Sustainable Seafood: Tools of the Trade
Posted on | November 21, 2009 | No Comments
Now that we’ve had an introduction to sustainable seafood, it’s time to talk about tools that can help us with our decision making. Bear in mind, none of the resources listed in this article provides absolute truth. That’s impossible. The ocean and its fish populations are too complex to completely understand and too dynamic to track in real time. That being said, these tools are still extremely valuable.
SOP recommends a few books that contain a wealth of information about sustainable seafood. Paul Johnson dives deep into what makes seafood options sustainable or not in Fish Forever: The Definitive Guide to Understanding, Selecting, and Preparing Healthy, Delicious, and Environmentally Sustainable Seafood. The book is also chock full of great recipes for fish dishes you probably have not experienced before. Taras Grescoe takes us around the world to expose the good, bad, and ugly of the seafood industry in Bottomfeeder: How to Eat Ethically in a World of Vanishing Seafood. Casson Trenor thoroughly explains unsustainable sushi options and gives us alternatives that are good for you and the environment in Sustainable Sushi: A Guide to Saving the Oceans One Bite at a Time.
To date, the most popular sustainable seafood public education tool has been the wallet card, or pocket guide. Three organizations that offer these easily transported guides are Environmental Defense Fund, Blue Ocean Institute, and Monterey Bay Aquarium. You can download general seafood guides and sushi specific guides from their websites.
Now, let’s say you are stuck in a sustainable seafood emergency (bear with us here)! You are at a restaurant and have to make a decision whether to order the Pacific halibut or the bluefin tuna. You don’t have a book handy. You left the wallet card in the other purse. Don’t panic! Bust out your iPhone and download Monterey Bay Aquarium’s free Seafood Watch application to help inform your decision. Or, for those of us who don’t have a fancy iPhone, simply send a text message with “FISH” and the fish of interest to 30644. You’ll get an immediate response with information to help avert your sustainable seafood crisis.
New tools continue popping up as the movement grows. If you know of other useful resources, SOP would love to hear about them.
Tags: Blue Ocean Institute > book > Casson Trenor > Environmental Defense Fund > fish > Monterey Bay Aquarium > ocean > Paul Johnson > pocket guide > seafood > Seafood Watch > sushi > sustainable > Taras Grescoe
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