Good Idea: Ethical Fish Eating Guides

Matt Koenigsknecht with a trout he caught in Black Canyon earlier this year. The fish was returned to the river.

Yesterday we wrote about a Good date spot: Cuba Cuba.  We mentioned that the best items on the menu were those that primarily consisted of seafood.  What we didn’t mention was that there is a tremendous problem facing the planet and the food chain as a whole.  That problem is extremely depleted and rapidly declining fish populations.  A 2006 Science study, cited here in the Washington Post, came to the conclusion that by 2048 we might actually run out of seafood if current fishing practices, pollution trends, and other environmental factors aren’t changed.

Other than the fact that that statistic should shock the freaking socks off of anyone who knows anything about the environment or the food chain, why are we sharing this problem with readers of The Good Life Denver?  Because with very little effort you can make educated decisions with regard to what fish you choose to eat, thanks to several online resources.  We hastily tried to find these two nights ago at dinner, but gave up after slow mobile phone internet smacked us around.  Today we spent some quality time on it and found some Good quick resources that we thought we’d share with you.

If you have an iPhone, check out the Seafood Watch Recommendations app from Monterey Bay Aquarium, which features up-to-date recommendations based on the ever-changing state of our oceans and also the region in which you’re dining.  If you don’t have an iPhone, you can still get their info on your internet-ready phone at mobile.seafoodwatch.org or if you’d prefer a paper copy (which won’t be quite as up-to-date), you can print out a pocket guide that fits in your wallet.  The Environmental Defense Fund also has a site you can visit from home (or on your phone at m.edf.org/seafood) that tells you which fish are “Eco-best,” “Eco-OK,” “Eco-Worst,” and why.

By using these tools we can help make educated choices on which fish to eat, but ethical fish eating is still a challenge.  Often, where a particular fish comes from affects whether or not it is considered one of the best choices or one of the worst.  These days, many servers and even restaurant owners have no idea from what country their fish comes.  Nevertheless, many do.  And if they don’t, do you really want to be eating there?  Hopefully, by educating ourselves, we can help ensure that our children and grandchildren are able to experience the pleasure eating seafood far beyond 2048!

For further easy reading, check out this article from the New York Times offering a variety of different perspectives on “The Seafood Eater’s Last Conundrum.”

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