Sensible Choices, Sustainable Future - A Fish Story
CJ Hallberg of R-Vision provides consumers with tips on effecting the quality and health of the fish they consume at home and in restaurants. First published in 2001 by the Santa Cruz Guide this article has been updated with new information.
(PRWEB) November 19, 2004 -- In September of 2001, when this piece was first published in The Santa Cruz Guide, the author CJ Hallberg lived on one of the most abundant and beautiful bays in the world. The Monterey Bay is home to countless species of fish and wildlife. It is difficult while walking on the beach watching a sunset to imagine that there is anything finite about the surf and ocean beyond. How could anything as minor as a dinner choice affect something as powerful as the Pacific Ocean?
Yet these choices do make a difference as hallberg discovered. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UN FAO) http://www.fao.org/, which monitors worldwide food production, reports that nearly every commercial fish species is either "over-exploited," "fully exploited" or "depleted." Certain commercial fishing practices are creating pressures on ocean resources and threatening the ocean's health and life because indeed, as grand as it seems, the sea is a finite thing, and - like many seemingly strong things - is actually very vulnerable.
Everyone has a stake in ensuring a lasting, diverse seafood supply. Fishermen want to fish, yet jobs are being lost as fisheries are depleted. Restaurant goers crave seafood - eating about 15 pounds a year each - and restaurants want to meet that demand. According to Restaurants USA http://www.restaurant.org/healthsafety/mercury.cfm, seafood was the most popular appetizer selection on menus three years ago. It is difficult to imagine that this has changed in recent years, given the popularity of protein rich diets. By choosing fish wisely, consumer demand can create a more environmentally responsible marketplace.
The government was doing its part through the US Coast Guard http://www.uscg.mil/USCG.shtm in 2001. Ocean Guardian was the Coast Guard's Fisheries Law Enforcement Strategic Plan. It was their long-range strategy to provide effective enforcement in support of the national goals for fisheries resource management and conservation.
Research indicates that these goals of management and conservation no longer exist thanks to the restructuring that has occurred with the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, and the refocusing of national environmental policies in an era of turning a blind eye to environmental abuse and non-enforcement of national environmental protections.
This is not the place to go into all the details surrounding sustainable fisheries and commercial fishing practices. The point is there are actions we can take to assure access to the cornucopia of choices when it comes to seafood.
One of the marvelous and unique aspects of the Monterey Bay communities is that sustainable and environmentally sound practices are more accepted and easier to promote than in many communities. No matter where a person lives though, as consumers they have the ability to interact with local commercial seafood providers. They will catch and sell what the consumer asks for, and so it is up to the consumers to request that sustainable fishing is practiced. This is an issue that consumers, producers and retailers can all join in supporting.
There are resources such as the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Visit their Ocean Conservation Seafood Watch web pages http://www.mbayaq.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/sfw_resources.asp to learn more about politically correct seafood consumption. The Aquarium has done a tremendous job of putting together a list of seafood dos and don'ts that is updated on a regular basis.
Another great site to learn more about which fish to consume at home and in restaurants is the Seafood Choice Alliance http://www.seafoodchoices.com/index.html. This site is not specific to the Monterey Bay but it offers lots of good information and insight into the issues. The members of the Seafood Choice Alliance include the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations http://www.pcffa.org/.
When buying fish or other seafood at the market ask if they stock Marine Stewardship Council, or MSC http://www.msc.org/, labeled products. If your grocer doesn't know which fish are on the no serve list, ask her to find out by contacting the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch for information. Ask her to post the chart that Seafood Watch provides.
Ask these same questions in restaurants when ordering fish. Seafood Watch offers a wallet size card to use when out and about. Then talk about sustainable fish consumerism when you get those funny looks from your dinner companions.
It is up to us, as consumers, to make the demands that create the changes that bring us toward a sustainable future.
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