Sungwan Kaewya is a fishmonger at Siam Paragon’s Gourmet Market. When we meet her, she’s explaining to a customer that species originating from Thailand are located on the right side of the display case, and imported fillets on the left. She goes on to note that the fish that come from our Thai oceans are the best choice, as Gourmet Market has a strict policy not to buy from distributors who are suspected of fishing in protected waters. “More and more customers are asking where their fish comes from, they are showing more concern,” she says. It could be radiation scares due to Japan’s nuclear accident but there’s also growing interest in local—and sustainable—seafood.

“We sometimes tend to look down on our local fish and prefer imported fish like salmon or snow-fish (Chilean sea bass) because, funnily enough, it’s fashionable. Some forget that we have wonderful fish of our own.” says Chef McDaeng, Thai celebrity chef and writer.

Bill Marinelli has plenty of imported fish. But the owner of the popular Sukhumvit seafood venue The Seafood Bar proudly displays a message saying they “will not serve any endangered species or support overfishing,” in large and bold typeface on his constantly changing menu. A marine biologist turned restaurateur, Marinelli still owns fisheries, allowing him to oversee the whole operation from sea to plate. “Anything that gives the fish a fighting chance is sustainable to me,” he says. Most fish are caught by trawling, he explains, a process which catches and kills large amount of sea life that doesn’t end up in anyone’s plate. His menu features sustainable alternatives to popular seafood species of dwindling numbers. The sea bream entrée (preparation varies daily), with its buttery white flesh and firm texture, is a great substitute for a fish like Dover Sole, which also shares the same taste characteristics, but has been placed on Greenpeace’s Red List, denoting that it’s the least sustainable choice diners can make.

Ara Takayuki has taken the trend a step further by not only serving sustainable food, but also organic food (and seafood). He’s the front man of Sustaina, a small Japanese-owned shop and restaurant tucked away on Sukhumvit 39. “Right now few people understand what we’re trying to do, but it will just take time,” he says. Ara has hand-selected fisheries from Rayong, Hua Hin and Phuket to supply sustainable species for both his frozen food line and his restaurant. He rotates between various sashimi and sushi dishes as specials in Sustaina’s second floor eatery. His favorite? Squid sashimi, as he claims that Thailand’s waters are home to the most succulent and tasty squid in Asia.

But while eco savvy chefs and F&B directors are scaling back on black-listed fish, a quick trip to any major supermarket like Tops Fresh Market, Villa or Foodland reveals that these endangered fish are easily available and there’s always a large stock to keep shoppers happy. And while a few hotel chains in North America have banned some over-fished species from their menus, we’re not seeing major hotels show concern for this issue here either. Bangkok played host to the 2010 Global Conference on Aquaculture, which focuses on sustainable aquatic farming techniques; and the Banyan Tree on Sathorn Rd. did vow to stop serving shark fin soup—a huge step in our market. But it’s going to take more than a handful of foreign chefs at standalone restaurants for things to change: hotels and restaurant chains will have to get in on sustainable fish in a much bigger way. And that will only happen if we consumers ask them to do so.