Long Island Seafood Cuisine Trail Encourages Eating Local Fish and Supporting Local Fishermen

In her job as a fishery specialist with Cornell Cooperative Extension, Kristin Gerbino works on many different projects aimed at boosting and supporting the greater local fish industry in and around Long Island. Much of what she does on a daily basis is education and research-based, and in that effort she works with a wide range of stakeholders in the commercial fishing industry and within state and local government.

At a certain point, Gerbino and her colleagues realized there was a key area where they could do more in terms of outreach and developing more inventive ways to help the local fishing industry survive and thrive, and encourage people to eat more local seafood.

That’s how the Long Island Seafood Cuisine Trail was born.

Working with the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, Gerbino has been one of the key facilitators behind the creation of the seafood trail, which harnesses the power of restaurants to reach consumers in a new way and teach them about the many reasons why they should eat local fish and seafood whenever they can.

The seafood cuisine trail features more than 20 restaurants and seafood markets of all shapes and sizes, from Montauk, along the South shore and as far west as Bay Shore.

Each location featured on the trail was chosen because it has proven that it is dedicated to providing the finest locally and sustainably sourced seafood, “ensuring that every bite is both delicious and environmentally responsible,” according to the description on the trail’s website.

It’s billed as a great way for both seafood aficionados and the more casual diners to search out the best spots for fresh and delicious local seafood.

The trail is made easy to access for anyone who is interested in it through an exclusive smartphone app, which gives users information about top-rated restaurants, quaint seafood stores and markets, roadside oyster stands and more.

“I work on a whole bunch of different projects,” Gerbino said in an interview in May. “One is the Choose Local FISH Initiative, where we try to raise awareness and increase demand for locally harvested fish and seafood on Long Island, in a whole bunch of ways. It’s mostly education and outreach, trying to teach people what fish are local, where you can get them, how you can cook it.”

Gerbino said that she and others came to realize that they were not making use of a great resource — the restaurant and retail space — to help further their efforts.

“People assume that the fish they see on the menu is local, but that’s often the furthest thing from the truth,” she said. “Salmon and shrimp are not local, and that’s what you see most often on the menu.”

The seafood trail was created as part of New York State’s “Blue Food Transformation” initiative.

“Seafood that our fishermen are catching and landing is exported overseas, yet you see so much imported from other countries,” Gerbino said. “There are so many benefits to choosing what is harvested close to you; the lower carbon footprint, the environmental benefits. We live on an island and we’re surrounded by all of this delicious seafood being harvested all around us, yet so much of what we eat is shrimp and salmon from other countries.

“We want to support our local heritage industries,” she added. “And keep that money in local communities.”

Gerbino explained the process behind choosing which restaurants and markets would be included on the seafood trail.

“We blanketed Long Island restaurants with a survey, sending out postcards with a link to the survey,” she said. “So we could assess how much local seafood they were utilizing. Over the many years that I’ve been working on it, I have a good idea of a lot of the fish markets and what they have and what’s local, so I had a good basis of where to start. We’ve done a lot of events at different restaurants, and we’ve had a lot of support and interest from different restaurants.”

Gerbino said she also put in a lot of time calling restaurants to ask questions, and looking at their menus online.

“It takes someone really connected to the industry to decipher the menu items sometimes,” she said, in terms of figuring out what is really local and what’s not.

“You see things that can be misleading,” she said. “It might say ‘local,’ but it’s out of season. I am holding everyone to a pretty high standard, and for that reason it has been a bit of a challenge to get a lot of restaurants.”

The ones that made the cut, however, earned it.

Gerbino spoke about one restaurant, Inlet Seafood in Montauk, that sources fish as fresh as it can possibly be.

“At Inlet Seafood, the fish gets landed right at the dock, and they pull up on boats,” she said. “The fish literally travels just a few feet to get to your plate.”

Likewise, at the Snapper Inn in Oakdale, Gerbino said that several oyster growers pulled their boats right up to the restaurant during an event CCE held there recently.

Gerbino said that there’s no shortage of reasons for people to make an effort to eat and buy more local seafood.

“You’re not just checking off a box of doing something environmentally friendly, you’re getting a really delicious meal,” she said. “When the fish comes right out of the water, and it hasn’t been frozen, you’re getting something so delicious, and that’s what’s so special about Long Island, the fact that we have access to that. We’re so lucky to have that and we should be taking advantage of that.”

Gerbino said that education is often the key to making the light bulb go off for people.

“Once they realize what’s local and where to get it, and why it’s important, they really value more of the food that they’re eating and are often even willing to pay more for it,” she said.

Another key goal for the seafood trail is to boost tourism and business to restaurants that are making the effort to prioritize what’s local. The hope is that, over time, it becomes a trend and a more common practice at other restaurants.

Several of the restaurant and seafood market owners whose businesses are featured on the trail spoke about why they wanted to be included and why initiatives that support choosing local seafood are important and valuable.

Joseph Realmuto is the executive chef at Nick and Toni’s, a high end restaurant in East Hampton with a stellar reputation.

“I was super excited to be part of this,” he said of the seafood trail. “I think it raises awareness to local seafood and knowing where your food comes from. People are so used to looking at menus and ordering bronzino, which travels thousands of miles before hitting their table, and is farm-raised. We have beautiful wild local fish that are harvested by local fishermen and are super fresh.”

Supporting local fishermen and the local seafood industry is a big reason why many of the chefs, restaurant owners and seafood markets were eager to be part of this initiative.

Realmuto said he hopes that customers realize the positive impact that eating local seafood has on the community.

“By buying local, you’re supporting local farmers and fishermen,” he said.

Realmuto elaborated on the efforts he and his staff undertake to ensure they source local seafood, and why it matters to them.

“We speak to our purveyor about seasonality and what is coming in locally and try to gear our menus accordingly, rather than writing menus and sourcing it from wherever possible,” he said. “It’s super important because I see the local fisherman families disappearing from the East End, and it’s super sad.”

Gerbino acknowledged that people tend to be more hesitant when it comes to trying new types of seafood or cooking seafood at home. She’s hoping that visiting restaurants and markets on the seafood trail will help consumers become more willing to try new things. She also had some good advice for restaurant-goers and consumers whenever they visit any restaurants or markets to eat fish.

“Don’t stop asking questions about where your fish and shellfish comes from,” she said. “It gives the sense that you’re interested in what’s local, and helps put the pressure on for them to continue serving local seafood.”

Next year, a new branch of the trail will be created, with restaurants from Greenport to Oyster Bay along the north shore of Long Island being added to the initiative.

For more information, visit localfish.org/seafood-trail.