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Guide to Ocean Friendly Seafood

Discussion in 'Environmental Discussion' started by F8L, Mar 26, 2008.

  1. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    I saw one of these neat little fold-out wallet sized charts yesterday that details sustainable seafood choices. It lists different types of seafood and how sustainable their harvest is AND if they contain harmful levels of toxins. What I really liked about the chart is that is gave an explaination of WHY some of these items are not good to purchase. Since I cannot give each of you one of the charts I figure I could at least link you to a web version of the chart for viewing, printing, or simple reference. I bet if you were to contact the organization they would send some in the mail for you to give to friends and family.

    They are backed by the MSC (Marine Sterwardship Council) which is a very respectable organization for sustainable ocean harvest.

    Guide to Ocean Friendly Seafood

    Here is an example of what is on the page:
    [​IMG] FISH KEY
    [​IMG]Species is relatively abundant, and fishing/farming methods cause little damage to habitat and other wildlife.
    [​IMG]Some problems exist with this species' status or catch/farming methods, or information is insufficient for evaluating.
    [​IMG]Species has a combination of problems such as overfishing, high bycatch, and poor management; or farming methods have serious environmental impacts.
    [​IMG]Species is certified as a best environmental choice by the Marine Stewardship Council. Learn more at www.msc.org.MSCI0239
    [​IMG]These fish contain levels of mercury or PCBs that may pose a health risk to adults and children. Please refer to www.EnvironmentalDefense.org/seafood for more details.




    [​IMG]Atlantic Bluefin Tuna
    Exploited heavily for decades, the West Atlantic Bluefin Tuna population is Critically Endangered, and the East Atlantic population is Endangered. Fishers use surface gears, such as pole-and-line, harpoon, trap, longline, and purse-seine gears to target this highly valuable species. These gear types have low impact on habitat. Little is known about bycatch associated with directed Atlantic Bluefin Tuna purse-seine fisheries, but tuna longline fisheries catch high numbers of finfish, sea turtles, and marine mammals.[​IMG]Chilean Sea Bass
    Really named Patagonian Toothfish, high demand for this naturally long-lived fish drives depletion and creates an incentive for illegal and unregulated fishing. Incidental catch of seabirds in Toothfish longlines jeopardizes populations of albatrosses and petrels. The small South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands fishery for Patagonian Toothfish has been certified as environmentally sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council.
     
  2. Proco

    Proco Senior Member

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    [​IMG]

    This is great and will really come in handy for me & my wife.
     
  3. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    Cool, thanks for sharing this. We're pretty careful about mercury with the kids, but I can never remember which fish have high mercury content (the ones that live a long time before caught).
     
  4. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    Oh, great opportunity for my favorite new smiley!
    :fish:
     
  5. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    NP guys :)

    A lot of PC members post up great information that I utilize so I like to try and return the favor!

    Evan, that is terrible. It reminded me of The Knights who say Ni! (wav. file) :p
     
  6. Sufferin' Prius Envy

    Sufferin' Prius Envy Platinum Member

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    Waaaaaahhhhh . . . .

    The article doesn't mention Abalone . . .

    for which a black market exists.
     
  7. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    I think that is because no one really sells it do they? It would be akin to them listing Blue Whale or Leafy Seadragons. haha
     
  8. FL_Prius_Driver

    FL_Prius_Driver Senior Member

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    This is a good list, but there is one big issue that I have with it. Refusing to eat a certain fish because it is overfished does not work. Only legislation, economics, and restrictions work. (i.e. making someone feel guilty for eating tuna makes them feel guilty, it does NOTHING to save the tuna.) What fisherman do not sell to local restaurants they sell to exporters, fish farms, or processors. (That market is ALWAYS present.) Then they go out and try to catch the maximum they can....again. I like (and eat) grouper and realize that the sustainability is entirely in the hands of the impending inceases and extensions of the present ban. So I have cast my vote for every overfishing ban I can vote for. (So far these have been successful!)

    Eat the fish you like, legally.....and VOTE for every person and initiative that can move to sustainability.
     
  9. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    Will have to respectfully disagree in that by eating whatever you want you create more of a market for that item. It is quite simple in that respect. I do agree with legislation but if there is not a demand for a product then then there will be less opposition from corporate lobbyists who want to continue oceananic imports/exports. To be most effective it comes down to the consumer to stop consuming AND voting for regulatory action. :)

    Your line of reasoning sounds like an act of justification to eat whatever you want regardless of consequences. If eating Yangtze River Dolphin or Panda was legal would you still do it if it tasted good? :) Sometimes we have to act in ethical ways even if regulations have not caught up to our knowledge of a situation. :)
     
  10. FL_Prius_Driver

    FL_Prius_Driver Senior Member

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    You missed the point. To reduce fishing, you need to reduce fishing, not eating. In a world of 6 billion, there will never be a reduction in the market for ANY edible fish. If it swims and has fins, it's worth money. The only way to reduce fishing is by active measures that restrict it. I have been to quite a few fishing centers (FL, AK, CA, CT) and the story is the same everywhere, the limitation is on the supply, not the demand (if edible by humans). I am not advocating being irresponsible, I am pointing out that recommendations to "not eat" will "help restore the fish" is misleading advice.

    Yes, it would be irresponsible to eat Yangtze River Dolphin or Panda, but if these can be served as food, then they are history....so the only way to save them is to not allow them to be food.
     
