In 2023 our Executive Chef Michael Brainard and Audubon Nature Institute began a culinary partnership pilot program where he and the other chefs travelled to south Louisiana and visited Jensen’s Tuna Dock in Houma, LA, and Anna Marie Shrimp in Montegut, LA. There they learned what it means for seafood to be labeled “sustainable” and what efforts the seafood industry makes to maintain healthy fisheries, and what species to look for and how to identify Gulf sustainably caught species and will know how to source more sustainably in their procurement practices.
Gulf United for Lasting Fisheries is the sustainable seafood program of Audubon Nature Institute in New Orleans, Louisiana. Operating as a local partner to help Gulf of Mexico fisheries maintain and improve sustainability across the region, GULF gives a voice to the local fishing industry, helping fishers and resource managers navigate environmental concerns, and communicating the sustainability successes and resilience of Gulf fisheries to audiences world-wide.
GULF works directly with members of the seafood industry at all levels, from boat to docks and processors to chefs and restaurants, to ensure that current sustainability standards are being communicated, practiced, and met, and that members of the industry have access to clear, up-to-date sustainability education – promoting and celebrating responsibly harvested Gulf seafood and helping members of the industry work towards greater sustainability and environmental stewardship.
We are so grateful that Chef Michael was able to work with GULF and the Audubon Nature Institute to learn flavor profiles and how to breakdown, prepare, plate, and menu different sustainable gulf species including bycatch species.
