Fishing for Sustainability:

Written by Adaire Hahn

Seafood consumers are facing a crisis of epic proportions as natural resources are being depleted faster then they are replenished. The deeper issue lies within Western culture’s consumer-driven nature and the “hoarding” instinct that hasn't ever been sated, still feeling empty. And yet, can a vice actually become a tool towards change? Looking into this, the tide may turn towards “eco-driven” decisions to become empowered “purchasers of change.”

Overfishing a species, factory trawling, and purse seines fishing practices not only wreak havoc upon precious oceanic life and underwater environment, but also spell decimation to local fishermen who are trying to keep their business afloat. When Canada failed to halt the over fishing of cod the collapse cost 40,000 fishermen their jobs. When bluefin tuna, which is approaching extinction, has been depleted will it again create an insatiable need to overfish another species to fill the void? Atlantic salmon and most of the tuna family has been fished to critical levels. In farm raised fish (aquaculture) eating higher on the food chain demands more fish to create each pound of fish for consumption. The Monterey Bay Aquarium estimates that more than 80 percent of the Pacific sardine catch is used to feed bluefin tuna raised in net pens. The problem: It takes at least seven to twenty-five pounds of fish to produce one pound of tuna; this is where consumer demand comes in. Interestingly enough, tuna was once considered an undesirable fish. It was introduced to the American palette in the late 60s as sardine numbers drastically declined due to over-fishing and the possibility that the sardine population is cyclical, running in a 40 year cycle. Due to the absence of  from the dinner plate, sardines  have re-grouped and come back to plentiful numbers.

It can be confusing to know which fish to eat, how to tell its origin, method of catch, and to glean all this information while simultaneously pulling my daughter away from the frozen desserts showcase across the aisle. Fortunately, information is readily available in travel size booklets from our helpful, “Eco-Heroes” Monterey Aquarium, Greenpeace, Marine Stewardship Council and other third party nonprofit groups who track and work with those that make their living by way of fishing, or selling and serving fish.

Monterey Aquarium's “Seafood Watch” has been lauded by many in the Environmental community for creating user friendly color coded awareness guides to eating fish: Best Choices (Green), Good Alternatives (Yellow), and Avoid (Red). These easy, pocket guides, as well as their free iPhone downloadable application, take a lot of the guesswork out of eating at restaurants and sushi bars, and shopping at grocery stores.

Another in-depth study by Greenpeace, Carting Away Our Oceans, created “report cards” for grocery chains and how they rate in compliance and progress in transparency in purchasing and presentation. Central Coast shoppers might be pleasantly surprised to find out how well our local progressive grocery stores stack up against seemingly progressive big-chain stores. It’s also eye-opening to find out how some grocery stores mislead the public by mis-labeling and misrepresenting seafood to pose as being responsible. FYI: orange roughy is on the “no-no” list, and there is no such animal as “white roughy”. In most cases, that’s catfish, but could mean a number of different fish most often caught around the globe in some less then desirable waters.

Local Seafood Stores are really putting out the message that they are on board with offering sustainable choices by following the “red, yellow, green” labeling codes outlined with Fish Wise. Avila and Morro Bay fishermen are working side by side with Nature Conservancy, finding new common ground in creating a strong local economy in Avila and Morro Bay, while protecting species and the environment.

Think Globally, Eat Locally!

Adaire will miss her Tuna-Melts dearly, and seeks creative and distracting ways of introducing 4-year-olds to sardines.