From Hook to Plate: Exploring the Journey of Sustainable Seafood
We love seafood, so much in fact that in 2021 the average American consumed 20.5 pounds and that number is only increasing. Where you live in the world plays a role in the seafood you eat, largely due to availability, but in the United States, here are some of the most consumed species:
Shrimp- 5.9 lbs
Salmon- 3.38 lbs
Canned Tuna- 1.9 lbs
Tilapia- 1.04 lbs
Alaska Pollock- .78 lbs
The National Fisheries Institute’s 2021 Top 10 List for Seafood Consumption also includes Cod, Crab, Clams, Pangasius, and Catfish, most of which have increased in consumption between 2020 and 2021. The following chart from the NOAA FUS document shows the top species groups ranked by the number of pounds harvested annually and their net value. As you can see it varies slightly from the list of species consumed, as not all harvested species are destined for human consumption.
It makes sense that we would make seafood a staple in our diets. Not only does it taste delicious, but for years we have been told how good for our health and good for the planet. For the most part that is still the case, but as fisheries production and consumer consumption is increasing, there is more of a need for fisheries to be managed and for consumers to make the demand for sustainable seafood.
These days terms like sustainable, green, and eco-friendly get tossed around all the time to make consumers feel good, but what does it really mean to call seafood sustainable? According to NOAA Fisheries, “Sustainable seafood is wild-caught or farmed seafood that is harvested or produced in ways that protect the long-term health of species populations and ecosystems.” So, with that definition in mind, let’s take a look into the journey of sustainable seafood in the United States.With Tuna, Shrimp, and Salmon, being the most consumed and Alaska Pollock being the most harvested species, they will be the focus of this seafood journey.
Tuna
If you’ve ever consumed canned seafood, there is a very high chance it was tuna. In fact, in the United States, we consume about 2 lbs of canned Tuna per person each year. On average, 38.1 million pounds of Tuna are harvested from the oceans each year, accounting for $675.2 million dollars in sales.
A majority of Tuna that is caught and sold is not considered sustainable as it is caught using purse seines with Fish Aggregating Devices on them. The concern surrounding the FAD’s is that they aren’t limited to just luring Tuna into the nets, FAD’s also attract sharks, juvenile fish, and other untargeted marine life which are considered bycatch. Not all purse seines have FAD’s associated with them, some do not and the Purse seines that target free swimming Tuna have a bycatch of less than 1%. Purse seine are just one of the 5 types of gear used to target Tuna. Also used are longlines, gillnets, trolls, and pole and line. Of all these fishing methods used to catch Tuna, the most sustainable is pole and line, which only accounts for 7% of Tuna caught. Longline fishing accounts for 9% of captured tuna and has a bycatch rate of more than 20%. It is good for the deeper dwelling species of Tuna like the Bigeye, Yellowfin, and Albacore. Gillnets have an even higher bycatch rate-between 30-40%- and only make up 4% of Tuna landings. Lastly, are the trolls which make up only 2% of Tuna catch globally and have minimal bycatch. Since each of the fishing methods can vary and be more or less effective for different species, the sustainability of the catch will vary.
So how sustainable is canned tuna? When purchasing a can of Tuna look at the labels like this FAD Free one.
Tuna that is pole caught, troll caught, and purse seine caught FAD-Free are all great options for Albacore (White), Ahi (Bigeye and Yellowfin), Chunk light/Light (Skipjack) canned Tuna. Avoid purchasing canned Tuna that comes from the Indian Ocean where most of the Tuna are caught using gillnets.
Considering a fresh, sustainable Tuna steak to bring home and cook for dinner? Stores like Whole Foods do a good job of being transparent about their seafood and where it comes from. If you don’t see a sign about it, make sure to ask. Here are some of the things to keep an eye out for when selecting the following species:
Albacore / White Tuna / Bincho (sushi)
Look for U.S. caught in either the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean using pole and line or trolling
Bluefin / Kuro maguro or Hon Maguro (sushi)
As of 2020 all Bluefin Tuna is listed as being overfished, so it is best to avoid purchasing Bluefin.
Bigeye / Ahi (sushi)
Stick to the Pacific caught Bigeye Tuna as the Atlantic and Indian species are often overfished.
Skipjack / Chunk light or light / Katsuo (sushi)
Look first for the U.S. fisheries caught in the Pacific Ocean.
The second choice would be the Atlantic Ocean caught using trolling, FAD-Free Purse Seine, or pole and line.
Yellowfin / Ahi / Maguro (sushi)
Give preference to Atlantic and Pacific caught Ahi that are caught with pole and line, trolling, and non-FAD purse Seine.
High end organic stores aren’t the only place to find sustainable seafood. Shopping at other chains like Aldi, Target, and Albertsons are also places to find sustainable options in either the Seafood department (Albertsons) or in the freezer section (Target and Aldi). Keep an eye out for FishWise labels either on the front or back of the packaging that will let you know what you are purchasing is sustainable.
