Fish to Avoid and Sustainable Seafood Guide

If you haven’t heard already, Greenpeace and its supporters celebrated an amazing policy-change victory with Costco that will affect not only your food supply at the chain of discount-food markets, but the sustainable purchasing decisions of other giant retailers such as Wal-Mart and SUPERVALU.

In this monumental shift to sustainable buying practices, the supermarket giant red-listed 12 varieties of fish that are in danger of being fished to extinction if we don’t stop harvesting them at our current rate:

Atlantic cod
Atlantic halibut
Chilean sea bass
Greenland halibut
Grouper
Monkfish
Orange roughy
Redfish
Shark
Skates and rays
Swordfish

Seventy five percent of worldwide fisheries are fully- or over-fished, which means not only are we eating too much of the fish, but that the fishing practices in those regions is damaging the rest of the aquatic environment. Take traditional dredge-harvesting of scallops, which often live in beds on the ocean floor. Trawl nets are used for gathering the scallops and the by-catch (fish and other sea creatures caught in the huge trawl nets scraping the ocean floor) can include yellowtail, flounder, skates, monkfish, sea turtles, and undersized scallops. By-catch is usually left to die in the process.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch All Areas Guide to best choices, good alternatives and fish to avoid is available online or in this handy sustainable seafood app, so you don’t have to memorize all the fish you’re not supposed to eat. Seafood Watch also has a sushi guide, and if you’re like me, you’re always on the lookout for sustainable restaurants, or ones whose menu items you know to be environmentally sustainable and friendly. Monterey Bay Aquarium has a restaurant program that lists environmentally responsible fishing and fish farming participants.

If you want to participate in swaying Wal-Mart, SUPERVALU and other large supermarket chains to purchase sustainable seafood, let your voice be heard via this Greenpeace letter and, “Tell Wal-Mart and SUPERVALU to clean up their act and save the oceans.”

Me, I’m going to go have an organic, free-range, from-a-happy-cow, grilled cheese sandwich for dinner.

-Jocelyn Broyles

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Valentina R.

9:52AM PDT on May 15, 2012

Very noted and appreciated, thanks.

send a green star

Walter G.

2:44PM PDT on Mar 30, 2011

How does one really, 100% confidently know what is being shoveled onto one's plate in a restaurant?

Victoria S.

10:29AM PDT on Mar 23, 2011

I rarelly get fish, but what I get is always sustainably obtained

Rachel R.

8:22PM PDT on Mar 16, 2011

Excellent news!

Michal C.

3:46AM PST on Mar 4, 2011

Thanks for sharing!!

Patti L.

9:59PM PST on Mar 3, 2011

As a person whose heart is in coastal Oregon, but whose body is in the high desert of New Mexico, I don't eat fish as often. But I know when I visit family we'll go down to the dock and buy fresh right off the boat. I also know that the family that harvests our fish use excellent practices for sustainability. If you prefer to be vegetarian or vegan that's fine too, as long as you don't make the mistake of thinking that you are not impacting the planet and costing the lives of living beings as well.

Elizabeth M.

4:59PM PST on Mar 3, 2011

Thanks for this post and also the list Greennii. Saved it!

Carol C.

2:35PM PST on Mar 3, 2011

Noted. Thank you.

Nancy P.

5:08AM PST on Mar 3, 2011

I am not into eating meat or fish but on another note...be aware that there are several companies; AF Protein, AquaAdvantage and AquaBounty that are trying to market a GM Salmon. This will be devastating to our oceans and rivers, it will destroy water ecosystems forever.

Danuta W.

2:05AM PST on Mar 3, 2011

Thanks for the info.