Aquarium event: Wine plus sustainable seafood

Usually, if you’re in the presence of 200 types of wine, there isn’t a high expectation to absorb knowledge of, well, anything.

But the organizers of Thursday’s Aqua Vino -- the fifth annual adults-only food and drink immersion at Georgia Aquarium -- are hopeful that attendees will retain some information about the burgeoning Seafood Savvy program.

Now in its first phase, the program, in conjunction with Monterey Bay Aquarium in California, aims to heighten the awareness of seafood eaters and educate them about sustainable seafood -- which is fished or farmed from sources that maintain or increase production without affecting ecosystems.

“We want to empower consumers to choose wisely,” said Kristie Cobb-Hacke, vice president of development and membership at the aquarium. “We’ve looked at where [the seafood] is fished, the science behind it, how healthy the population is and is it something sustainable if fished at the current rate five or more years in the future?”

According to aquarium research, 75 percent of the world’s fisheries are either fully fished or overfished.

So, since most seafood consumers likely don’t sit down to order their grouper or scallops with any knowledge of the fish’s extinction rate, the aquarium has crafted a pocket guide, which will be distributed at Aqua Vino, to illustrate the differences.

A printable PDF is available on the aquarium’s website (www.georgiaaquarium.org).

At Thursday’s soiree, which benefits the Correll Center for Aquatic Animal Health, the more than 30 area restaurants providing gourmet food samplings will prepare at least one sustainable seafood item. Additional signage throughout the aquarium also will educate attendees.

In the spring, phase two of Seafood Savvy kicks in with a restaurant program.

“We’re going to local restaurants and encouraging them to participate by identifying the good choices on their menus. We’ll provide wallet cards for them to give their customers and over the course of time, hope [the customers] will opt for better choices,” Cobb-Hacke said.

The all-sustainable seafood restaurant in the VirginiaHighland area, Goin’ Coastal, as well as Legal Seafood, which has a location across the street from the aquarium, are interested in participating in the program; additionally, the Wolfgang Puck Catering operation that works out of the aquarium serves only sustainable seafood.

Cobb-Hacke said the program in Monterey has been well-received by area restaurants throughout its 10 years in existence, and she expects Atlanta's establishments to follow suit.