Guide to Sustainable Seafood

If you are concerned about the serious impact that the fishing industry has on our planet's rivers and oceans, you're not alone. Many wild species of ocean fish and marine mammal are threatened by the seafood industry, and consumers and restaurants often unknowingly participate in the ecological destrucation that results from uncontrolled overfishing.

The Sustainable Seafood Initiative, a South Carolina- based organization designed to promote sustainable fishing, has fortunately released an extensive amount of information to guide seafood lovers and seafood restaurants toward a more earth-friendly future. Using the guidelines for selecting seafood from sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, consumers can make considerate choices that benefit our oceans.

The following choices are considered to be "Eco-OK" by the Sustainable Seafood Initiative and other guides to earth-friendly fish.

Sustainable Aquaculture

Some seafood options are especially earth-friendly because they can be farm-raised in controlled, nonpollutive, low-impact environments. Sustainable aquaculture is the primary method of raising farmed catfish, farmed shrimp, farmed sturgeon, farmed tilapia, farmed oysters, and bay-farmed scallops. All of these species, when spawned and raised using the recommended techniques of sustainable aquaculture, are among the most earth-friendly choices for considerate seafood lovers.

Sustainable Pacific Seafood

While some of the wildlife of the Pacific ocean are at risk because of overfishing, some responsible fisheries have developed earth-friendly methods of harvesting seafood from the fertile Pacific. Halibut, octopus, pollack, sardines, and squid are all on the "best to avoid" list when fished from the Atlantic ocean; however, when harvested from the Pacific, they are among the most sustainable fish choices. These Pacific seafood species are considered to be "Eco-OK" by the Sustainable Seafood Initiative.

Sustainable Atlantic Seafood

The Atlantic ocean is in far deeper peril than the Pacific, but it can still yield a few safe and sustainable options for seafood lovers. Herring and Spanish mackerel are among the only earth-friendly seafood options yielded by the Atlantic ocean and not the Pacific. If other options are available, consumers should aim for Pacific species or universally sustainable seafood choices (see below) to meet their dietary needs.

Universally Sustainable Fish

Some fish species are so prolific and widespread that they are almost always an earth-friendly choice to make. Hake, bluefish, striped bass, dogfish, arctic char, and anchovies are highly sustainable fish choices and ideal choices in stores and seafood restaurants. Although caution is necessary and no species should be fished to excess, the wide availability of sustainable fisheries has made these ideal fishing candidates.

Sustainable Salmon

Salmon is one of the many seafood choices that is earth-friendly only when harvested from a certain area. Wild Alaskan salmon is on the "Eco-OK" list released by the Sustainable Seafood Initiative, and offers many health benefits, in addition to being better for the environment than some alternatives. However, other salmon varieties, including farmed salmon and Canadian salmon, are best avoided.

Sustainable Tuna

One of the trickiest seafood species to select, tuna is now notorious for high levels of mercury contamination. A tuna choice that is generally considered sustainable is Albacore tuna, most often harvested from the Pacific ocean. yellowfin (or skipjack) and bluefin tuna are best avoided owing to high levels of mercury contamination and the long-term effects of unsustainable fisheries.

Sustainable Shellfish

While Atlantic and Pacific lobster are both best avoided, the Australian rock lobster is a highly sustainable seafood option for lobster lovers. Similarly, while blue, king, and dungeness crab are all earth-friendly seafood choices, other crab species, such as snow crab, have been overfished and are now in peril. Shrimp is sustainable only when farm-raised in the U.S. or trap-caught in the Pacific; trawl-caught domestic shrimp and tiger shrimp are best avoided. Mussels, oysters, and clams are considered universally sustainable.

Sustainable Cod

Like so many other species, cod is one seafood choice that is only earth-friendly when it is caught by sustainable fisheries operating in the Pacific ocean. Pacific cod that has been jig-caught is highly sustainable, as is the Pacific black cod species. Most other varieites of cod, including atlantic cod, are in jeopardy due to overfishing, and should be avoided by consumers and seafood restaurants.

Being earth-friendly doesn't have to mean giving up your favorite seafoods. Thanks the the abundance of sustainable fisheries, choices are still available for enabling seafood lovers to enjoy their meals without a tremendous impact on the environment.