California Supports Sustainable Seafood

While unsustainable fishing practices threaten to wipe out schools—entire species, even—of fish worldwide, people are standing up against the greed and environmental destruction and taking action.

While much remains to be done, there are plenty of stories out there that prove that there is plenty of hope—and that people in power give a damn, too. From Seafood Watch to the makers (and viewers!) of The Cove, people are not taking these oceanic issues lightly.

Case in point: California recently passed legislation to create a statewide standard for sustainable fishing. Their Ocean Protection Council used international action, as well as fish product labeling, as a guide for these standards. State Assemblyman Bill Monning created the bill—Bill AB 1217—itself, in hopes of supporting a new level of “certified California sustainable seafood.”

Doesn’t that sound beautiful? For strict vegetarians, it’s still not enough—but it’s a helluva start. “Certified sustainable…” How long until our own FDA uses the same language on products across the country? Yeah, I got a laugh out of that too, but wouldn’t it be pretty amazing if that did happen?

Monning himself seems to be a champion of ocean life. He says that “a number of species are absolutely in danger because they’re being overfished. When you give consumers a choice, whether it’s in the supermarket or a restaurant, people want to do the right thing.”

That’s where the catch comes in—choice. The actual labeling of the food is optional—and so is the purchase of it. You knew it was too good to be true, right? Unfortunately, it’s not like every piece of seafood on the California market will be caught using sustainable practices; but it’s a great start.

Of course, as a politician, he’s also looking at the market in order to sell his legislation. Monning says that fisherman can use this labeling measure as a way to get people to buy their products—as well as a way to get grants and loans as long as they comply to the standards.

Seafood Watch, the program that works to educate people on sustainable fishing and eating practices—including publishing guides to which fish to avoid in order to avoid the least sustainably caught—or most harmful—fish, is based in California. The labeling process with this bill would work in accordance with the standards set by the program, which is run by the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

To learn more about Seafood Watch, or to download your own pocket guide to sustainable seafood eating, click here.