Seriously Off the Hook: Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch

Finding truly sustainable fish is difficult: not only is the fishing process completely opaque to the average consumer buying their fish from their local grocery store, on top of that there is a strong likelihood of that fish–that you perhaps think is a sustainable species to eat–being both unintentionally or intentionally mislabeled. 

The Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch site defines sustainability by three core principles: environmentally protected, socially responsible and economically viable. So, when the Aquarium gives its sign of green-approval it is considering all three elements of environment, people and economy. 

The Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch site also outlines the standards for evaluation in three more  categories: Aquaculture (any aquatic organism: molluscs, plants, fish, crustaceans), Fisheries and Salmon Fisheries.

The website also differentiates based on demand: recommending sustainable fish and locations for the individual and recommending equally sustainable products for businesses to buy into.

For individual consumers, the MB Seafood Watch site has a “Recommendations” feature that allows you to type in the type of fish you are looking to buy, and it will tell you which species are sustainable to eat.

Once the Monterey Bay Aquarium “hooks” you on sustainable seafood, they have lists of their ongoing projects showing their commitment to improving our fishing and farming systems around the world. For example, market success with sustainable shrimp in Thailand will help the United States find its way to sustainably farming shrimp.