Fish for the Future

The Sustainable Seafood Initiative, based in Charleston, SC, is just one of many organizations devoted to lessening the impact we have on the oceans by making wise seafood choices and encouraging improvement of fishing and fish-farming methods. However, if you are like me, it is hard to know which seafood to buy and which ones to avoid. There are so many questions… Why limit what fish you can eat? How do we decide what fish? What is Sustainable Seafood?

Here are a few tools to answer all those questions and make a trip to the grocery store or a restaurant much easier!

1. Seafood Watch is a web-site that tells you which seafood is safe to purchase.
2. You can download a free pocket guide for any area in The United States. (I am printing and laminating some of these to add to some adult Easter baskets.)
3. Download the FREE iPhone application to know what to do when you are at a restaurant or buying fish at the store.

Lots of aquariums (Monterey Bay Aquarium, South Carolina Aquarium, Georgia Aquarium, etc.) sponsor organizations that support sustainable seafood practices. Check your local aquarium for more information. In addition, these organizations offer recommendations for restaurants that support sustainable seafood efforts. Being informed as chefs and consumers, we can choose seafood from better managed fisheries to minimize our impact on the environment. When you buy locally-captured seafood that is caught responsibly, you are supporting the local economy and sustainable seafood. Let’s all become seafood savvy!!

photos from Kim Vallee and Seafood Watch