Paul Canales, the executive chef at Oliveto’s in Oakland wants there to be fish left in the oceans for his kids when they grow up. But he says the real reason he takes such care about using sustainable seafood is a selfish one.

“I’m a chef,” he says. “I want to be working with amazing things. And if they’re not around, then I’m not working with them.”

On Wednesday night, as part of the Fish ‘n’ Flicks series, Canales will make a dinner of sustainable seafood and host a screening of the award-winning documentary about overfishing, The End of the Line. The event is one of about a dozen such dinners around the country. 

The End of the Line, which first screened at Sundance in 2009, warns that the current pace of fishing will deplete most edible fish stocks by 2048, and urges diners and chefs to choose sustainable seafood.  

The documentary is based on a book with the same title by Charles Clover, a journalist who worked as the environment editor of London’s The Daily Telegraph for 20 years. Clover, a fly fisherman, began investigating overfishing when he noticed the trout were disappearing from the spot where he fished.  

Clover wanted the Rockridge restaurant to be involved with the Fish ‘n’ Flick dinners since he knows what lengths Oliveto’s staff go to to understand where their fish comes from and how it’s caught.  

“It’s really a tribute to Tom Worthington,” Canales said. “Our job is just to do something good with the fish in terms of cooking it.” 

Worthington, who co-founded the Monterey Fish Market about 30 years ago, is supplying the restaurants in the area with seafood for the Fish ‘n’ Flick dinners.  

“We share a lot of the same views as Charles,” Worthington said. “We are at a precipice, and we can keep going down the road we’re on or we can turn away and have a future for not only the industry, but for our children.” 

The End of the Line has scary information about how about 80 percent of the world’s fish stocks have been fished to their limit, but Worthington says it also offers hope that this is a problem that can be solved.  

“It talks about possibilities,” he said. “We can really make good choices and have something left to hand on.” 

One of those good choices involves eating more sardines and squid, and easing up on things like tuna.  

“We need to give the top predators a break,” Worthington said. “They have a key role in this ecosystem and removing them has disastrous effects.” 

The Monterey Bay Aquarium puts out a seafood watch list of what to buy and what to avoid. Worthington and Canales appreciate that list. But they think it’s just a starting place.  

For them, it’s all about how the fish is caught. Factory trawlers that throw back much of what they catch are what depletes the fish population, not the fishermen who use a line and a hook, they say.  

As an example, Canales points to Atlantic cod, on the aquarium’s list to avoid, since trawlers have often overfished it. But Canales sings the praises of Paul Parker, a cod fisherman and director of the Cape Cod Fisheries Trust. Parker has set high standards for the fishery, Canales said, and he shouldn’t suffer under rules made to stop trawlers.  

“It’s super complex, the whole issue of fish,” says Canales, who plans to make a salad with crab and black truffles and maybe a soup of cod and squid on Wednesday night. “I feel like we have an educational role, but first and foremost it has to be delicious.” 

The dinner at Oliveto’s will be Wednesday, Jan. 20 at 6:30 pm. Tickets for the dinner and screening are $45. To reserve please call 510-547-5356

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