Sustainable Seafood Dinner serves up 'trash fish'

Seafood fans and food lovers alike attended the 5th annual Sustainable Seafood Dinner, formerly Trash Fish dinner, on Aug. 5 at The Francis. 

To start the event, chefs from area restaurants, including Owens Fish Camp, Summer House, Mar Vista, Fins at Sharky’s on the Pier, Made, Jack Dusty and Mattison's, served lite bites for guests to try. Champagne was served throughout the beginning of the evening and local breweries poured samples of their latest taps. 

Guests were also able to learn about sustainable seafood from organizations such as Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium and Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch. The organizations say to avoid some fish because of the way they're caught or farmed, which has environmental consequences. Guests tried a few of these traditional "trash fish," such as lionfish and barramundi. 

After the cocktail hour, guests made their way into Louies Modern, where they were served a seated dinner and dessert from Louies Modern, The Seafood Shack Marina, Bar & Grill, Indigenous, The Sandbar and Siesta Key Oyster Bar.