Jun 6, 2009 12:36 pm US/Eastern
Some Restaurants Pull Rockfish Off The Menu
BALTIMORE (WJZ) ―
-
-
It's the most popular fish in Maryland. Now there's an advisory not to eat it.
AP
It's the most popular fish in Maryland. Now there's an advisory not to eat it.
Jessica Kartalija reports some restaurants are pulling rockfish off their menus, while others say if people are buying, they're selling.
At Cross Street Seafood in Federal Hill, KC Barnett says when it comes to rockfish, "I know one thing--sales are really down."
This is after a public health advisory said striped bass, also known as rockfish, contains toxic levels of polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, and should not be consumed by pregnant women, new mothers and children under six. Everyone's advised to scale back and not eat more than one serving of rockfish per month.
"I'm not going to stop eating it, no. I love rockfish," said Arnell Mason.
While some stores continue to sell it, rockfish is quickly sinking in popularity.
"We used to sell a lot," Barnett said.
At Nick's Fish House in Port Covington, rockfish is part of their logo but you won't find it on their menu. Manager Teri Betit literally 86-d the fish from their list of specials.
"Rockfish, yeah, it's indigenous and people love it. I have it on my menu and we were going to have it as a special this week and we had to put 86," she said.
She says her customers are aware of the advisory. So far, it hasn't impacted sales.
"No more so than last year--spinach and jalapenos," Betit said. "You adapt."
At Cross Street Seafood, the owners say they will continue to sell rockfish as long as customers keep buying. However, if sales don't improve soon, tehy'll pull it from the ice.
There's also a warning about bluefish, which tends to be popular for catching, not eating. Delaware and New Jersey are issuing similar PCB advisories.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Reporting
