Sustainable Seafood: Fish for the Future by COCO

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Sustainable Seafood: Fish for the Future

The Ocean serves many purposes. It regulates our climate, provides us with recreational opportunities, is the major source of the oxygen we breathe and the food we eat. However, our oceans are in serious trouble.

 

The global catch of wild fish leveled out 15 years ago and since then 85 percent of the world’s fisheries are either declining or being harvested at capacity. Demand for fish is also increasing and it is now over seven times what it was in 1950.

 

There are a variety of destructive fishing practices such as bottom trawling and long lining that are devastating the marine environment.  Our oceans are being fished at alarming rates and scientists estimate that most of the world’s major fishery species have been reduced in numbers by 75-95 percent.  We as consumers can make a difference by choosing seafood that has been sustainably harvested.  Our seafood choices offer a daily opportunity to contribute to the oceans health.

 

5 Fish to Avoid*

  • Atlantic Blue Fin Tuna
  • Skates and Rays
  • Chilean Sea Bass 
  • Orange Roughy
  • Sharks
 
*There is a lot of complexity around which fish to avoid. Be an informed consumer and learn about the issues on what YOU can do.  Do plenty of research with all the resources available to you and make your own educated decision. These are our recommendations.

 

 ·What You Can Do·

 

  1. Use all available resources to make smart choices about seafood.
  2. Ask where your seafood comes from before you make a choice. 
  3. Avoid unsustainable seafood at markets and restaurants. 
  4. Teach others about the importance of being a conscious consumer.
  5. Show your support for local businesses that incorporate sustainable seafood practices. 

 

 


·Resources·

Monterey Bay Aquarium Sea Food Watch-information for consumers and businesses

Fish Choice– connects buyers and sellers of sustainable seafood

GreenPeace Seafood- store ratings for sustainable seafood

Fish Watch– NOAA’s seafood watch

SeaChoice– Making smart seafood decisions for today and tomorrow

Marine Stewardship Council– Certifies sustainable seafood

Blue Ocean Institute Sea Food Choices– searchable guide for seafood

 

Seafood Watch provides action cards, fish facts, consumer information, and seafood recommendations.

Seafood Watch, an organization involved with the Monterey Bay Aquarium, has been working since 1999 to make the vision of a healthy abundant ocean a reality, showing us that overfishing developed over a long period of time and we are just starting to solve it.

 

 

Click on the Map to see the sustainable seafood guide closest to where you live!


View Sustainable Seafood Guides in a larger map

By Vicki Goldstein