before putting into the Tom Yam Pha.

This is Jeraldine, my cooking mate in action. 

She did a lot of cooking before, when she was living overseas for a period of time. I only got to know her at the workshop and I am so lucky to pair up with this pretty lady. 

The Spice Rub with ingredients such as peppercorns, chill flakes, salt, brown sugar and etc.

Making the shaved fennel salad with radish, dill leaves, lemon and extra virgin olive oil. 

Dusting the salmon with all ingredients from the spice rub. 

A peek of the baked mussels in the oven

Our Final Product' - Baked Garlic and Parsley Mussels

Tom Yam Pha 

Salmon Pastrami and Shaved Fennel Salad

Tadah! A perfect ocean friendly meal for the two of us. 

Photo with Jeraldine and our hard work

For make it easier for those who might not be comfortable with cooking, you can look forward to the exclusive "Pick The Right Catch" dining offers at participating restaurants and hotels.

These establishments offer a wide variety of cuisines to cater to the public; and to name a few participating restaurants, we have Absinthe Restaurant Francais, Indochine Group, Seasons Bistro, Xi Yan, Oscar's (Conrad Centennial), Oasis (Grand Hyatt Singapore) and more.

There are 8 outlets of Cold Storage Supermarkets in Singapore involved in this festival. They have a selection of MSC-certified products such as Alaskan pollock, Atlantic cod, Pink Salmon, etc and they can be found at the following outlets.

Jelita / Centrepoint / Holland Village / United Square / Parkway Parade / Kallang Leisure Park / Great World City / and Plaza Singapore. 

Another good news to share is the PICK THE RIGHT CATCH Instagram Contest that is open till 15 June 2014. 

All you need to do is to head down to the participating restaurants and businesses to enjoy their exclusive sustainable seafood promotions during the week, post photos of your meal with your commitment to the oceans on your Instagram and stand a chance to win One-night stay in a Deluxe Sea View Room at Shangri-La's Rasa Sentosa Resort & Spa inclusive of Breakfast for 2!

The submitted photos must be captioned with the following hashtags:
#picktherightcatch
#wwfsg

The General Rules of this contest can be found here. 

So Come Join us and Support the good cause. 

Spread the word of love by hashtagging #picktherightcatch and #wwfsg. 

You can find more information on the movement by visiting WWF’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.