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ShareGo Fish?At a recent lunch meeting in the NonProfit Center, caterers presented delicious lunch items that included a mix suitable for meat-eaters, vegetarians and vegans: an intentionally inclusive menu. Yet as we passed each food tray, a coworker commented that nearly every offering included ingredients that were environmentally or socially in conflict with the center’s mission to be the home for progressive social change. Case in point: the salmon. We’ve talked about meat before, but what about fish? Is it possible to eat salmon–or more broadly fish–while staying true to environmental and social commitments? Recent estimates indicate that while we are generally eating less seafood, our consumption is still among the highest in the world. In 2009 the average American adult ate 15.8 pounds of fish and shellfish, and collectively we consumed over 4.8 billion pounds – third only to China and Japan. Is Eating Fish Sustainable? Maybe, Sometimes.The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Program provides a boatload of data for fish consumers who want to explore the issues. As explained through the Seafood Watch website, about half of all seafood eaten in the United States is farm-raised (aquaculture) and half is caught in the wild.
For both wild and farm-raised fish, management systems are also listed as key issues as complex strategies are designed to affect problems while accounting for the realities of the commercial fishing industry. Knowing this is a lot for anyone take in, Seafood Watch created an easy-to-read Pocket Guide and Mobile Guide App to rank different fish from green (best) to yellow (good) to red (avoid). But Wait, There’s More…In addition to the issues above, there is also a host of other environmental and health concerns related to toxic pollutants found in fish, specifically mercury, PCBs, chlordane, dioxins and DDT. In 2004, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration created recommendations about fish consumption for women of childbearing age, women who are pregnant or nursing, and young children. More recently, on January 31, 2011, the U.S. Department of Agriculture recommended that adults eat at least 8 ounces of fish each week to reduce the risk of heart disease and gain the benefits of Omega-3 fatty acids and other nutrients; the health benefits of eating fish were determined to outweigh the risks. Also important is the desire to support the local economy and purchase local fish from local fishermen. In 2009, 84% of fish consumed in the United States was imported. Contrasting this high import rate, local fish cooperatives are growing in popularity to allow consumers to purchase fish directly from local sources. The Cape Ann Fresh Catch Community Supported Fishery(CSF) in Gloucester, Mass., delivers weekly shares of fresh fish to many locations. The intention is to benefit consumers, fishermen and the local economy, and the environment or as the Fresh Catch’s tagline succinctly describes, to provide “local, sustainably-caught, wicked-fresh seafood.” In the Spring 2010 edition of Edible Boston, Roz Cummin’s article, “Cape Anne Fresh Catch: The Pescavore’s Dilemma,” Questions to AskThis quick review of the issues left me wondering, how is anyone supposed to make an informed choice about whether or not to eat fish? While I certainly do not have a definitive answer, I do have the beginnings of a strategy: to ask questions before purchasing or ordering fish in the future.
Admittedly, this is an over-simplified snapshot of the many issues brought up when considering fish as food. But similar to other facets of everyday life, a simple decision is nothing but. More resources:
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