the tale of the fisherman's revert, part one of two

great seafood can be had pretty much anywhere, but there's just something about the catch in boston. it's an area shrouded in nautical history, home to legal sea foods—the premiere seafood empire in the states—and synonymous with that ooey-gooey, piping hot and oh-so-smooth dish, new england clam chowder. when european ships first entered new england waters, stories returned to the high courts that cod were so plentiful that the art to a catch consisted of dropping a big enough basket, weighted so to sink, into the ocean. it was then, after a moment's passing, when the basket was returned to the deck, that it'd be full to the brim of flipping, flopping codfish. and these are big fish we're talking about. it's documented throughout history that off the new england coast, fishermen hauled in codfish the size of men. five and six foot cods, weighing upwards of two hundred pounds. that arctic cod that you eat now—it was tossed over board, and rarely tops more than twenty-four inches. this stuff, was the stuff of legend.

but a lot has changed. the business of catching fish, at one time the cause for much of new england's wealth, and what some say is the sole reason for the united states' existence today, is now a business of diminishing potential. environmentalists, who for years and years have long been at odds with fishermen over the depletion of species and fisheries, are now calling many fishermen their allies. and it's a ripple that's spread far beyond the sea. i can't even count how many times i'd be in the kitchen at work and hear something to the extent of, enjoy the tuna now, cuz there won't be any of it left in twenty years. the humane society published a report that correlates to this and yet, it's all kitchen speak and back burner news, and fish and seafood continue to dominate menus everywhere, both fine dining and not. word just is not reaching the world fast enough, and certainly not with enough emphasis.
the humane society's report says that 70% of the world's fish species are either fully exploited or depleted. take a moment to really think about that number. seventy percent. it's mind blowing. and with the uncontrolled practice of farm raised fish, and the affects these modified and controlled fish have on their wild counterparts, where some farm raised fish have even been released to the wild, scientists just have no idea if true, pure bred wild fish will even exist much longer, let alone ever.

and with the depletion of fisheries comes the depletion of business. where for so long fishermen have been at odds not only with the very environmentalists who are—via their conservation push—in fact attempting to save the future of the fishery business, fishermen have also been at odds with the government. when sanctions come down—and often they come down hard and defy the simplest of logic, that without their catch, the fishermen have no means to earn an income and support a family—business is near hopeless. it's a catch 22. save the fish, but the fishermen burn. save the fishermen, and the fish disappear. but centuries ago, a fisherman was a very different thing.

think of the small villages along the amalfi coast in italy, where cod was dried and salted and called baccalà, and done so out of necessity. where in these small villages, the catch was sold to the people of the town. a concept, ironically enough, not so different from the very slowlocalsustainablefood movement that continues to sweep over the country like a boulder rolling down a hill. a movement that for some, has, and nobody can deny this, become a tremendous marketing monster, and a legit business opportunity for farmers everywhere. it's almost like starting over—something like retro agriculture. and that's why, when alicia and i were in the moving truck, starting out on route 90, with the boston skyline growing smaller and smaller in the driver side mirror, and npr was featuring a segment on something called the cape ann fresh catch csf, i started to listen very, very closely...