Shrimp
At nearly 6 pounds per person per year, shrimp ranks as the most consumed seafood item on the plates of U.S. citizens. While it ranks highest for the types of seafood we consume, it was the 3rd highest in terms of pounds caught. In 2021, there were 301.2 million pounds of shrimp harvested which brought in $935.9 million dollars! Unlike the other species on this list shrimp are typically benthic or bottom dwelling species and so the methods used to catch them vary a good bit from the fish species. There are 6 different types of gear used to catch shrimp:
Bottom trawls
Cast nets
Gill nets
Pots or Traps
Simmer trawls
Suriperas
Some of these types are more sustainable than others. Bottom trawls which drag nets across the bottom of the sea floor tend to be very destructive to the benthic habitats. The nets can snag on things as they are dragged along the bottom putting this type of fishing at higher risk of creating ghost nets. (If you haven’t already, make sure to check out our blog about Ghost Fishing, here.) Even with TED’s (Turtle Extruder Devices) on them, bottom trawls can have high bycatch, making them less sustainable. Gill nets are another one of the methods that can have a high rate of bycatch. Primarily used in the Gulf of Mexico are the Skimmer trawls which are used in shallower water but are also dragged along the bottom and are slightly more sustainable in terms of bycatch, Oftentimes these nets are emptied frequently which helps to reduce death among non targeted species. Cast nets and Suriperas are both harvest methods used by artisanal fishing communities. These methods require little energy and are worked by hand which means the rate of bycatch is very low.
If you are ready for some shrimp on the barbie, what should you be looking for if you want to select the most sustainable option? First, let's start with what to look for with respect to wild caught shrimp. According to Seafood Watch, wild caught shrimp can be broken down into the following 3 categories:
The Atlantic ocean along the United States and Gulf of Mexico
The priority for shrimp from this region are Brown, Rock, and Royal Red shrimp.
Pink, and White shrimp are other good options
Make sure to avoid shrimp caught off the coast of Florida in the Gulf of Mexico using skimmer trawls where Endangered Sea Turtle bycatch tends to be high.
The Pacific Ocean along the United States coastline
Look for California and Alaska caught Coonstriped shrimp
A second good option is Alaska caught Northern and Sidestripe shrimp
Additionally, California caught Ocean and Pacific Rock shrimp are good choices.
Finally, the Spot shrimp from Alaska, Washington, and California are good choices.
Wild imports
Ocean, Northern, Sidestripe, and Spot shrimp from British Columbia are good choices.
Avoid Red Shrimp from Argentina
Also avoid Blue, Brown, Whiteleg, Yellowleg, Pink, and White shrimp from Mexico.
Lastly, avoid the Atlantic Seabob from Guyana and Mexico
Wild caught shrimp are just one part of the shrimp that are consumed. A majority of the shrimp we eat come from shrimp farms. Ponds used in shrimp farming can be broken down into 4 categories- traditional, extensive, semi-intensive, intensive-, with the more traditional ponds being less sustainable and the intensive RAS (Recirculating Aquaculture System) ponds being the most sustainable. Here are what you should be looking for when it comes to farmed shrimp:
United States:
Look for farmed Whiteleg shrimp
Imported:
Look for Giant freshwater prawns from Bangladesh
Only purchase Whiteleg shrimp that comes from rice-shrimp ponds in Ecuador, Honduras,Thailand, and Vietnam.
Avoid purchasing Whiteleg shrimp from intensive ponds in China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Vietnam
Only purchase Giant Tiger Prawns from rice-shrimp, shrimp-mangrove, extension ponds in Myanmar and Vietnam.
Avoid purchasing Giant Tiger Prawns from intensive ponds in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam.
When looking to purchase sustainable Shrimp at the store, it's important to look for labels to help you identify what the best purchase will be. Look for labels like BAP Certified, Marine Stewardship Council, Naturland, and Aquaculture Stewardship Council.
Salmon
When it comes to our consumption of seafood, shrimp might rank at the top, but salmon isn’t far behind. On average we consume almost 3.5 lbs of salmon per person every year. Statistics from 2000-2004 showed that more than half of what we consumed was coming from farmed salmon, but with some of the pen breaks like the Cooke Aquaculture Cypress Island Atlantic salmon break we have learned how damaging it can be and the importance of sustainability in farmed salmon as well as wild caught. Over 819 million pounds of wild caught and farmed salmon were harvested in 2021, which brought in almost $792 million, landing it number 2 on the NOAA FUS Top species chart.
The equipment used in the salmon industry is different for the wild caught salmon and the farmed salmon. Lift nets take advantage of salmon spawning locations and the nets span along the route of a spawning site. As the fish swim past, the nets are lifted, collecting the fish. In addition to lift nets, are drift gillnets, which due to their nature can be high in bycatch. Slightly less damaging are the purse seines which are used to encircle and enclose the salmon. Since the placement of this net is selective it is easier to keep non targeted species out.
