In the meantime, enjoy this spectacularly clever project by Heal the Bay, featuring the inimitable voice of Academy Award winner Jeremy Irons.

But when it comes to choosing between the grilled salmon and sesame-crusted ahi tuna, you’re at a loss.

You want to EAT just as you LIVE — sustainably and healthfully.  But between widespread overfishing and reports of aquaculture’s adverse environmental impacts, the best choices are not always clear.

Delicious, Yes…But Is It Sustainable?

What follows should hopefully provide a bit of welcome information on the state of our planet’s fisheries, measures being taken to support their health and those whose livelihoods depend on it, irresponsible vs. environmentally friendly farming practices — as well as useful resources for ordering up the most sustainable seafood.

Overfishing

It is beyond question that fish stocks around the world are depleted, and that certain species are nearing extinction.  While the alarming decline of the bluefin tuna population has gained notoriety through news sources, books  (e.g., Richard Ellis’ Tuna: A Love Story), and conservation groups such as Sea Shepherd, thousands of other species are in peril.  (On May 27, 2011, however, the National Marine Fisheries Service denied the bluefin tuna Endangered Species Act status, instead identifying it as a “species of concern.”)  Indeed, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization has estimated that over 70% of the world’s fish stocks are either depleted or fully exploited.

Once Massive And Abundant, Bluefin Tuna Are Disappearing 

A perfect storm of factors has wreaked havoc on our ocean’s fish populations.  They include:

• High market demand (e.g., in January 2011, a 754-lb bluefin tuna fetched a record $396,000 at Tokyo’s fish market)

• Advanced technological methods of fishing (e.g., trawling, longline, etc.)

• Poor fishery management

• Illegal fishing

• Bycatch of juvenile fish

And it’s not just the fish that are affected.

The estimates vary, but about a third of the world’s population depends on seafood for its primary source of protein.  And hundreds of millions of people rely on the fishing industry as a means of income, to feed and provide shelter to their families.

With far more fish being stripped from the oceans than can be reproduced by those left behind, global fishery management is critical.

Fishery Management

The National Marine Fisheries Service, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), is the United States federal agency responsible for overseeing administration of the Fisheries Conservation and Management Act. Thanks to this law — initially enacted in 1976 and known as the Magnuson-Stevens Act — and various state laws, including California’s 1999 Marine Life Management Act, the United States’ fisheries are among the world’s best managed.

In Alaska’s salmon fishery, for example, biologists routinely observe salmon returning to spawn. When the numbers dip, the fishery is temporarily shut down in order to allow time for stocks to replenish.  Coupled with a strictly enforced quota system and impressive water quality management, wild Alaskan salmon are particularly sustainable and healthy.

Jumping Alaskan Salmon

Private NGOs are also doing their part to promote global fisheries.  The New York City-based Environmental Defense Fund, for example,  has partnered with other NGOs, officials and stakeholders to establish innovative catch share management programs in the Gulf of California — which supplies Mexico with more than half its seafood — to promote the health and profitability of the region’s fisheries.  Efforts such as these provide hope for meaningful change.

Not all fisheries, however, enjoy the same levels of attention and protection.   It is estimated that Mediterranean fisherman catch more than twice their permissible quotas.  And in recent years before its tragic nuclear disaster, Japan admitted to exceeding its bluefin tuna catch quota by 25%.  Clearly, more stringent oversight is needed to save our fisheries from collapse.

Aquaculture

With wild stocks dwindling, farming — if carried out responsibly — offers a sustainable alternative.

In environmentalist circles, seafood farming has acquired a very bad name — and in some cases, for very good reason.  Like their factory hog and cattle counterparts, farmed salmon, for example, are administered high levels of antibiotics to ward off disease resulting from overcrowded cages, laced with chemicals to enhance their color and fed chicken feces, soy and other items that differ greatly from the krill upon which they naturally feed.  Extremely concentrated populations of fish lead to extremely excessive waste, adversely affecting the surrounding ecosystem.  The picture is not a pretty one.

But not ALL seafood farming is bad.

Just as some hog, cattle and chicken farmers employ sustainable practices on land, so too do aquaculture farmers in the oceans.  Exemplary practices include maintaining smaller populations of fish in larger cages, strategic placement of cages near currents to minimize waste deposits, and use of fresh water, rather than chemicals, to remove sea lice.  Founded  by marine biologists, Hawaii-based Kona Blue is a prime example of sustainable fish farming.

And I was fortunate enough to recently visit Rancheros del Mar, a fledgling kampachi farm in La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico.  Though its fish have not yet reached market size, the farm is committed to employing the environmentally friendly practices noted above.

Kampachi Farming In La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico

If the farming industry as a whole can move in this direction and produce abundant, healthy seafood, global demand can be significantly supplemented — alleviating pressure on the wild fisheries and enabling fish stocks to multiply, rather than disappear.

“Diversify Your Palate“ – Dave Anderson, Marine Biologist

Seafood Selection

With all that said, let’s get back to the matter at hand — dinner.

Grilled salmon?  Wild Alaskan salmon is a great choice.  If it’s farm-raised, chances are that it’s probably not ecologically friendly.  Be sure to ask your server where the restaurant sources its fish.

And what about tuna?  Well, Atlantic yellowfin caught in the United States by troll or pole is good, whereas imported, longline-caught yellowfin is not.

Sigh.  No, it’s not always easy being green.

But thankfully, a number of organizations have made sustainable seafood selection a lot more simple.  The Environmental Defense Fund’s easily decipherable chart below is a good example, and addresses both ecological and health-related concerns for the most popular fish.  You can find more complete information and printable pocket guides on the EDF’s Seafood Selector page.

Environmental Defense Fund’s Seafood Selector Chart

The Marine Stewardship Council and the Aquaculture Certification Council are among a growing number of certification groups, whose eco-labels are especially helpful when visiting your grocery store’s fish counter or freezer.   You can even download a free iPhone or Android app from the Monterey Bay Aquarium‘s Seafood Watch program.

To be sure, making the switch requires some patience and a willingness to say “no thanks” when the species, source or fishing method is unsustainable.  But a little bit of effort can go a long way.  And when that plate is set down before you, I bet that first bite will taste a whole lot better…