Misleading Eco-labels on Seafood Muddy the Waters on Sustainable Fishing

Looking to buy a filet of fish for your evening meal but forgot your wallet guide to sustainable seafood? Well, don’t depend on the labels at the seafood counter or on the package to tell you if your dinner is environmentally-friendly or not, says Food & Water Watch in a new report on seafood labeling.

“People often think that if they buy seafood with an eco-label, it’s automatically a good choice,” said Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch. But it’s not so simple, according to Hauter.

Eco-labels and terms like “sustainably harvested” or “environmentally produced” might seem great to an environmentally conscientious consumer, but there’s no regulated definition of those terms or national standard for certifying a fishery or seafood producer as sustainable. The many competing, private eco-certification labels for seafood can simply add confusion at the seafood counter.

“Consumers aren’t told that these labels often have a ‘pay to play’ aspect,” said Marianne Cufone, director of Food & Water Watch’s fish program. “We need government standards,” Hauter explained. “And they need to be rigorous so consumers can make truly informed decisions about what seafood to buy.”

The consumer advocacy group is calling on the federal government must step up and offer consumers more meaningful ways to judge whether the seafood they buy is environmentally and socially responsible by: a) extending country of origin labeling to all seafood, not just packaged seafood; b) establishing USDA “certified organic” standards for seafood; and c) establishing a program to define and verify seafood labeling claims.

Read the report: De-Coding Seafood Eco-Labels: Why We Need Public Standards, which compares existing private certifications, including those of The Marine Stewardship Council, Global Aquaculture Alliance, and Friends of the Sea. In it, Food & Water Watch explains why private eco-labels are not adequate indicators of sustainable seafood choices for consumers, restaurants or retailers.

Take action: Choose your seafood well with Food & Water Watch’s Smart Seafood Guide

Read more: eco-label, fishing, real food, seafood, sustainable seafood

Seafood grocery department photo by Flickr user vcalzone

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
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Masha S.

3:42PM PDT on May 17, 2011

thanks

send a green star

Garret M.

7:10AM PST on Dec 28, 2010

ugh

Lynne C.

8:33AM PST on Dec 23, 2010

When will companies step up to the plate and just do the right thing? Why does it have to take regulation laws to make that happen?

Esther Z.

8:12PM PST on Dec 21, 2010

Thanks for posting.

Colin H.

8:07AM PST on Dec 21, 2010

Noted!!

Sumit j.

10:56PM PST on Dec 20, 2010

THANKS

Alec S.

10:41PM PST on Dec 19, 2010

I think this simply shows how education is the most powerfully transformative tool and solution.

Victoria D.

2:39PM PST on Dec 19, 2010

I just wish that people/corporations would quit trying to deceive everyone. Do they not see we need to fix the true problem, which is over fishing faster than the fish can reproduce. Money won't be able to feed them if there isn't anything left to eat...

Emma F.

10:29AM PST on Dec 19, 2010

How disappointing. I used to think the government would take care of me and protect me from things like this. How sadly mistaken I was

Yvette T.

10:21AM PST on Dec 19, 2010

There is nothing "sustainable" when it comes to destroying life. Sentient beings, fish, bird, cows, chickens, pigs, all animals...are the same as we: feeling, conscious, intelligent, spiritual parts of the whole. However, it is only the human who is making the wrong decision to cut off life, to pollute, consume, toxify, cause misery to this entire planet and her children. We must restore good karma by making the choice, the only right choice, to follow the true teachings found in all spiritual texts and eat vegetarian, meditate, try to open the third eye region and listen to the inner vibration or 'Word'. the inner sound is that which sustains all in creation and is all within and without. There is nothing that is not a part of this...Om, Logos, Aum, Amen, Aum, Tao, Hu, Name, Music of the Spheres, Living Water...etc. Vegetarain living is the most crucial tenet of every Master who comes in to remind us of these truths. We can not ignore them.