Southampton - This year at the Oceana Hamptons Splash Party, one message rang loud and clear: when it comes to seafood, you don't always know what your eating, or what the environmental implications of that$32 blue fin tuna ceviche might be. Under a rose-colored sunset to the live soundtrack of The Honey Brothers, featuring actor-turned-percussionist Adrian Grenier, hosted by TV sitcom zeitgeist Ted Danson, the evening was socialite-studded and mosquito-ridden, with ever-flowing alcohol provided by Belvedere Vodka. Homeowners Michael and Margie Loeb proved themselves Hamptons hosts with the most - their well-lit Oceanside estate on Meadow Lane, Southampton housed the bustling reception to benefit Oceana, one of the largest organizations for ocean advocacy and protection.

According to Danson, who is a senior board member and public face of the organization, "we could fish out the ocean in our lifetime. That means jellyfish soup for all." With 90 percent of all tuna, grouper, and shark populations virtually depleted, and over 30 percent of worldwide fisheries practicing illegal, unregulated commercial fishing, including bottom-trawling - a process through which a "747-sized" net scours the ocean floor, uprooting all ecosystems, coral reefs, and all rare fish populations in its path - "this is a world hunger problem," reports Danson - "200 million people depend on fish for animal protein - 200 million people make their livelihood on the ocean," he said.



Jim Simon, current Executive VP of Oceana and former editor of The Harvard Law Review, offered more insight into the business of fishing, and its consequences for the average consumer. According to Simon, between 20 and 70 percent of all fish are often mislabeled. "A white fish in a creamy sauce is easy to disguise," he said, as the crowd suffered a communal wave of nausea at the thought of being fed dolphin under the guise of swordfish. "With honest labeling, people will really see the effects of overfishing," he added, calling for a tracking system that follows sea catch from the boat to the dinner plate. If reform is not enacted, "we will not leave to our children a world as rich as we inherited."

Honorary board memberSusan Rockefeller's message was equally as grave: "We have 10 years to get it right. Ten years to reverse the tide of ocean destruction," she said, amid the clamor of clinking glasses and camera flashes.

Included on the evening's fish friendly roster was VH1 "Love and Hip Hop" star Somaya Reece, Dallas Dalton, Dede McMahon, Carol Perlman, Francesa Beale, Roger and Robin Meltzer, Andrew Zaro, Mary and Chip Lane, Ulrica and Alessandro Lamaro, Dale Hopmans, Susan Dunlevy, Bettina Zilkha, Nancy Rosenthal, Craig Cohen, and Crispin Baynes.

To read a more in-depth interview with Ted Danson, click here: "Hamptons.com Speaks To Ted Danson"