The Maui Ocean Center, a partner in the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch program, hosted a Sustainable & Invasive Seafood Recipe Contest in November, encouraging the use of seafood considered good choices in terms of fisheries management. Twenty winners were chosen, and their recipes were featured on the Maui Ocean Center Web site. They used such fish as to'au, halibut and wild-caught salmon.

This recipe is for mahimahi, which is considered a good choice when the fish is caught in Hawaii. Imported mahi is on the list of fish to avoid.

The recipe was submitted by Marc McDowell, a chef at the Ritz-Carlton resort in Kapalua. It's been simplified here for home use.

To access the other winning recipes, visit the Web site www.mauioceancenter.com.

Cilantro and Macadamia Crusted Mahimahi

Marc McDowell, executive sous-chef, Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua
4 mahimahi steaks (4 to 6 ounces each)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper

» Marinade:
Zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
Zest and juice of 1/2 orange
Zest and juice of 1/2 lime
3 tablespoons crushed and minced lemongrass
1/2 ounce Kaffir lime leaf (4 to 8 leaves depending on size), crushed and minced
1/3 cup minced cilantro
4 large cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup chopped ginger
1 cup vegetable oil

» Crust:
3 tablespoons macadamia nut pieces
1/4 cup chopped cilantro stems
3/4 teaspoon minced ginger
3/4 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon chopped serrano chili, with seeds

To make marinade: You should have about 1/2 cup citrus juice total. Combine marinade ingredients, whisking in oil slowly at the end, until well incorporated. Pour over fish and marinate, refrigerated, 6 hours.

To make crust: Combine nuts, cilantro, ginger and garlic in a blender or food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add lime juice and oil; process again to form a paste.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Remove fish from marinade. Season with salt and pepper. Sear fish in ovenproof pan over high heat on both sides. Spread fish with crust mixture. Place in oven 6 to 7 minutes, until cooked through. Turn on broiler briefly if desired to brown top. Serves 4.