Celebrate National Culinary Arts Month by finding a new sustainable seafood recipe based on your birth month.
July is Culinary Arts Month, and we’re serving up something special to celebrate: seafood recipes matched to the traits of your birth month! From January trailblazers, to July optimists, to December free spirits, these sustainable seafood flavors will match your personality—and inspire you every month of the year. So treat your tastebuds, support local fisheries and aquaculture farms, and enjoy seafood for your birthday (or whatever you’re celebrating)!
January: The Ambitious Trailblazer
Are you a New Year’s baby? Celebrate with this miso-glazed sablefish. This recipe helped trailblazers at the Bonney Lake High School Culinary Program win first place in their Washington state culinary competition. Sablefish—also called black cod or butterfish—is known for its velvety texture and rich, melt-in-your-mouth flavor. Their dish, featuring citrus-apple-fennel slaw and pickled carrots, demonstrates why sablefish is a favorite flavor of the Pacific Northwest.
Sablefish is one of the most valuable finfish in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest, with 2023 landings reaching 67 million pounds, valued at $113 million. Despite sustainable management, the wild population is declining, meaning harvests from wild populations may not keep up with growing market demand. Innovative aquaculture research is forging pathways towards sustainable solutions. Partners at NOAA Fisheries’ Northwest Fisheries Science Center, the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, and the University of Washington are raising sablefish small-scale net pens and land-based tanks. Their work aims to reduce pressure on wild populations and maintain a steady supply of this in-demand species.
Pro Tip: Sablefish cooks quickly! To avoid overcooking, remove filets from heat as soon as they flake easily with a fork.
Read more at fisheries.noaa.gov.
