Culver's Is Picky About Its Fish: Here's Where It's Caught - Tasting Table

Culver’s operates nearly 1,100 restaurants across the United States and offers seafood items including butterfly jumbo shrimp and North Atlantic cod sandwiches, along with plate dinners featuring these proteins with sides and a dinner roll. The chain’s approach centers on sourcing high-quality ingredients, and its fish is linked to the Barents Sea in the far north. The Barents Sea is described as a highly productive cod fishery with cold, nutrient-rich waters that support slower-growing fish and richer flavor. The fishery has faced overfishing in the past, but tightened regulations helped it recover. Ongoing management and sustainable supply are presented as key to maintaining seafood quality.

"Culver's flagship burger is called the ButterBurger - thanks to the buttery roll on which it is served. But despite hailing from landlocked Wisconsin, the seafood offerings of this fast food chain's menu are surprisingly respectable. The nearly 1,100 Culver's restaurants across the U.S. serve up both butterfly jumbo shrimp and North Atlantic cod sandwiches, as well as plate dinners in which these proteins are flanked by a pair of sides and a dinner roll."

"For its fish, that starts way up north in the Barents Sea. The Barents Sea might not be a particularly familiar one for many, but it is a very significant one for cod, the fish you'll find fried and nestled in the center of a buttered hoagie bun at Culver's. As a marginal sea, the Barents is considered a part of the Arctic Ocean, but the name describes an area above the Arctic Circle, north of Norway and Russia, and east of Novaya Zemlya."

"The Barents Sea is incredibly abundant, with the cold, nutrient-rich waters creating the most productive cod fishery in the world. It is these conditions that Culver's credits for the quality of its fried fish, claiming that the combination of frigid temperatures and plenty of nutrients leads to a slower-growing fish with a richer flavor."

"The fishery in question has struggled with overfishing in the past, but regulations were tightened, and the fishery bounced back. Management of a fishery is a never-ending process, but Culver's seems committed to using sustainably supplied fish in its kitchens."

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