Have you ever enjoyed a seafood dinner and wondered if the fish you are eating is sustainable or endangered?  I think it’s confusing, especially because fish will come and go on the list.  That’s why I was surprised when writing my first fish recipe for On The Go Bites and I have a hard time finding an updated list of responsibly raised (if fish farm) or caught  (wild).

Are you surprised that I mention fish farms when talking about sustainable fish?  After all, the fish species can’t be endangered if the farms are growing that species, right?  It has to do with environmental impacts like pollution, disease and damage to coastal ecosystems.  And with close to half of the seafood you and I heat comes from fish farms, it’s important to buy from farms with good practices.

Responsible fisherman on the open seas avoid destructive fishing practices like dredging, trawling or any practice that results in significant bycatch (the other seafood that gets caught but was not the targeted species).  Good ways to catch fish are pole (like your Grandpa used to do…..or maybe you fish like that today), purse seine (a net to catch a school of fish like sardines), trolling (if you visit the beach for vacation you probably have seen Trawlers off the shore, an iconic scene) and trapping (think of our friend the lobster).

2017 Sustainable Fish List from Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch List

Best Choices For 2017 Sustainable Fish:  These fish should be your first choice, they are caught and farmed responsibly:

Arctic Char (farmed)
Barramundi (US & Vietnam farmed)
Bass: Striped (US hook and line, farmed)
Catfish (US)
Clams, Mussels & Oysters
Cod: Pacific (AK)
Crab: King, Snow & Tanner (AK)
Crab: Stone (US)
Crawfish (US farmed)
Lionfish (US)
Mahi Mahi (US handline)
Mullet: Striped (US)
Pompano (US)
Rockfish (AK, CA, OR & WA)
Salmon (AK & New Zealand)
Sardines:Pacific (Canada & US)
Shrimp (US farmed & AK)
Snapper: Mutton (US diver and handline)
Sturgeon (US farmed)
Tilapia (Canada, Ecuador, Peru & US)
Tuna: Albacore (troll, pole and line)
Tuna: Skipjack (Pacific troll, pole and line)
Wahoo (US Atlantic)
Wreckfish

Good Alternatives for 2017 Sustainable Fish:  Feel free to buy but there may be some concerns about how they are caught or raised

Branzino (Mediterranean farmed)
Conch (Belize, Nicaragua & US)
Crab: Dungeness (Canada & US)
Crawfish (LA wild)
Grouper: Black & Red (US)
Lobster (Bahamas, Canada & US)
Mahi Mahi (Ecuador & US longline)
Monkfish (US)
Octopus (Portugal & Spain pot, trap)
Scallops: Sea (wild)
Shrimp (Canada & US wild, Ecuador & Honduras farmed)
Skate: Winter (US)
Snapper (US)
Squid (Chile, Mexico & Peru & US)
Swordfish (US)
Tilapia (China, Columbia, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico & Taiwan)
Tuna: Albacore (US longline)
Tuna: Skipjack (free school, imported troll, pole and line, and US longline)
Tuna: Yellowfin (free school, troll, pole and line, US longline)

Avoid For 2017 Sustainable Fish: You have too many other great choices, avoid buying these species until they are taken off of the list

Conch (imported)
Crab (Asia & Russia)
Crawfish (China)
Lobster: Spiny (Belize, Brazil, Honduras & Nicaragua)
Mahi Mahi (imported)
Octopus: Common (Portugal & Spain trawl, Mexico)
Orange Roughy
Pompano (imported)
Salmon: Atlantic (farmed)
Sardines: Atlantic (Mediterranean)
Sharks
Shrimp (imported)
Snapper (Brazil)
Squid (China, India & Thailand)
Swordfish (imported longline)
Tuna: Albacore (imported except troll, pole and line)
Tuna: Bluefin
Tuna: Skipjack (imported purse seine)
Tuna: Yellowfin (longline except US)

 

 

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