Seafood Watch

Seafood Watch is a program put forth by Monterey Bay Aquarium. Seafood Watch educates individuals about the ongoing issues the world faces with seafood. Each year millions of fish are caught and killed to sustain an ever growing world population with a growing love for seafood. Monterey Bay Aquarium estimates that nearly 1.4 million sharks are killed each year, discarded as pure waist because they are labeled as bycatch, which is the catching of marine animals unintentionally.

Many fish are not only labeled as bycatch, but are caught in ways that hurt fish populations and the ecosystems of the oceans. A popular, common fishing practice known as dredging (dragging a large metal crate along the bottom of the seafloor to catch bottom-dwelling shellfish) destroys all life on the bottom of the ocean.

Also, many larger fish have been proven to have high levels of mercury, a toxic metal that exists naturally in the environment. Never breaking down with time, mercury enters our rivers, streams, lakes, and oceans. Mercury levels within larger fish are so high that the Environmental Defense recommends that men only eat one serving a month. Women, especially if pregnant, and children should not partake of these fish at all.

Monterey Bay Aquarium 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 predator fish like swordfish and shark have high mercury levels. According to the EPA, “Mercury concentrations in fish can be 1 to 10 million times the mercury concentration in the water.”

If interested in knowing more or getting involved with Sea Food Watch, follow these steps.

1. Go to Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Web site, http://www.mbayaq.org/cr/seafoodwatch.asp. All the information from this article and more is located at this site.

2. Through Monterey Bay Aquarium, get a free pocket guide about which seafood is caught or farmed in environmentally responsible ways and which is safe for consumption. Individuals may use these guides when ordering seafood.

3. Individuals may sign up to be a seafood advocate through the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Web site and receive the Aquarium’s packet of information regarding seafood, the environment and your health.

4. Individuals can let restaurants and grocery stores know what they think about the seafood they offer. Remember that restaurants and grocery stores order what the consumer wants. The consumers can help guide restaurants and grocery stores seafood choices.