Kirsten Jooste
Owner, La Marina Foods
I decided to pursue the seafood market 23 years ago as the demand for fresh, quality and sustainable fish was growing — and even more so today.
As a lover of seafood, one of my favourites is our seafood platter because it offers the best of all worlds with a variety to please any seafood lover.
La Marina has evolved into way more than a store offering fresh seafood and today we occupy a state-of-the-art factory which offers over 3,500 products under one roof — from artisanal cheeses, specialised dry and chilled goods and some of the biggest scallops you have ever seen. We have a deli, sushi bar, restaurant and a processing facility.
Some of the exotic
ingredients we stock include an extensive range of SOSA products which are a gastronomy lover’s dream; fresh seabass which is sustainably farmed off the coast of Mauritius — a versatile eating fish for pickling, poaching, grilling and frying; and for lovers of chocolate, a premium brand of French chocolate Valrhona, which is almost a century-old brand. Purchasing sustainable fresh fish and seafood can be a minefield. First, find a fishmonger you can trust and use the internet to research before you buy. Visit SASSI (The South African Sustainable Seafood Initiative) which offers a comprehensive list, which changes according to availability of fish, in a handy chart for consumers. It features three categories: green for go because the species is sustainable; orange for caution as the fish may be under threat and red, the danger zone, lists those items that are under serious threat of extinction and should not be sold. wwfsassi.co.za
Hake used to be a South
African family staple which has become expensive and in short supply because the species is over-fished and much of it is exported due to exchange-rate benefits on foreign currency sales. Where do I see the fishing industry in three years’ time? The oceans are being overfished and damaged and I can’t see it getting any better. Farmed fish will soon be the only way we can source fish products.