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We can't help but wonder if Guido Rahr, president of the Wild Salmon Center in Portland, Ore., thought he was smack in the middle of ABC's hidden camera series, "What Would You Do?"
Rahr spotted Atlantic bluefin tuna on the menu at Sinju Restaurant's Pearl District location while having lunch, and proceeded to do exactly what groups like Seafood Watch, Environmental Defense Fund or Blue Ocean Institute encourage: he politely spoke up. And as a result, got himself banned from the restaurant. That's right, according to Rahr, they said he was no longer welcome at Sinju and would refuse to serve him.
In an email dated August 16, to Mike Chen of Sinju's management team, Rahr writes:
"I have been a regular customer of Sinju for years and the Wild Salmon Center has given Sinju quite a bit of business. So when I saw Atlantic Bluefin tuna on the menu, I felt it was important for Sinju to know that this is not just another declining species, but perhaps the most high profile endangered fish species on earth."
Rahr had been eating at Sinju for nearly a decade. The headquarters for his environmental group is located in the Ecotrust Natural Capital Center, across the street from the restaurant, and is home to several other conservation and sustainable development groups who share similar concerns about endangered species.
Rahr didn't just mention that bluefin was overfished, he took the time to come back with printed materials detailing the seriousness of their plight in the hopes that at the very least, the team at Sinju would think twice before putting the fish on the menu again.
"I was surprised that Sinju's reaction to all this was not to stop selling bluefin, or to even politely disagree with a loyal customer, but to ban me from eating at Sinju," he continues in his letter. He has not yet received a reply from the restaurant to his letter.
Rahr, who says he doesn't recall seeing bluefin on the menu prior to this incident, is still stunned.
"I'm a regular customer. I didn't just walk in out of nowhere, and I did it in such a respectful way. I mean, this is Portland we're talking about," he says.
While the restaurant isn't alone in being pressured to stop serving bluefin, their ban on Rahr for broaching the topic has caught the attention of industry watchers. Kristofor Lofgren, owner of Bamboo Sushi, recognized as one of the most sustainable sushi restaurants in the nation, located just three-miles from Sinju, says he's disappointed that Sinju wasn't open to a conversation about conservation, but adds that environmentalists need to be more thoughtful about their own food choices.
"When you're the head of an environmental organization devoted to the preservation of one of the most important species economically and culturally to the Northwest, and you eat at a place that doesn't serve wild salmon, that was surprising to me. I'm surprised that Ecotrust, or any members of Ecotrust, would support or align themselves with any organization that doesn't directly support their initiative and mission back," says Lofgren.
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8-29-2010 @9:25PM Tristan Phillips said... To Joe: 8-29-2010 @8:19PM
Actually in the majority of states it's perfectly legal to audio tape a conversation without any of the other party's consent, As a resident of NY I can legally record ANY conversation of which I'm a part of and not tell another soul.
As for visibly video/audio taping I ask you to cite the relevant law where it's illegal to audio/video tape a conversation overtly.
As for not addressing anything in my post...well I guess that speaks itself, doesn't it?
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8-29-2010 @9:17PM Wolfe said... Everyone needs to understand Mother Earth is truly pissed. Humanity is screwing up the environment and if you think not being responsible about overfishing and dumping on the Earth, we are looking at more and more upheaval, fire and brimstone type response from us being irresponsibility.
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8-29-2010 @9:27PM Rebecca said... Privately owned business' can serve dog food if they pass health standards. I think it's good this rest. is standing for its personal private rights to decide what is on their menu. I'm tired of people trying to dictate their view of what is ok for me to eat. I'd go to this rest. BECAUSE they stood their ground. This is their rest. That person does not have the right to disturb others in a rest. where they came to have a nice meal. If this person doesn't like the food go elsewhere. Write a letter of protest or something. You don't have a right to disrupt this business because you don't like whats on the menu. The opposite of this tactic is if I forced you to eat the fish for pete's sake. This is still America and privately owned places can serve what they want.
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8-29-2010 @9:26PM mike said... Joe? Just curious here. Is "highly illegal" worse than just "illegal"? LOL. ( just having fun)
By the way, you granola crunchers, I was fishing in the Atlantic yesterday, on the lookout for blue fin tuna.Great fighting fish and the fastest in the ocean as well as good to eat. Got some cod for dinner and several blue fish off the coast of New Hampshire. Don't freak out, I catch and release the blues and most other fish unless I intend to eat them. I want to have them there to fight another day. It is a sport, you see. Moderation, my liberal friends, is a good thing. Even us conservatives know that. We don't have horns despite some uninformed opinions.
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8-29-2010 @9:29PM inapow@aol.com said... We need more people like Guido Rahr. I admire his fortitude to speak up. We are destroying species faster than we can blink. The generations alive today will surely be reviled by future generations from which we are stealing the natural world.
