"sustainable fishing" news and stories

You've seen the "dirty dozen" list for produce -- fruits and vegetables that are laden with pesticides, making it worth the cost of buying organic. But did you know there's also a dirty dozen list for fish? Food & Water Watch -- a non-profit group that works to ensure the food, water and fish we consume is safe, accessible and sustainably produced -- publishes an annual "do not eat" list.

Why is it noteworthy? As Barry Estabrook, writer at The Atlantic, explains in a recent article, "Seafood guides tend to focus either on species that should be avoided for reasons related to environmental health (overfishing) or species that should be avoided for reasons related to human health (their flesh is contaminated with chemicals). Food and Water Watch publishes a useful guide that takes both concerns into account."

The below fish fail at least two of their criteria for safe and sustainable seafood. The five criteria are: contaminants; status of the stock; catch method or farming method; economic/social/cultural significance (a community predominantly fishes for this species and depends on it); and key species (it's a primary food source for other wildlife or does it create critical habitat for other wildlife).

• Imported catfish
• Caviar from wild-caught sturgeon
• Atlantic cod
• American eel
• Atlantic flounder, sole, and halibut
• Imported king crab
• Imported shrimp
• Farmed salmon
• Chilean seabass
• Shark
• Atlantic bluefin tuna

The good news? Food & Water Watch offers a downloadable wallet-size guide to "smart" seafood, and also has resources on the site to help you find sustainable alternatives based on your fish tastes (mild, thick and flavorful, etc.).

For a nice Catholic girl like moi, Lent means several weeks of fish-focused Fridays. Sometimes that means grabbing a fish sandwich on the run. While there's no shortage of fast-food spots ready to fill that need, it's not always clear what kind of whitefish is sandwiched between those seeded buns. Frequently it's made from swimmers like pollock, hake or, as Wendy's latest Lenten promotion brags, North Pacific cod. But plenty of fish sandwiches, fish sticks and fish-'n-chips are made with a fish you probably haven't even heard of: hoki.

Like many issues surrounding fish and sustainability, things are often complicated. Environmental groups like the Blue Ocean Institute and Greenpeace give New Zealand hoki (also known as blue grenadier, whiptail and blue hake) a poor rating.

"We're in the process of updating our hoki report now," says Alan Duckworth, research scientist for the Blue Ocean Institute, "but the biggest concern with hoki is very low abundance compared to what it used to be."

It's not a health warning this time, at least not for people.

It's a report from the WWF that is concerned about the population of fish, everything from cod to swordfish. According to BBC, the WWF says that "much of the fish sold in Europe is the product of illegal, destructive or wasteful fishing," and that the conservation organization has warned that "continuing to buy it will bring many fish stocks to the brink of extinction."

In order to mitigate the problem, the WWF recommends that consumers only buy fish that comes from sustainable and well-managed fisheries. This is marked on fish with a Marine Stewardship Council label.