It's been two years since the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium started passing out free Seafood Watch pocket guides to educate consumers on how to choose ocean-friendly fish and seafood.

More than 200,000 cards later, Margie Marks is still trying to get the word out that what people eat (or don't eat) has an effect on the environment.

And she's not just going after your average Joe.

Seeing that a majority of people only eat fish in restaurants, the zoo's curator of conservation education also has been spreading the gospel of sustainable seafood to local chefs, grocers and restaurateurs, who have the "power" to not serve anything from the avoid list (for instance, Chilean sea bass and Atlantic cod).

She has a willing ear in Kevin Fuller, executive chef at Six Penn Kitchen. This week, the Downtown eatery became the first restaurant to join the zoo's new Seafood Watch Restaurant Partner Program.

In exchange for informational training and recognition on the conservation page of the zoo's Web site, Six Penn agrees to feature at least two sustainable seafood dishes on its menu at all times.

It will also distribute at least 500 Seafood Watch cards each year to customers.

Conservation isn't a new idea to Mr. Fuller, who grows many of the heirloom tomatoes, lettuce and herbs used in his cooking in a rooftop garden on top of the restaurant.

He also composts pre- and post-consumer food scraps and recycles "everything."

"We need to watch what we use as a whole," says Mr. Fuller. "If we kill off one species or move another to an endangered list, it'll harm the environment."

Avoid the "avoids," he says, and sooner or later it will be back on the "good" list.

Gretchen McKay can be reached at gmckay@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1419.