Seattle Chef Elizabeth Kenyon Talks Aquaculture in the Pacific Northwest

Sustainable seafood advocate, Elizabeth Kenyon is the Executive Chef of Manolin and Rupee Bar in Seattle, Washington. Born and raised in Missoula, Montana, Chef Kenyon grew up surrounded by her family's small farm and woods, streams, mountains, and lakes of the Treasure State. Farming, raising animals, fishing and hunting were a part of life for Chef Kenyon.

During National Seafood Month, Stronger America Through Seafood (SATS) interviewed Chef Kenyon to learn about the role that well-managed aquaculture can play in meeting sustainable seafood demand and her experience with sourcing from aquaculture farms in the Pacific Northwest.

What are some exciting trends happening in the seafood space that you see as a chef?

Over the last few years, I have had the unique opportunity to see and work on some exciting projects for our regional seafood. The Yakama Nation, who call the Columbia River Basin home, have relied on the indigenous White Sturgeon fish for millennia as an important food source. However, several factors have contributed to a significant population decline, including dams, climate change, and overfishing for caviar production. 

Thanks to recent efforts by the Yakama Nation, several fish farms have been established and are working towards reversing this downward trend. Their efforts have not only led to an increase in the population of White Sturgeon in local waterways, but also a more sustainable food source from the farmed fish and caviar production, providing critically important jobs to their local economy, and sustained efforts at curbing the negative impacts of the number of dams throughout the area and climate change.

While I have been able to observe these efforts from Seattle, I have also been able to directly support the Yakama Nation in my restaurants. We have been blessed with the opportunity to serve their beautiful, sustainable fish on my menus. In addition to financially supporting them, we are also introducing a new fish to the people of Seattle where Salmon and Halibut reign supreme. 

How important is sourcing sustainable seafood for you as a chef?

Seafood takes a very prominent role at all our restaurants, so sustainability is always at the forefront of our minds. Not only are we working hard to find sustainable fisheries, but also trying to support the hard-working men and women that bring these products to us. Seafood has always been an important part of the Puget Sound economy, which means we are surrounded by men and women who rely on the water for their livelihood. We strive to provide a conscientious food source to our customers, and to make sure our money is going directly to the local tribes, day boat captains, farmers, and others that are working towards a better tomorrow for our seafood systems. While we might be a proverbial “small fish in a big sea,” we are proud of our efforts and hope our guests can taste the difference.

What kind of demand do you see for fresh, high-quality seafood within the restaurant industry and how does aquaculture help meet that demand?

As a chef in Seattle, the demand for fresh, high-quality seafood has always been critical to our restaurants, food systems, and local economy.  However, for many years salmon, and halibut to a lesser extent, has always dominated.  Here we see firsthand the impacts of both overfishing, as well as sustainable aquaculture.
In addition to the exciting new aquaculture projects in our area from the Yakama Nation and their efforts with White Sturgeon, we are seeing a greater demand from our guests for not only more sustainable seafood, but also truth in sourcing, just as we see this push with pork, beef, and poultry farming. This has been particularly exciting to experience because it makes our efforts to find and source from sustainable aquafarms that much more justified. Unfortunately, seafood still has a way to go in this arena, but being at the forefront of these efforts with the support of our guests makes it that much easier.

What do you see as the benefits to farmed seafood?

To put it bluntly, I believe our oceans and waterways are in dire need of help. Unfortunately, we see countless examples of just how destructive our past has been on these ecosystems. Thankfully, we can see benefits quickly emerge as we continue to improve aquaculture systems. Not only are we able to give ecosystems and fisheries a reprieve from intensive and oftentimes destructive fishing practices, but also provide an economic alternative to these traditional systems. It is nice to talk about alternatives, but if there is little to no economic incentive, it is an uphill battle and leaves the men and women who make this their livelihood, out of the equation. If we are going to continue our push towards aquaculture, we cannot forget these individuals and must provide them with a means to be a part of that solution. This is why I am energized and encouraged by such efforts on a large scale as the Yakama Nation, and more locally as small kelp farms within the Puget Sound.

How would the expansion of aquaculture benefit restaurants and consumers?

As we look at the continuing and growing impacts of climate change, human impacts on ecosystems, and economic systems in transition, aquaculture will only continue to grow in importance to both restaurants and consumers. The demand for fresh, high-quality seafood is growing with increased populations. Being able to find and source these foods for our restaurants is becoming more and more paramount for consumers. Not only do aquafarms offer a sustainable alternative to traditional systems, but they offer an economic incentive to both restaurants and consumers. Our money is our voice, and I am extremely aware as a chef of the importance of that voice as I work towards providing our guests with a healthy, sustainable, economically viable alternative. 

What led you to become an advocate for the expansion of aquaculture in the U.S.?

Growing up, I always saw farmed fish as a lesser fish. Tilapia was the only thing available, which was viewed as a trashy alternative to the better, wild-caught fish. Going to culinary school, unfortunately, we were presented with a fairly black and white picture of the state of aquaculture as well. It was either really good or really bad.  And unfortunately, it was all mostly bad. I always asked myself “why can’t we figure out how to do this right?!”  We get our products from all over the world and relying on companies and practices that are either destroying fisheries and ecosystems, taking disadvantage of hard-working men and women. Global warming, overpopulation, food deserts, industries collapsing, and more, were just the tip of the iceberg. 

However, as I grew as a culinarian and progressed in my career, I became better educated and familiar with aquafarms that are actually doing things right. I became aware of whole emerging industries that are truly fighting the good fight. Sustainable, regenerative, economically viable alternatives to traditional fishing and farming is possible. While we still have a way to go, I am excited to lend my support as both a chef and consumer to these companies, Indigenous Peoples, individuals, interest groups, and more. It starts somewhere, and I cannot wait to see where we continue to go.