COLUMN: Seafood choices affect your health and the planet
I love seafood. While living in Hawaii last summer, I became addicted to it. That’s why I was dismayed to learn recently that the choices I make at my grocery store’s seafood counter and in restaurants may be bad for the environment and bad for me. Fortunately, there’s something I can do about it.
Each year, millions of fish are caught and killed to satisfy an ever-growing world population and their love and need for seafood. The problem with this is that some species of fish are caught in ways that ultimately hurt fish populations and the ecosystems of the oceans. Some fish populations are harvested at rates faster than they can be replaced, resulting in over-fishing. Millions of fish die each year, labeled as bycatch (the catching of marine animals unintentionally). The Monterey Bay Aquarium estimates that for each pound of shrimp caught in a trawl net, an average of 2 to 10 pounds of other marine life is caught and discarded overboard as bycatch. In addition, it is estimated that 25 percent of fish caught worldwide are thrown away. This bycatch includes mammals and reptiles, such as dolphins, sea turtles, seals and even whales.
The world’s fisheries are being degraded, not only by over-fishing, but also through the destruction of the marine environment. Our fishing methods are destroying ocean habitat as well. A fishing practice known as dredging (dragging a large metal crate along the bottom of the seafloor to catch bottom-dwelling fish and shellfish) is a common technique. This practice destroys animals and the habitat on which they depend.
There are also health concerns for those who eat seafood. Many larger carnivorous fish now have high levels of mercury, a toxic metal that exists naturally in the environment. Mercury enters our rivers, streams, lakes and oceans through rain and water runoff. The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) states, “Bacteria can then convert (mercury) to an organic form called methylmercury – the form that is dangerous to people. Although mercury levels are almost always low in water bodies, methylmercury biomagnifies up the food chain.”
For this reason, larger predatory fish like swordfish and shark have high mercury levels. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) advise women who may become pregnant, pregnant women, nursing mothers and young children to avoid some types of fish and eat fish and shellfish that are lower in mercury. According to the EDF, “Mercury concentrations in fish can be 1 to 10 million times the mercury concentration in the water.” These larger fish – such as shark, swordfish, king mackerel, marlin, shad, bluefish and blue fin tuna – often contain unhealthy amounts of mercury.
These issues are disheartening, but there are things you can do to help.
1. Understand which seafood is or is not a good choice. Go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Web site, www.mbayaq.org/cr/seafoodwatch.asp. You can find up-to-date information about these issues-and more-here.
2. Get a free Seafood Watch pocket guide that explains which seafood is caught or farmed in environmentally responsible ways and which is safe for consumption. Use these guides when ordering seafood (also available through the Monterey Bay Aquarium).
3. Sign up to be a Seafood Advocate through the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Web site and receive a free packet of information regarding seafood, the environment and your health.
4. Let restaurants and grocery stores know what you think about the seafood they offer. Remember that restaurants and grocery stores order what the consumer wants. You, the consumer, help guide their seafood choices.
I love eating seafood. I am not saying we shouldn’t eat any fish, but there are choices we make that affect our oceans and our health. When we start making better, informed choices and become more vocal about these choices, others will listen. Restaurants and grocery stores will respond when our purchasing habits change. As consumers no longer purchase declining fish populations, they will no longer be fished, and if they are no longer fished, it is possible they may recover to sustainable harvest levels once again. Your purchasing dollars make the difference.
James Johnson is a sophomore majoring in public relations. He enjoys fishing, the outdoors, eating sustainable seafood and spending time with his wife at Bear Lake.