October Seafood Celebration Goes Statewide

by Ryan Kawailani Ozawa · September 27, 2015

If you love seafood, you have a great excuse to indulge throughout the month of October. More than 50 restaurants across the state will be celebrating Hawaii Seafood Month, drawing diners in with specials and special dishes and sneaking some sustainability education onto the plate.

“Fishing and seafood are essential to Hawaiiâ€™s heritage, multi-cultural food traditions, our regional cuisine and visitor experience,” explains the official website. “Hawaii Seafood Month celebrates Hawaii seafood and the dedicated fishers, retailers, restaurants, and seafood businessesÂ working together to promote sustainable local seafood and vibrant fishing communities across our paeÊ»Äina.”

Hawaii Seafood Month coincides with National Seafood Month, which has been around officially for at least 25 years, and for much longer under the banner of the National Fisheries Institute (which introduced the idea in the 1940s). It’s championed by NOAA as a way to “highlight the sustainability of U.S. fisheries from Alaska to the Gulf of Mexico.”

There have been a smattering of local observations in the past (from special dishes at the Maui Ocean Center to a Yelp featureÂ last year), but this year’s coordinated, statewide event is a first.Â It’s beingÂ organized by the Hawaii Seafood Council and Conservation International, with the help of the Ulupono Initiative and other partners.

â€œFresh local seafood is one of the great joys of living in and visiting Hawaii,” said Hawaii Seafood Council program manager John Kaneko in a statement. “Informed consumers help to support our responsible fisheries by asking for world-class, safe and sustainable Hawaii seafood… that is what Hawaii Seafood Month is all about.”

And there is a tech angle to Hawaii Seafood Month, as organizers are incorporated ThisFish, a seafood tracing system that helps consumers look up the history of the food on their plate.

“Scanable QR codes will instantly connect to the story of the seafood including species, fishery, harvest method, and landing details as well as information about the fisher who harvested the seafood,” organizers explained.Â “When possible, customers are even able to see the fisher who harvested the catch and connect to him/her by sending a personal message.”

For more information, visit HawaiiSeafoodMonth.com, Hawaii-Seafood.org, or connect with Conservation International’s Hawaii chapter on Facebook, on Twitter at @CIHawaii, or on Instagram at @cihawaii.

Here is the list of participating restaurants as of Friday: