Sustainable Seafood

If you are a seafood lover, you can support clean, healthy oceans and protect your health by choosing sustainable seafood. Here are some basic things to look for:

• Wild Vs. Farm-Raised: Wild fish live in cleaner waters and eat their native diet. In order to maintain native populations, sustainable practices are more widely used among wild fisheries. Fish farms, or aquaculture, require large amounts of wild fish to feed the farmed fish. It takes 3 pounds of wild fish to grow 1 pound of farm-raised salmon. Fish farms often use antibiotics and pesticides to control disease. When farm fish escape into open waters, they threaten wild populations by competing for food and spawning ground and spreading parasites from the farm. Some markets falsely advertise Atlantic salmon as wild, but Wild Atlantic salmon is a highly endangered species and is not available to consumers.
• Origin Matters: The same fish in different waters may live in drastically different conditions. Both Pacific Halibut and Alaskan Salmon are considered sustainable fish, with healthy populations still intact due to responsible fishing and strict regulations. Atlantic Salmon and Halibut, however, are considered among the worst seafood choices. Atlantic Halibut populations have crashed due to overfishing, and Atlantic Salmon are raised in heavily-contaminated waters and are high in mercury. Knowing where your fish once swam can help you make sustainable choices.
• Sustainable Seal of Approval: Since there is currently no regulated seafood labeling system for supermarkets and restaurants, independent certifiers recognize environmentally sustainable seafood in order to help consumer make sustainable choices. The Marine Stewardship Council evaluates fisheries and grants its seal of approval based on the condition of fish stocks, impact on marine environment, and sustainability of fishery management.

By requesting sustainable seafood at the supermarket and in restaurants, consumers send a message to the fishing industry that they are informed about fishing practices and want safe, eco-friendly seafood and healthy oceans. To find out about sustainable seafood in your region, check out Seafood WATCH.

Photo courtesy of: http://wildernessclassroom.com/superior/coho%20salmon.jpg