Thoughts for Food

   

"Fish are Friends not Food" 

Switching to Sustainable Seafood

      If you ask my freinds what my favorite thing to do is they will all say the same thing. Its no secret I LOVE TO FISH. There is something exciting about fishing. Getting a fish to bite is like solving a puzzle. For me the biggest reward is reeling in the fish for a picture, then watching it swim away. This is how most of my catches go but a select few fish don't end up swimming away. These fish end up coming home for the dinner table.
      Nothing taste better than fresh fish, whether you caught it yourself or bought it from the store. I lived most of my life just eating these fish and enjoying how good they tasted. I wasn't thinking about where the fish in the store came from or how they got caught. I was just enjoying. That is until my senior year of high school when I witnessed something that hurt me pretty bad. A video called The End of the Line: Imagine a World without Fish. I now had answers to my questions and they were not what I wanted to hear.

    The thing I loved most could be completely destroyed. Some species of fish that I had caught might be extinct in a matter of years, gone forever, never to be caught by the next generation. According to The End of the Line documentary there is only one solution and it lies in the hands of consumers. We have to change our diet to only include fish harvested sustainably. The first step is to learn what methods of fishing are considerd to be sustainable. 

     The Marine Conservation Society and the Monterey Bay Aquarium list several fishing practices and their effects. A summary can be seen in the table below. Note that several methods involve by-catch. By-catch is the name given to the species that are caught along with the target species. By-catch it typically thrown back into the ocean already dead and wasted. This is one of the main issues with several of the methods listed below.

Method	Description	Effect
Trawling	Large weighted nets are drug along the seafloor.	Vast expanses of seafloor are disturbed. The practice also results in a lot of by-catch.
Dive caught	Divers go to the ocean floor and hand select lobsters, clams, and other seafood.	One of the most selective forms of fishing with low by-catch and minimal impact.
Drift Net	Large floating nets used to capture fish in the upper part of the water column.	Banned for use. Very deadly for marine mammals that get caught in the nets and drown.
Gill Net	Large nets with varying gap sizes. fish of the right side swim into the net, catching their gills between the mesh.	Pose a particular problem for dolphins and porpoises. Can also trap and kill other non-target species such as sharks and turtles.
Trolling	A boat pulls baits through the water to catch certain species.	By-catch is virtually nonexistent with this method because fish can be released unharmed if not desired. Trolling is an environmentally responsible practice.
Dredging	Used to harvest shellfish, a large metal basket is drug along the seafloor.	Significant by-catch along with damage to the seafloor results from dredging.
Hardline	Hooks and line are used to catch fish.	More selective because the species and size of the catch can be determined by the bait used and hook size.
Long Line	A long line, up to 50 km long, with thousands of baited hooks is set out in the ocean.	Although selective in the species of fish caught long lines are very dangerous to seabirds that attempt to eat the bait and end up drowning. Turtles and sharks are also caught by long lines.
Pelagic Trawl	Large nets, up to a mile wide, are towed through the water column.	This practice devastates marine mammals that become caught in the large nets.
Purse Seining	Large nets are used to circle schooling fish and then drawn closed.	Not a highly destructive method but can trap marine mammals feeding on the schooling fish.
Poison/Explosives	Cyanide and pesticides are used to stun or kill fish. Primarily poison is used to collect fish for aquarium trade. Explosives are used under water to kill target species.	Extremely deadly to both non-target species of fish but also large areas of coral.

*Green checks are a sustainable practice.

*Blue checks are practices that can be sustainable in certain areas if done properly.

*Red X's are not sustainable and should be avoided.

      At the store it is important to ask what method was used to catch the fish/shellfish. It is also important to note the species itself. Some fish are not sustainable no matter which method of fishing was used to collect them. There are several buyers guides to seafood found online. Pocket guides can also be found at aquariums and zoos along with some stores. One of the primary authorities on choosing sustainable seafood is the Monterey Bay Aquarium. 

Photo by: Sid Hoover
The Monterey Bay consumption pocket book
available in the Columbus Zoo Aquarium.

Photo by: Sid Hoover
Inside the guide is a list of common seafood and sustainability advice.

      A good seafood vendor will have the species listed along with method of catch as well as origin of catch. To examine seafood buying first hand I made a trip to the North Market in downtown Columbus. Here the Fish Guys sell fresh fish daily. The method of catch was not listed. It was only noted if the fish was wild caught or farm raised.  

Photo by: Sid Hoover
Notice the certified sustainable Sea Bass.

Photo by: Sid Hoover
When buying shellfish be sure to find out the catch method.

Photo by: Sid Hoover
Rainbow trout, catfish, and tilapia (right three treys) are all good purchases as they are responsibly farmed.  

Photo by: Sid Hoover
Farmed salmon (seen on the right) may be an item to avoid.

      This brings us to the final piece of the puzzle that is buying sustainable seafood, farming. As a costumer farm raised fish sound like an excellent idea, good for the environment, sustainable, no by-catch, no seafloor destruction etc. Unfortunately it's not that easy. Some species of farm raised fish such as rainbow trout and catfish do fit this mold however, farm raised salmon fall at the opposite end of the spectrum. According to the Huffington Post and Monterey Bay Aquarium  salmon and other species raised in open net pens in costal waters can have a high impact on the environment. Waste flows freely at high densities out of the pen into the surroundings. The pen raised fish may also spread parasites and diseases to the native species. The biggest issue with farm raised fish is feeding them. The Huffington reports that for every pound of salmon farmed it takes 2 to 5 lbs. of smaller fish to feed the salmon. Theses smaller fish, usually anchovies or sardines are captured using gill nets, pelagic trawls, and other methods listed in the chart above. Farming fish in tanks or separate ponds can prevent some of these problems but not all of them.
     Another type of seafood farming, shrimp farming is equally devastating but in different manors. Shrimp farming involves growing the shrimp in coastal waters. Monterey Bay reports an estimated 3.7 million acres of coastal habitat particularly mangrove swamps have been destroyed for shrimp farming. This habitat is specifically important to several fish and bird species. It is also important because it protects the shoreline from storms and high water.


At this point you may be mad because you think that your seafood eating days are over. Don't worry we don't need to completely stop eating  fish we just need to make smarter consumer decisions. Make sure you ask for the species of fish, and the method and origin of catch when purchasing seafood. Also be sure to look for seals from the Marine Stewardship Council and other organizations that certify fish as sustainable. Remember these things and become responsible seafood purchaser.

Photo by: Sid Hoover
Look for certified sustainability like this when purchasing.