05/05/2015 | 04:41 PM

Ocean Wise marks 10 years

VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Aquarium is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its Ocean Wise conservation program. Initiated as a local, grassroots program in 2005, Ocean Wise has grown to more than 600 partners across the country and collaborates with chefs, restaurateurs, markets, suppliers and fishers.

To mark the occasion, Ocean Wise released a top 10 list of sustainable seafood items for 2015 and put together a symposium.

Ocean Wise research shows that 70 per cent of seafood offered at participating Ocean Wise restaurants is sustainable, compared to 40 per cent offered at non-participating restaurants. While it is not a requisite of Ocean Wise partners to serve 100 per cent Ocean Wise seafood items, sustainable choices need to be clearly identified with the Ocean Wise symbol. Across Canada, 59 partners proudly commit to a 100 per cent Ocean Wise recommended seafood offering.

Ocean Wise partners have not only expanded in numbers but also in scope. This year, all-natural, Canadian-made Walter Caesar mix — its clam juice is sustainably sourced from the North Atlantic — joined as a partner.

As part of its anniversary year, the Aquarium’s Ocean Wise program is highlighting B.C. spot prawns, along with nine other ocean-friendly Canadian seafood items. The list includes albacore tuna; Dungeness crab; Pacific halibut; Pacific sardine; salmon (chinook, chum, coho, pink, sockeye); shellfish (clams, mussels, oysters, scallops); shrimp (spot prawns, sidestripe, humpback, pink); walleye; white sturgeon; yellow perch.

Celebration events are taking place across the country this year, starting with an Ocean Wise symposium on April 27 that discussed industry best practices and the science behind managed fisheries.

The discussion was streamed online and can be viewed on YouTube or below.

‪Ocean Wise 10th Anniversary Seafood Symposium‬