If you're like my family, you may have enjoyed some delicious seafood over the holiday season. Seafood can cater to many different palates and is a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals. However, have you ever thought about where your seafood comes from? Seafood is sometimes referred to as the "last wild food," and it can be caught in a myriad of ways, from line fishing to trawling.
Seafood is a vital resource--over 3 billion people rely on seafood as a major protein source, and demand grows each year. However, 90 percent of fish populations are currently being fished at or beyond their sustainable limits. This problem, also known as overfishing, means that fish populations are being depleted faster than they can replenish themselves. When we catch the same varieties of fish in massive quantities, such as cod, tuna, and salmon--and choose the largest individuals--we reduce a species' ability to recuperate before the next fishing season and drive them closer to extinction.
Many fish species are caught through methods like long-line fishing, gillnetting, or bottom trawling. Methods such as these include large amounts of bycatch, or species other than the target species caught by accident. Marine animals like sea turtles, sharks, and dolphins are ensnared by fishing gear and are usually dead or dying by the time the gear is hauled to the surface. According to Oceana, 2 billion pounds of bycatch occurs in the US alone each year. These unsustainable practices reduce the health of our oceans and decimate other species vital to its ecology. Climate change exacerbates these issues, and as a result, global fish populations are shrinking rapidly.
Luckily, there are ways that we can enjoy seafood from around the world and protect our oceans' bounty for generations to come. When choosing your next meal with seafood, vote with your wallet by choosing sustainable seafood. Sustainable seafood is seafood caught from fisheries that do not overfish. Sustainable seafood also uses fishing methods that result in minimal (or no) bycatch. Choosing sustainable seafood is easy with Monterey Bay Aquarium's free Seafood Watch guide. Simply type in the seafood you are interested in, and the guide will recommend varieties that are fished or farmed in environmentally friendly ways.
If there are no sustainable choices available to you, tell vendors why sustainable seafood matters. The power to protect the ocean is in our hands!
Sustainable Seafood 101: A guide to order, buy, and cook sustainable seafood
Pacific Catch restaurants serve seafood recommended by the Seafood Watch Guide
Real Good Fish ships sustainable seafood to your home!
Further reading:
A World Without Fish (written for ages 10+, but a great explanation for all ages)
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