The last type of gear used for salmon fishing is trolling lines, which due to its nature makes it easy to keep the bycatch to a minimum.
So, what should you be looking for when it comes to sustainable wild caught salmon? Luckily, finding sustainable wild caught salmon shouldn’t be too difficult as 95% of wild caught salmon in North America is MSC certified.
Look for the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) logo
Pink salmon that is caught with lift nets in Washington is a good choice
Chum from the U.S. is good.
Chinook salmon from the U.S and Canada, except from Puget Sound and British Columbia’s southern coast.
Coho or Silver salmon from the US, except from the Columbia River above the Bonneville dam
Coho from Canada except from British Columbia’s southern coast.
Sockeye salmon caught in the Puget Sound using lift nets is a good choice.
Just like farmed shrimp, farmed salmon uses different methods and there are different things to look for when it comes just to sustainability. Farmed salmon can be kept in large pens in the ocean, but they can also be kept on land. Marine net pens come with a lot of risk, which doesn’t come from bycatch. What makes the marine pens risky is the chance the pens could break and the salmon could escape. While it might just seem like a headache for the company growing them, a pen break can have much larger reaching effects. Farm raised salmon can be genetically engineered to grow faster with a specialized diet, and when those genetics mix with wild populations it can be harmful to future generations of the native species. Additional threats to wild populations are the diseases and parasites that can be associated with the farmed salmon.
With land based farming the risks are much lower as the fish are safely contained in aquaculture systems. Some of the systems like the RAS (Recirculating Aquaculture System) can be very sustainable as the waste water is kept, cleaned, and reused which minimizes waste.
While not quite as impressive as the 95% of wild salmon that is MSC certified, 45% of the global farmed salmon is Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) certified. In addition to looking for salmon that is labeled as ASC certified, there are several things you, as the consumer, should be looking for when it comes to the farmed salmon you are going to be eating.
Coho salmon farmed in Chile should be avoided.
Look for Chinook Salmon from New Zealand and British Columbia
Look for Atlantic farmed in Maine and the Faroe Islands
Atlantic Salmon farmed in Canada, Chile, Norway, or Scotland should be avoided, unless it's ASC certified.
Look for canned salmon to have the MSC certification or to be from Alaska.
Alaska Pollock
Fish and chips, fish sticks, filet o’fish, all these are different meals you may have eaten where you were likely enjoying Alaska Pollock. You might have heard Alaska Pollock called, Pollock, Pacific Pollock, Walleye pollock, Big Eye Cod, or even Snow Cod. In 2021 $383 million worth of Alaska Pollock was harvested and while that might seem like a lot, what’s really impressive is the number of landings. There were approximately 3,230,000,000 Alaska Pollock harvested! What’s even more impressive about this is that the Alaska Pollock fishery is one of the best managed fisheries in the world! Because of that fact, there’s not too much to share about the fishery.
As their name suggests, most of the Alaska Pollock fishing takes place in the Gulf of Alaska and in the Bering sea on midwater trawlers. Thanks to this fishing method, there are reduced impacts on benthic habitats and the bycatch for the whole fishery is less than 1%! Salmon is a bycatch species of concern and to help reduce the salmon caught, 100% of the Pollock fishing boats in the Bering sea have scientifically trained observers aboard who help to monitor for salmon bycatch.
Since Alaska Pollock fishery is so well managed and sustainable, you can rest easy when you purchase U.S. caught Alaska Pollock. As previously stated, not all Pollock will be marketed as Pollock. A quarter of pollock products are imitation crab (surimi). Nearly a fifth of Alaska pollock are on the market as roe or fish eggs. The largest percentage of Gadus chalcogrammus (Alaska Pollock) shows up as fish filets, either fresh, frozen, or breaded and fried. Next time you are at your favorite fast food restaurant ask them what kind of fish is in their fish sandwich… you might be surprised to find out its pollock.
Not everyone enjoys going out to shop for meals and has meals delivered to them. If you are a Hello Fresh or a Blue Apron customer, you can rest easy as they will only offer the best seafood options in your meals.
Thinking of heading out to a restaurant for a nice seafood dinner? If you are dining somewhere coastal like San Diego, where there is easy access to fresh caught seafood, you might have an easier time finding a restaurant that serves a sustainable seafood dinner. Call ahead and ask the restaurants what sustainable seafood options they have, or check out the list compiled by the San Diego Coast Keeper. Keep an eye out for special events like the “Conscious Catch” put on by The Marine Room where they have local chefs come together for an evening focused on sustainable seafood.
For finding locations around the United States, one place to look is the Surfrider Foundation’s interactive map of Ocean Friendly restaurants. The Surfrider Ocean friendly pledge is primarily focused on reducing ocean plastic, but also includes things like offering sustainable seafood, so make sure to call ahead of time to confirm.
The journey of seafood is not always a sustainable one, but with awareness and informed, educated choices it can be.