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8-29-2010 @9:31PM SunHawaii said... I can't believe how far we are going with being politically correct. Now it's affecting restaurants. I'm not talking about food that is illegal such as whale or pandas or turtles. If something is being decimated in the wild, then these activists should work for total bans or find a viable solution. That's where it would be most effective. But to threaten or cause a business to go out of business is just wrong, though it didn't happen in this case. Hawaii is I believe the only state to ban Shark Fin because of the cruelty to the sharks, even though Shark Fin Soup is considered a delicacy by many here. This whole eco thing is just tipping into the nanu-nanu direction. Ridiculous.
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8-29-2010 @11:01PM grwhitaker said... Actually, both the Bush II and Obama administrations tried to have the fishing Atlantic Blue Fin Tuna banned by international fishing organizations. The Japanese delegation vetoed the move, killing the implementation of the ban. This is not the only instance of Japanese governmental interference with the implementation of fishing and whaling bans, but a continuing sad story of Japanese [and Norwegian, btw] governmental interference in endangered species protection.
To others, did you actually read the story? It stated they had just added Blue Fin Tuna to the menu. The gentleman in question was doing something he thought was responsible in speaking up. Oh, I forget, only "real" Americans are allowed to speak their mind.
8-29-2010 @9:40PM Eva said... Good for the restaurant to tell off this idiot environMENTAList! It's about time someone got a backbone and stood their ground.
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8-29-2010 @11:35PM grwhitaker said... You do realize it is a sushi restaurant, and that means they don't cook the fish? I double that you would every eat that. You do know that the tuna out of the can is cooked, right? It is always a good idea to know what the food is that you are putting in your mouth, where it came from, and some idea of the way it was processed. A little knowledge about the methods used to produce what you put on the table, and in your mouth, will help you make intelligent eating choices.
8-29-2010 @9:54PM Who? said... I just opened a restaurant yesterday. We have panda steaks, bald eagle drumsticks, and other delicious items! All of the "conservatives" should come visit, since they are OBVIOUSLY more American than anyone else! All of those liberals should go away, especially George Washington and Thomas Jefferson! All hail Queen Elizabeth! Long live the Queen!
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8-29-2010 @9:53PM cqdeed said... While many people feel they can tell everyone else what to do and how to live their lives, I must say I support the restaurant. Telling a restaurant what should or should not be on their menu is on par with these control freaks. If you don't like what is on the menu, don't eat there. I don't live in Portland but if I did live near there I would make it a point to become a customer just because some people wouldn't like it.
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8-29-2010 @11:39PM grwhitaker said... I highly doubt it. It doesn't sound like your kind of place...not a crown or a golden arch to be seen.
8-29-2010 @9:53PM cqdeed said... While many people feel they can tell everyone else what to do and how to live their lives, I must say I support the restaurant. Telling a restaurant what should or should not be on their menu is on par with these control freaks. If you don't like what is on the menu, don't eat there. I don't live in Portland but if I did live near there I would make it a point to become a customer just because some people wouldn't like it.
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8-29-2010 @10:21PM LisaM said... If you are against ANY type of food being served, don't order it! If enough people don't then maybe they will get the msg. on thier own. I wouldn't take someones business in my hands & try to tell them to stop what they are doing & have been doing for years.
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8-29-2010 @11:08PM Phil Bittle said... HEY JOE! ... no problem... just tell people that the recording is "being made for training and quality control purposes" ... you're home free ... it's all nice and legal. Then if they stay on the phone ... it's their option; they have, by their actions, given their permission. The criminal corporations have taught us that.
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8-29-2010 @10:49PM Jack said... PETA =
People Eating Tasty Animals
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8-29-2010 @11:59PM GunnySgt USMC said... Awesome! I have heard it before but that is the BEST explanation of what PETA, as an acronym, stands for. Too cool! Thanks for reminding me of it!!
8-29-2010 @10:57PM Dan said... This sounds a little too confusing for me. What is with this wild salmon? What other kind is there? Sounds wierd to me. Are they catching these bluefin tunas against the law or something? They should be in trouble then. If you can fight about fish, you can probably fight just about anything. Its not good for America for people to be fighting about everything and now fighting about fish. Why would they throw you out for talking about a fish? You didn't start any trouble, did you?
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8-29-2010 @11:17PM grwhitaker said... Wild salmon is just that, the life cycle is freshwater to salt water and back. The reference is to farm raised salmon, which is penned, force fed [with feed that has to include antibiotics, yum], has it's color adjusted chemically to get the deeper pink/red color diners want, etc. It is a frankenfish, much like farm raised catfish.
8-29-2010 @11:22PM lalayna said... If lberals dont speak out everyone will run out of places to eat, sleep and work. The selfish, greedy, and "nothing on this planet matters but me" thinkers will ruin it for everyone including your own children and grandchildren. Ignorance may be bliss for you but it will be hell for the future humans on this planet.
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