  11. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    I still disagree. I understand your point but I think it missed the mark. Demand is very important to be sure although I will admit that the marketing people often create demand artificially (think Chilean Sea Bass) by creating fancy names and locations for their product and in effect selling more on status than on taste. A demand is a demand no matter how you look at it. When the huge sushi explosion happend in the U.S. does it not stand to reason that there was an increase in tuna harvest? I guess we will have to disagree on consumption not having an impact on fisheries then because I do not see how it could not, especially after having had similar conversations with Dept. of Fish and Game/U.S. Fish and Wildlife officials when I was taking those classes and similar discusions with biologists. Not that my information is any more legit than yours but your opnion doesn't quit add up given the data I've seen. :( Sorry if this came across disrespectful, it is not meant that way.
     
  12. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    I agree with both of these points to be sure. I feel that a reduction in demand plays a large part in getting those resictions put into place. Again it comes down to corporations and their lobbyists. If they think they can stand to make a few more billion by staving off regulations for a few more years while they exhaust a supply and demand top dollar for that supply don't you think they will have no problem paying lobbyists to throw up smoke screens to delay regulation?
     
  13. FL_Prius_Driver

    FL_Prius_Driver Senior Member

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    First - There is a big difference between disrespectful vs open discussions. This is open and honest.

    Second - Consumption could have an impact, but only if it decreased by huge amounts. I have not seen (have you?) where the consumption of any fish has gone down voluntarily. It would be nice if it did, or something could be done to make it happen, but in the meantime, many loosely regulated stocks are plummeting and the tightly regulated stocks vary greatly in recovery.

    The one event that has made me track this issue over the last 10 years was the total and complete destruction or the Northwest Cod fisheries around 1992. That event, and all the other fishery actions (good and bad) since, made it clear that demand side approaches do not work, but fish stock management approaches do work.
     
  14. livelychick

    livelychick Missin' My Prius

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    Thanks so much, F8L. This is fab. I eat Orange Roughy about once a week...I had no idea about the mercury content or environmental effects...wow.
     
  15. Sufferin' Prius Envy

    Sufferin' Prius Envy Platinum Member

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    If Blue Whale or Leafy Seadragons were worth more than $50 per pound and not easily obtainable, like abalone, guaranteed there would be a black market for them too. Apparently you didn't even skim either of my links. :rolleyes:
     
  16. Godiva

    Godiva AmeriKan Citizen

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    You can forget about wild salmon from the west coast this year too. Probably next year as well.

    Look for artisan farm raised salmon. Expensive but they're feed krill so they have pink flesh and taste, rather than the cheaper stuff that is fed dye to make it pink and lacks flavor.

    I heard this on NPR today.
     
  17. Pentax

    Pentax New Member

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    If you would like to see examples where consumer demand did decline due to public education and the public's concerted effort, look no farther than Chilean sea bass, swordfish, and Caspian Sea sturgeon. Both your instincts are right: reducing demand can (and hopefully will more and more) play a significant role in conservation, but ultimately it is not a substitute for good fishery managment. You need a holistic approach, especially at a time when most scientists argee that ~ 60-70% of the world's fish stocks are at maximum levels of exploitation or beyond. The oceans are starting to get way more attention, so I'm hopeful that we can avert the dire predictions of a global fisheries collapse around 2040.

    Also, as a sea turtle biologist, I disagree with that particular seafood card. There are no good sources for swordfish (other than harpoon-caught!) that adequately protect the world's imperiled sea turtle populations. Longlines and sea turtles just don't mix. There is also an petition to ban the foriegn import of swordfish (which is already outlawed under the Marine Mammal Protection Act). Foriegn sources are particularly bad, so I'd encourage all of you to check it out.
     
  18. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    We are in agreement with regulations and management. :)


    Livelychick, thank you for reading it. :)

    Suferin' Prius Envy, Somehow I did not realize they were links. I'm sick and have been pretty loopy all day. lol I'll check em out. I am well aware of black markets for endangered species though. We spent 2 weeks on the subject and watch some pretty horrifying videos detailing the asian markets in particular. Our instructors were current and former Deputies of the CA. Dept. of Fish and Game and they ran the DFG "Special Operations Unit" and Delta-Bay Enhancement Enforcement (DBEEP) so it was really informative considering we were hearing first-hand experiences with abalone poachers. :)

    Godiva, The farm raised salmon raise a bunch of other issues as well and are generally considered unsustainable when feed other fish and due to antibiotic treatments and gentics issues they are not generally a good choice. :( The alternative is grain fed salmon but then you end up with a bad omega-6 to omega-3 ratio again so what are we to do? :confused: Unless the process you are talking about is different than the type of farming I am thinking of.

    Pentax, Maybe you should write an email to the organization hosting the chart so they can posiibly modify the rating on Swordfish. They did list how Swordfish are caught and what species are unintentional victims but maybe they gave it a "yellow" score because regulations are requring different capture methods?
     
  19. Rae Vynn

    Rae Vynn Artist In Residence

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  20. FL_Prius_Driver

    FL_Prius_Driver Senior Member

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    Welcome to the discussion. You must let us know what needs to be done (beyond what you just described) to help the sea turtle survive.

    I've actually looked at Patagonian Toothfish recovery efforts last year and have not noticed a decrease in demand, but a big decrease in availability. One reason is the Australian Government capture of poachers has made a difference. There actually is a detailed book of the following episode: CDNN Eco News :: Australia Holds Patagonia Toothfish Pirates After Chase. As you can see, there was a market in South America.