Locally caught and farmed seafood on the menu for Aquarium’s Sustainable Seafood Dinner April 12, 2011

The New England Aquarium will highlight three types of healthy, sustainable seafood all from local producers at the next Celebrate Seafood dinner.

This three-course sustainable seafood meal on April 12 will feature farmed seaweed from Maine, hook-line caught haddock from Massachusetts, and farmed blue mussels from Rhode Island. This is the second in a three-part dinner series that will be held throughout the year.

The 2011 dinner series is part of the Aquarium’s Sustainable Seafood Program which promotes ocean-friendly seafood, encourages the responsible management of fishery resources and provides support to regional and international fishing communities, industries and organizations.

Joining the New England Aquarium to present this dinner is guest Chef Peter McCarthy, owner and chef of EVOO Restaurant in Cambridge. McCarthy and Aquarium Executive Chef Mukesh Ranmarine will lead cooking demonstrations while Aquarium experts highlight the sustainability features of each dish.

For McCarthy, local, sustainable food is part of the everyday menu at EVOO. The restaurant features a “home grown” menu of locally sourced organic and sustainable ingredients; menu descriptions inform guests exactly where the food has come from.

“Cooking this way puts a lot of meaning into what we do,” McCarthy said. “Not only do we get the best ingredients, I have also built some great relationships with area producers.”

Initiated in 2007, the Aquarium’s Celebrate Seafood Dinner Series features three-course sustainable seafood meals with wine pairings and cooking demonstrations in a fun, conversational format. The dinners are held in the Aquarium’s Harbor View Café.

Tickets are $65 for members and $75 for non-members. All events start at 6:30 p.m. Call 617-973-5206 or visit neaq.org to register and learn more about sustainable seafood.