Sustainable Seafood Promoted at Tasting Event.

The 5th annual Sensational Seafood event celebrates National Seafood Month and sustainable menu items.

The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History and the Ty Warner Sea Center hosted the event to raise awareness.

Organizers said sustainable seafood is caught or farmed in ways that prevents overfishing and protects the ocean and the planet.

Justin West of Julienne on Canon Perdido Street served mussels on potato chips he made from scratch.

West, who is competing in the James Beard Foundation’s Taste America–“Local Flavor from Coast to Coast,” ran out of his dish fast.

For more information on the contest go to: www.jbftasteamerica.org

For sustainable recommendations go to: www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/seafoodwatch.aspx

The seafood celebrations continue this Saturday when the Santa Barbara Harbor and Seafood Festival lure diners to the harbor to taste the bounty of the Santa Barbara Channel.

The free event promises music and activities for all ages.

Saturday also marks the beginning of the commercial lobster hunting season.