South Carolina Dining

Eating Sustainably in South Carolina

There’s always a hot topic in every industry, and being green and sustainable has topped the list in recent years. Through the Sustainable Seafood Initiative, South Carolina is playing a major role in promoting the use of local and sustainable seafood in restaurants.

Since the inception of the program in 2002, more than 60 South Carolina restaurants along the coast, in the Midlands and the Upstate have become partners of the Sustainable Seafood Initiative, committing to serve as much sustainable seafood as possible.

The Divine Dining Group’s Divine Fish House and UMI Pacific Grille are two of the Grand Strand partners.

Kurt D’Aurizio, director of cuisine for the Divine Dining Group, says Cracker-crusted Scamp Grouper from Devine Fish House in Myrtle Beach.

environmentally friendly seafood has been at the heart of their conversation for a couple of years. “We think it’s the right thing to do, and we want to basically protect what is our livelihood. For so long we thought the oceans were limitless,” says D’Aurizio. Divine Fish House offers seasonal menus featuring sustainable seafood dishes.

Educating the public is an important aspect of the SSI. Each month, various restaurants in the Charleston area host a four-or five-course sustainable seafood dinner paired with wine or beer. During the dinner, "side of sustainable seafood education" is also served.

What exactly is sustainable seafood?
According to the South Carolina Aquarium, sustainable seafood refers to fish that are caught or farmed with consideration for the long-term viability of individual marine species and for the oceans' ecological balance as a whole. Click here for a list of Sustainable Seafood Initiative Partners.