Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver Take Eel Off The Menu

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Jan 17th 2011 at 10:03PM

Chefs Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver are making a menu change. They both served European eel at some of their restaurants while taking part in campaigns to highlight overfishing and have been called out as fish hypocrites. European eel was listed as an endangered species in 2008 by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. After being contacted by The Sunday Times both chefs removed the eel from their restaurant menus. There is some controversy over whether or not the eel is endangered but Greenpeace has said the population has declined dramatically and that it is in danger due to pollution in the water. The unagi freshwater eel served in sushi restaurants is also on the Monterey Bay Aquarium avoid list because although it is mostly farmed the young are captured in the wild.

The Dutch Eel company, which has supplied both chefs, posted an open letter on its website saying in part that it feels that the eel is not in danger at this time. The Dutch Eel company does use farmed fish and other sustainable means of procuring its eels.

Ramsay recently appeared on an English television program: Gordon Ramsay: Shark Bait, which had him campaigning against the shark fishing industry. Chef Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall who is also part of that program has his own website, Hugh's Fish Fight, which details his own journey toward learning more about sustainable fish and creating a healthier ocean. That website also highlights the issue of discarded fish. Fisherman often cast back dead fish they don't want. The website says that part of the action needed is not just to stop eating certain fish but to diversify our fish eating habits, and change policies so that it works for fish, fishermen and consumers.

Tags: eel, endangered eel, european eel, gordon ramsay, jamie oliver

Filed under: Dining

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Reader Comments (Page 2 of 2)

The other Tom Jan 19th 2011 12:17PM

I'm really going to miss eating eel. Yeah, Right...

ro123 Jan 19th 2011 12:33PM

Who cares what these Enviro Idiots say or think! Too bad people yield to pressure from these Morons!!

PAULSTARNYC Jan 19th 2011 1:12PM

Ramsey does not need to worry about slimey eels, he needs to concentrate on his slimey repuation and bar his wait staff.

jkjlabisties Jan 19th 2011 1:26PM

I was a greenpease member and a Sierra Club member also. For years I was a avid environmentalist, then there was a change. The shift was slow, the socialists became the leadership. If it hurt commerce they backed any laws ,for any reason. Saw som sub-species of mouse and defeat a needed dam, eliminating the hydro electricity it would provide for hundreds of years, the water to provide food , and the receational uses, all to save a maybe - subspecies of a rodent found over a multi state area. The same as CO2 restictions, one volcanoe going off produces 1000 years do co2 and 500 years worth of manmade sulfur di-oxide. Its all about the need to control they see, as they are the elites , who need to control the masses

mesaman Jan 20th 2011 11:42AM

Green feces is always on the lookout for a chance to grandstand and wave their arms in front of a crowd. Afterall, they are the self-designated savior of sub-human species.

frankie Jan 19th 2011 1:58PM

It seems to me that the more disgusting a food item is, the more likely is is to be called a "delicacy" and cost $500 a plate. Examples: "Birds nest soup" which is literally made from the nests of cliff swallows and composed mainly of bird spit. Then there is "Fugu" which could kill you, and "truffles" which are a fungus dug up by pigs. Another hint; by all means enjoy the local cuisines in Asia, just don't ask what it is because chances are you don't want to know (anything is edible if you bread it, deep fry it, and smother it with a spicy sauce) ...fried locust, anyone? ;-)

Aureatia Jan 19th 2011 1:55PM

Personally I don't see a problem if they are using farm hatched and raised eel. It's one thing if they were buying their eel or any other "endangered" or "Threatened" species of fish from a commerical/private fishing company, but if they are getting their eel from farm hatched, bred, and raised for the purpose of human consumption then I don't see a problem. Especially if they are also reserving some of the young eel, or other animal, to be released back into their native habitat.

solah7 Jan 19th 2011 1:59PM

PEOPLE WILL EAT ANYTHING THESE POOR ANMAILS ,FISH BIRDS, EVERYTHING !!!! EVERYTHING HAVE HEART,LUNGS, BABIES AND HAVE A RIGHT TO LIVE ON THIS PLANET, THEY CRY WHEN THEY ARE HURT,AND THEY ARE SCARED WHEN YOU HURT THERE BABIES ... THEY CANT TALK TO SAY LEAVE THEM ALONE...STOP MURDERING AND EATING THEM!!!!!!!!!!!

solah7 Jan 19th 2011 2:00PM

STOP THE KILLING MURDERS!!!!

DooshnaNooshna Jan 19th 2011 2:19PM

If they want to cook Eel come to New England. We catch eel while fishing in Salt Ponds just away from the ocean. Skin them and cook them up and they r great. We have No shortage of them Here so come ahead and Fish.

pbihomes Jan 19th 2011 3:09PM

the best thing you can do for an endangered species is to put them on the menu and eat them. In grand cayman you can get turtle burgers. Guess what they have a turtle farm and raise turtles. They release half and eat the other half. We should start eating manatee and someone will start a farm.

bigguysez Jan 19th 2011 5:43PM

I hope I see the day when the Greenpeace and PETA holier-than-thous and terrorists are on the endangered list.

gmbyacht Jan 19th 2011 7:41PM

That was the first think I thought when I saw the title of this article. -- Foie Gras. If you ever saw a duck forced fed you would get sick. Called animal cruelty-it really is horrible what they do. It is more disgusting than seeing Eel for sale by a Chinatown Street Vendor-don't go there with a hangover. You will puke. Apparently, these chefs want to be politically correct and not humanely correct.

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