How to Choose Ocean Friendly Seafood
Fisheries around the world are in serious trouble, with many facing a complete collapse due to unsustainable and destructive fishing practices that have wrecked havoc with the ocean's ecosystem and depleted many fishing stocks to near extinction. This can pose a dilemma for those seeking the important health benefits of including fish in your regular diet. So how can you still find ways to fit in the important health benefits of seafood in a safe and ocean friendly way?
To find safe, ocean friendly seafood you need to know three things:
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What species of fish are you using?
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Where did it come from; is it wild or farm raised?
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And how was it caught?
Endangered Species of Fish: When searching for ocean friendly seafood it is important to avoid any species that appears on the Red List of depleted and endangered species. This includes most species of tuna including blue fin tuna and albacore tuna as well as pollock, red snapper, sword fish, tropical shrimp, Atlantic cod, grouper, Atlantic Halibut, and Atlantic Salmon. Species of fish and other seafood appearing on the Red List are so severely depleted that they are approaching extinction and should be avoided.
Farm Raised Verses Wild Caught Fish: Some species, such as Tilapia in the US, are raised on controlled farms instead of taken from wild populations which are much safer for the environment. However, aquaculture practices in other parts of the world, such as Asian raised Tilapia are not quite so environmentally friendly and should be avoided.
Fishing Methods: Not all fishing methods are the same and one of the most important factors in selecting ocean friendly seafood is the fishing method that is used to catch the fish in question. Certain methods of fishing are extremely destructive, such as bottom trawling, which involves the use of massive nets that drag heavy weights across the bottom of the sea floor destroying everything in its path including coral reefs and other habits. Such destruction can devastate entire regions of the ocean, taking years to recover. Such methods are also extremely wasteful, killing unusable species of fish, dolphins, turtles, and other marine life along with target fish species that are too young or injured to be used. So when looking for ocean friendly seafood, look for fish that have been caught using safer methods such as line fishing or that were harvested from fish farms that keep waste to a minimum and do not allow the farmed species to intermingle in local native water supplies.
Ocean Friendly Seafood Options: Some of the best choices for ocean friendly seafood include US raised Tilapia, Alaskan Salmon, and Walleye Pollock. For more information on which species are the best, and the worst, for ocean friendly seafood, checkout this list of ocean friendly seafood from Blue Ocean. You can also check out this great book for sustainable seafood recipes or download the handy seafood guide to help you in making smarter choices that will help to keep our oceans healthy and insure that seafood will be an option for us in the future.
