Santa Monica’s only seafood festival aims to lessen environmental impact

The fifth annual “Off the Hook” Santa Monica Seafood Festival is scheduled be held at the Santa Monica Pier on Saturday, 14 September, and will celebrate the seafood bounty and chefs of southern California.

Held in September in order to celebrate National Water Quality Month, Santa Monica’s only seafood festival is set to feature sustainable seafood from nearly two dozen of Santa Monica’s restaurants, including Blue Plate Oysterette, The Lobster, Sushi Roku, Herringbone, and Enterprise Fish Co. Attendees will be able to sample seafood from these and other restaurants, purchase local beer and wine, and enjoy live music with views of the Pacific Ocean framing the festival. 

The event, which will run from 3 to 7 p.m. PST, will be entirely free of single-use plastics, with only paper plates, cups, and straws made available to lessen the festival’s environmental impact. 

Around 1,000 participants are expected to attend and proceeds from the festival will benefit Heal the Bay, and go towards keeping oceans and beaches clean. 

“Heal the Bay is thrilled to be the nonprofit partner this year and excited by the direction restaurants are taking regarding seafood sustainability,” said CEO of Heal the Bay Shelley Luce. “This event brings together the best restaurants and seafood dishes while also helping to draw awareness for sustainability and ocean-friendly lifestyle practices.” 

Heal the Bay is an environmental nonprofit based in Los Angeles, California, dedicated to making the coastal waters and watersheds of the area “safe, healthy, and clean.” The group hopes to raise awareness for Coastal Cleanup Day, which is the world’s largest environmental volunteer day that happens to fall a week after the festival on 21 September. 

Tickets for the festival are priced at USD 65 (EUR 59), which include the tastings, access to the beer garden, spirit tasting, music, games, and more.

Photo courtesy of the Santa Monica Seafood Festival