CELEBRATE EARTH DAY WITH SUSTAINABLE SEAFOOD
Help replenish oceans and manage our resources into the future
The quest for more and more seafood has brought about disastrous consequences. Onegreenplanet.org reports more than 90 percent of large fish, such as tuna, marlin, swordfish, cod, and halibut are gone from our world’s oceans.
We can all help cut down on “overfishing” or catching fish faster than they can reproduce by educating ourselves about the sustainability of various seafood options and choosing to eat fish that are responsibly farmed and environmentally sustainable.
Sustainable fisheries target abundant species, including those smaller and lower on the food chain. With environmental safeguards in place, sustainable fisheries cut down on destructive fishing practices, such as bycatching and dredging. Sustainable wild fisheries require monitoring population numbers and tracking seafood from the fishing boat to the dinner table.
Though fish farms produce half of all the seafood we eat—not all of them are created equal. True sustainable operations minimize environmental impacts, including:
- Pollution
- Disease
- Other damage to coastal ecosystems
- Using wild-caught fish as feed
So how can we make the switch from popular species that have depleted populations?
Choose ocean-friendly substitutes that are healthy, sustainable, often less expensive, and just as delicious! Chef and seafood expert Barton Seaver offers these suggestions:
Atlantic Bluefin Tuna > Yellowfin Tuna or for grilled Tuna, try Blackfin Tuna Albacore or Wahoo
Atlantic Cod > Pacific Cod, Pacific Ling or Alaskan Pollack
Atlantic Halibut > Pacific Halibut
Chilean Sea Bass > Alaskan Sablefish
Freshwater Eel > Spanish Mackerel
Grouper > Wreckfish from South Carolina, Barramundi from Australis or farmed Cobia
Orange Roughy > Farm-raised Tilapia or Wreckfish from South Carolina
Shark > Sturgeon or farm-raised Cobia
Shrimp > Oregon Pink Shrimp, Maine Pinks, farm-raised shrimp options in U.S. or wild-caught option, such as Fisherman’s Daughter Wild Sonora Coast Shrimp
Snapper > Barramundi from Australis
Sturgeon/Paddlefish (Wild-Caught) > Domestically farmed Sturgeon
Yellowtail (Imported) > Kona Kampachi from Kona Blue
Sources: http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com/ocean/take-action/sustainable-seafood/
http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com/ocean/take-action/seafood-substitutions/
