Sandy Molnar
Anyone who’s been to New England knows how iconic (and delicious!) our local seafood is. But with 93% of global fisheries at capacity or overexploited, it’s important to start thinking about where our seafood comes from. It’s a good thing you don’t need to give up your clam chowder and lobster rolls to eat sustainably!
Since the Industrial Revolution, global fishing has destroyed marine ecosystems and devastated marine species. There’s evidence that we’ve fished down the food chain and depleted larger species such as tuna, grouper, and sharks.
According to one study, large predatory fish biomass is only 10% of what it was in pre-industrial times. These effects can be far-reaching: large-scale destruction of singular species often disrupts entire ecosystems, affecting many lower-trophic species. However, consequences vary across species and ecosystems, and some evidence suggests that while many stocks are in a poor state, ecosystems at large may be improving. Furthermore, the seafood industry is notoriously difficult to police. A large portion of fish consumed in the US comes from countries like China, which has historically been unforthcoming with details about its fishing and processing plants. Therefore, it can be difficult to assess the global state of marine ecosystems and adjust regulatory efforts accordingly. But as the world increasingly relies on seafood production to feed our growing population, it’s important to think about how to consume sustainably.
Sustainability of the seafood industry refers in large part to limiting the amount of fishing to a level that allows our global populations to sustain themselves while allowing us to save enough biomass for future generations. This is known as the maximum sustainable yield, and it’s what many modern-day fishing regulations are based on. Unfortunately, regulating fishing practices can be difficult because the level of sustainability varies dramatically across different species. Some species can maintain their populations even through considerable amounts of fishing, while other populations taper off far more quickly. Some wildlife, like oysters, are so essential to the health of their ecosystems that when populations decrease, the whole community can unravel.
Measures of sustainability aren’t limited only to direct population size, though. Dredging and trawling, far more than other types of fishing, can lead to massive habitat degradation if performed incorrectly. Bycatch is also a major issue and is found to be particularly impactful with fishing practices like gillnets and longlines. On the other hand, we often see seafood have a lower environmental impact than even chicken production in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, land use, and water and chemical pollution, although this can also vary by species.
Large-scale sustainability holds important implications not only for our ecosystems but also for human practices. The best sustainable seafood management supports not only the health of individual stocks and the ecosystem at large but also local fisherman and businesses that have long made their livings out of the trade in the United States. Sustainable seafood ensures fair, safe practices for all people who produce seafood.
One avenue that has been used to help meet both growing food demands and the need for sustainability is aquaculture, the act of farming fish rather than catching them wild. Aquaculture, or aquafarming, is the fastest-growing sector of food production today and may be responsible for providing an even higher percentage as our global population continues to increase. There are certainly some environmental advantages to aquafarming: because it is contained, issues with bycatch and marine environment degradation are essentially eliminated. Containing fishing like this allows marine populations the reprieve to regenerate their wild populations.
However, in cases where aquaculture is carried out without proper regulations, aquafarms can build up pesticides, feces, and other harmful substances that can pollute nearby areas. According to one source, “a 2-acre fish farm can produce as much waste as a town of 10,000 people.” Furthermore, as much as 20% of industrially caught fish are used to feed farmed fish, which further exacerbates the original problem. Ultimately, if aquaculture is done with proper policy and practices with a focus on long-term environmental regeneration and not solely on commercial benefit, aquaculture could be a much-needed respite for marine ecosystems.
So what can you do to help? When you can, shop locally! Fish and seafood markets give you a special opportunity to ask questions, make unique orders, and explore the vast world of New England seafood. When that’s not an option, you can check out the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Guides. Seafood Watch separates seafood into best choices, good alternatives, and ones to avoid. These guides allow searches by species or region to find your specific sustainable seafood needs. By choosing responsibly sourced seafood and supporting local efforts to restore the balance of our oceans, we can protect this vital industry for generations to come. Together, we can keep New England’s waters teeming with life—and our plates filled with the bounty of the sea.
Citations
[1] Barinaga, M. (1990). Fish, Money, and Science in Puget sound. Science, 247(4943), 631–631. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.247.4943.631
[2] Marks, J. (2024, April 24). Is Aquaculture Really More Sustainable than Fishing? US Environmental Policy. September 4, 2024, https://blogs.nicholas.duke.edu/env212/is-aquaculture-really-more-sustainable-than-fishing/
[3] Monterey Bay Aquarium. (n.d.). Seafood guides. Seafood Watch. https://www.seafoodwatch.org/recommendations/download-consumer-guides
[4] Myers, R. A., & Worm, B. (2003). Rapid worldwide depletion of predatory fish communities. Nature, 423(6937), 280–283. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature01610
[5] Ritchie, H., & Roser, M. (2021, October). Fish and overfishing. Our World in Data. https://ourworldindata.org/fish-and-overfishing
[6] Urbina, I. (2023, October 9). The crimes behind the seafood you eat. The New Yorker. Retrieved September 4, 2024, from https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/10/16/the-crimes-behind-the-seafood-you-eat.
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