Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/748197
C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • H O L I D A Y 2 0 1 6 173 A Passion for Preservation W HEN TED AND CINDY WALTER OPENED PASSIONFISH IN 1997, NO ONE EVER THOUGHT TO PUT THE WORDS "SUSTAINABLE" AND "SEAFOOD" TOGETHER IN THE SAME SENTENCE. THE SUSTAINABLE SEAFOOD MOVEMENT ARRIVED LATER (MONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM'S SEAFOOD WATCH WAS STILL A GLEAM IN SOMEONE'S EYE), BUT THE WALTERS WERE ALREADY AHEAD OF THE WAVE. THE DAUGHTER OF A LOCAL FISHERMAN WHO USED ONLY POLES AND TRAPS, CINDY RECOGNIZED HOW EASILY WE CAN DAMAGE THE OCEAN AND CARELESSLY DEPLETE ITS RESOURCES. SO THE COUPLE BEGAN LIVING IN LINE WITH THE NAME OF THEIR PACIFIC GROVE RESTAURANT—SHARING A PASSION FOR FISH CAUGHT RESPONSIBLY, IN A WAY THAT PRESERVES FISHERIES FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS. "IT WAS JUST A COMMON SENSE THING WE WERE DOING ALREADY," SAYS CINDY, WHO KNOWS THAT MOST OF ALL SEAFOOD (75 PERCENT) IS CONSUMED AT RESTAURANTS. "EVERYONE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE." BUT THEIR EFFORTS WERE OFTEN MET WITH BLANK STARES AND HEAD SCRATCHES. KERMIT THE FROG FOUND IT EASIER TO BE GREEN. THE WALTERS HAD ALREADY WALKED AWAY FROM ONE POTENTIAL RESTAURANT DEAL WHEN THE LANDLORD OBJECTED TO A PROPOSED MENU FULL OF DESCRIPTORS SUCH AS "ORGANIC," "FRESH-SQUEEZED" AND "LOCAL." FEW PEOPLE SAW THE "BEST PRACTICES" THAT SEEM COMMON TODAY IN THE RESTAURANT WORLD. TED KNEW THAT ORGANIC TASTED BETTER—ON HIS PALATE AND IN HIS CON- SCIENCE. HE REMEMBERS EARLY IN HIS CAREER WORKING AT A RESTAURANT THAT BRAGGED ABOUT SOURCING FLATS OF RASPBERRIES FROM NEW ZEALAND. Ted and Cindy Walter Ser ve Sustainability at Passionfish B Y L A R R Y H A R L A N D P H OTO G R A P H Y B Y K E L L I U L D A L L