Mar. 27--Following the success of a boycott to save swordfish, more than 50 Chicago-area chefs will pledge Wednesday to drop the trendy Chilean sea bass from their menus until its population stabilizes in about five years. 

Fish-loving Americans are being asked to "Take a Pass on Chilean Sea Bass," a snow-white, flaky delicacy that is overfished and illegally poached and could vanish from the coasts of Antarctica. 

The campaign is the first attempt at a nationwide boycott of a fish by restaurateurs, an influential new tool environmental groups discovered after the "Give Swordfish a Break" movement worked on the East Coast. 

Charlie Trotter's, Frontera Grill, Spring, Trio and North Pond Cafe are among the Chicago-area restaurants that have joined the effort. "I don't believe in depleting any kind of stock," said Bruce Sherman, chef and partner of North Pond in Lincoln Park. 

The formerly obscure deep-water fish--which is only peripherally found in Chilean seas and not a bass at all--is popular among high-end restaurants, caterers and banquet halls because its high oil content makes it tender and moist. Named Bon Appetit magazine's Fish of the Year in 2001, the versatile creature is easily baked, grilled, broiled and sauteed and is difficult to overcook. 

Two main factors, however, have put it at risk. The slender fish matures slowly--it spawns after 10 years--and is often caught before it has a chance to reproduce. And it dwells in remote areas where regulation is haphazard, making it virtually impossible to control the way the fish is caught and sold. 

While 16,000 tons of sea bass were harvested legally in 2000, up to twice that amount were taken illegally, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Despite rules set by the international governmental body of 23 nations that regulates Chilean sea bass, nearly 80 percent of the Chilean sea bass on the world market is illegally obtained, according to the National Environmental Trust and the Antarctica Projects, the two main groups behind the campaign. 

"The non-stop pace of illegal fishing virtually guarantees that the entire species will collapse in less than five years unless we take immediate action," said Beth Clark, an Antarctic research scientist who has been studying the fish for more than a decade. 

Even though the average size of the fish is shrinking, diners are willing to pay $25 per entree, and the wholesale price per pound doubled from 1998 to 2000. At maturity, the deep-water fish normally weighs up to 200 pounds. "They used to come in at a pretty good size, about 50 or 60 pounds," said Jose Rodriguez, president of Roberts Fish Market in Chicago, which sells about 50 pounds of Chilean sea bass per week. "Now they're about 20 pounds. They're not letting the fish reproduce and grow." 

Originally known unappetizingly as the Patagonia toothfish, marketers changed the name in the early 1990s, dramatically altering its fate. Diners turned to the cold-water fish as a substitute for other overfished species, such as orange roughy and swordfish. 

Swordfish made a comeback after the "Give Swordfish a Break" campaign of 2000 urged people to let the population stabilize. About 700 restaurants participated, mainly in five East Coast cities. 

"Take a Pass on Chilean Sea Bass," which began in San Francisco last month and has 350 restaurants on board, hopes to be even bigger. After Wednesday's announcement at We Restaurant in the W Hotel in Chicago, it moves to New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Washington in the next few months. 

"If you put something on the menu, people are more likely to cook it at home," said Frank Mendoza, the executive chef at We and a supporter of the ban. "Chefs have more of an impact on eating lifestyles of people far beyond the restaurant." 

Caterers have a harder time letting go of the fish because it doesn't taste fishy and holds up to some abuse in its handling and cooking. In addition to weddings, it's often served at corporate lunches. 

"There are certain clients who absolutely demand it and we will serve it, but we're not actively promoting it and we discourage it in general," said Kevin Kelly, executive chef of J & L Catering, which serves the Three Arts Club, the Germania Club and several other locations. "We don't mind serving smaller groups, but we believe it's overused." 

But not all chefs are sold on the fish. It's not on the menu at Shaw's Crab House because "there are a lot better fish out there," said Todd Barber, a managing partner. "If I put it next to a piece of wild striped bass or black bass off the East Coast, it would be like putting catfish next to halibut." 

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(c) 2002, Chicago Tribune. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.