Pocket Guide to Good Fish Choices
by Bonnie Alter, London on 11.30.06
It is hard to keep track of which fish are endangered and overfished and should be avoided and those which can be eaten with a clear conscience. When confronted with an array at the supermarket or on a restaurant menu, one panics and goes for the familiar….cod or salmon. A bad or good choice? Here is an easy solution to the dilemma: this handy little pocket guide, about the size of a business card, that lists the details of which fish to eat and which not to. Published by the Marine Conservation Society, this leaflet and the larger, more informative website Fishonline, helps consumers to choose fish that are from healthy and responsibly managed sources and are caught using methods that cause the least damage to the environment. The site provides differing levels of detail including pictures of the fish, reasons to avoid, and advice about purchases. So about that cod: if it is from the Pacific, it's o.k., but if it is from the Atlantic, where the stocks are depleted, then it is a no no. It’s easy to make the right choice, when you have the right information. :: Fishonline
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
- Ten Things to Eat Before They Die
- Find a Green Restaurant Wherever You Go
- Green Your Company's Warehouse
- 3 Amazing, Galapagos-Only Birds Possibly Headed for Extinction
fyi the link to download the leaflet is:
http://www.fishonline.org/information/MCSPocket_Good_Fish_Guide.pdf
Fishonline's a good guide. It doesn't say anything about milkfish though, which I must admit I really enjoy consuming.
For Australian seafood lovers - the Australian Marine Conservation Society puts out a sustainable seafood guide, which you can order from their website: http://www.amcs.org.au/
I'm much more inclined to trust the Monterey Bay Aquarium's SeaFood Watch cards/website instead.
This is not new. The Blue Ocean Institute, the Seafood Choices Alliance and the Monterey Bay Aquarium all offer seafood guides online and in printable (or printed) pocket versions. The Monterey Bay Aquarium offers regional guides for the United States and offers the guide in Spanish. Blue Ocean is in the process of updating their book version with recipes, the Seafood Lovers Almanac.