Pajo’s has been long known to serve up some great fish and chips. But starting this season it will also carry the title of doing something great for the fish.
The two Steveston locations — plus its two other outlets in Port Moody and Port Coquitlam — have been certified as 100 per cent Ocean Wise, meaning its entire seafood menu is being sourced from sustainable stocks.
While there are many other restaurants across the country subscribing to the program — run by the Vancouver Aquarium — Pajo’s is the first fish and chip restaurant in the Lower Mainland to have 100 per cent of what it serves as Ocean Wise certified.
“It’s always been in my mind since the day I started with Pajo’s that it’s something I believe in,” said Andrew Stokes, director of operations with Pajo’s. “We’re right on the water. So, if we’re not sustainable, then who’s going to be.”
Stokes said he went through the menu last year and picked off each item that wasn’t sustainable, or wasn’t sustainably caught through an Ocean Wise sanctioned way, and replaced it with ones that were.
It was, in some cases, a difficult process, especially when it came to sourcing products for items such as the clam chowder and crab cakes.
But on the fish side, for the most part Pajo’s already subscribed to good, sustainable sources.
“All of our cod, salmon and halibut has always been from sustainable sources, by luck,” Stokes said. “But every once in a while, in the past, there would be a good deal on fish that came along and from a stock not considered Ocean Wise,” Stokes said. “And from time to time that would have been considered. But not now.”
The switch does take a lot of commitment, much of it in communicating with suppliers, Stokes said.
“It’s a considerable commitment, especially in the fast food, quick service environment we operate in,” he said. “There’s very few companies that put in that type of commitment because it’s such a price conscious business.”
But thanks to finding efficiencies elsewhere in the operation, any additional cost owed to going with Ocean Wise products has not affected prices.
“We look at our prices every year based on what the industry is doing. And one of the changes this year has been affected by the value of the American dollar. But nothing directly related to us going with Ocean Wise has changed prices,” Stokes said.
Theodora Geach, an Ocean Wise account representative said periodic checks are done with restaurants to ensure they are adhering to the program.
Although, determining if the program is making a difference to fish stocks is difficult to determine since there are a variety of factors at play.
But what Ocean Wise has done is create much greater awareness across the seafood industry about using sustainable sources, she said.
To date, there are 525 partners signed on to Ocean Wise which represents more than 2,000 locations across the country.
And in Vancouver, there are 15 that serve 100 per cent of their menus with Ocean Wise approved products, Geach said.
While it is still early in the season — Pajo’s opened for business starting with a few dates in February — response from customers has been positive.
“We haven’t pushed it really that hard yet, but we’ve been getting good feedback, certainly on Twitter and Facebook,” Stokes said.
