We have literally fished the ocean to unsustainable levels. Most of the seafood we buy in the supermarket is farmed in Asia or South America then shipped to the U.S. Few weeks ago I read the “all you can eat” article in my American Best Science Writings of 2010 book and it’s pretty scary; shrimps are farmed in large ponds frequently containing illegal amounts of antibiotics and sometimes other toxic chemicals. There is dumping of these pond wastes into the ocean and destruction of ecosystems to accommodate these large farms all to meet the high market demand. The same article also provides the example of how Red Lobster is able to offer you all you can eat shrimp for only a few dollars and it’s not pretty. Next time you find yourself in a restaurant where you can have seafood for a really cheap price, ask yourself where did this seafood come from? And, how was it raised?
This may be a long post for you but I truly believe it is worth 10 minutes of your time to read about this very important topic. As a person who does not eat red meat or poultry, seafood constitutes a great portion of my diet but I never know where the seafood is coming from or whether my choices hurt the environment. In particular, I won’t be eating octopus as frequently anymore, and I will be more conscious of my sushi options. This post gives you a brief summary of some of the best choices when it comes to different types of commonly sold seafood. There is also an iPhone application you can use when you are shopping at the supermarket. It has easy to read tables and lists of Best, Avoid, and Sustainable options.
The Seafood Watch program helps consumers and businesses make sustainable choices when it comes to buying seafood. It raises consumer awareness through pocket guides, website, mobile applications and outreach efforts.
About Seafood Watch:
http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/sfw_aboutsfw.aspx?c=ln
You can download the pocket guide for North East Guide here: http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/content/media/MBA_SeafoodWatch_NortheastGuide.pdf
North East Guide for Various Seafood Options:
Octopus
As a semi-frecuent octopus eater, I found the following information about best octopus choises:
Common Octopus
The common octopus is a popular sushi item where it is sold under the Japanese name tako. Due to heavy fishing pressure (current and past), habitat damage caused by the fishing gear, and a lack of fishery management, we recommend consumers "Avoid" octopus used in sushi.
Consumer Note
The octopus found in American sushi restaurants is generally the common octopus, Octopus vulgaris. However, it is rare for octopus to be listed by species on menus and, at times, other species are also marketed as common octopus. Another menu offering might be “baby octopus” which could either be a juvenile common octopus or an adult octopus of a smaller species. What is clear is that it can be very difficult to determine what octopus one is eating. Tako is available year-round and served in a variety of forms including: live, fresh, dried, frozen, cured, salted, and brined.
As its name implies, common octopus is found in numerous oceans. Worldwide, the species and its fisheries suffer from a lack of solid information and little or no fishery management.
Common octopus has a short life span and produces many offspring – characteristics that typically help make a species resilient to fishing pressure. However, there are very little population data for any of the octopus fisheries that contribute to the U.S. sushi market. This is especially true of the fisheries in Vietnam and Mauritania, which are known to be heavily fished.
Most common octopus is caught in bottom trawl fisheries, which have moderate levels of bycatch of non-target species. The overall impact of these fisheries on the ecosystem and habitat is not well understood, but bottom trawling is known to heavily disrupt sensitive seafloor habitats.
Little is known about the overall effectiveness of the developing fishery management programs in Morocco, and management in Mauritania and Vietnam is poor.
Overall, we recommend to
"Avoid" common octopus/tako.
Octopus, Hawaii
Octopuses are fast growing and produce numerous offspring. These traits, combined with a sustainable fishing method, make Hawaiian octopus a “Good Alternative.”
Summary
In Hawaii, octopus is mostly caught by spearfishing or by lure-and-line, where a lure with many hidden hooks is used to snare octopuses when they pounce. There is little bycatch associated with this technique.
There is limited management of octopus fisheries in Hawaiian waters so it’s unclear if octopuses are being overfished. It’s also extremely difficult to determine the population status of octopuses, as they hide in crevices and are masters of camouflage.
Only a fraction of the octopuses sold in Hawaii are caught locally. Octopuses caught in other parts of the world are often caught in bottom trawls, where nets are dragged across the seafloor. Trawling is problematic, causing habitat damage and catching large quantities of bycatch.
Seafood Watch Scientific Report about their findings: http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/content/media/MBA_SeafoodWatch_TakoOctopusReport.pdf
Tuna:
Tuna are the Olympians of the sea—fast, efficient swimmers able to reach speeds of 50 miles an hour and cross ocean basins. These magnificent animals are also tasty and bluefin tuna belly is prized by sushi eaters around the world for its rich flavor and texture. Sadly, our appetite for this delicacy has led to high prices, overfishing and the near collapse of bluefin populations worldwide.
What You Can Do:
Avoid ordering
Bluefin tuna.
Try
albacore tuna
(shiro maguro) instead; it tastes similar and is a best choice when troll caught in the US or Canada.
Consumer Note
Common Market Names:
Kuromaguro, Atun de aleta azul, Thon rouge, Horse mackerel.
Health Alert
Environmental Defense Fund has issued a health advisory for
bluefin tuna due to elevated levels of mercury.
Summary
Avoid bluefin tuna—they're severely overfished and fishing gear used to catch them entangle sea turtles, seabirds and sharks and endanger their populations.
Bluefin tuna provide the world’s most valuable sushi and the high demand for this fish has taken its toll. The
Atlantic population has declined by nearly 90% since the 1970s. Bluefin are slow to mature and, unfortunately, many young fishes are caught before they have the chance to reproduce.
Fishermen use a variety of methods to catch bluefin tuna, including longlines and purse seines. Even when they’re “dolphin-safe,” purse seines catch tons of unwanted fishes and other animals, called bycatch. Longlines entangle and kill sea turtles and other marine life.
Bluefin are caught in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and in the Mediterranean Sea. More than 31 nations, including the U.S. and Japan, are trying to manage these highly migratory species.
Sushi Guide: http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/sfw_sushi.aspx
and finally
Let your chef know that you prefer sustainable seafood.
*I would like to thank Julie Lulek for sharing her Seafood Watch Pocket Guide-Hawaii and introducing me to this topic and organization. **
