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Seafood Guide
Problems with today's fisheries
Overfishing
According to the American Association for the Advancement of Science, globally, human populations derive 16% of its animal protien from marine sources. As populations increase their wealth, their preference for meat and fish also increases. In addition to this, more than half a billion people make their livelihoods fishing. But the world's fisheries have frequently been used as an example as a Tragedy of the Commons - an individual fisher reaps in all the benefits of catching extra fish; however all the harm of overfishing gets spread around to everyone. Overfishing has taken a huge toll on the health of our fish stocks. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 9 of the world's 17 major international fish stocks are at or beyond the point at which yields will decline.
Unsustainable Fishing Practices and Degradation of Natural Habitats
Trawling is sometimes called the clear cutting of the oceans. It is a fishing practices that involves pulling a fishing net underwater behid boats, called trawlers. It has severe impacts on marine ecosystems ranging from non-selectivity (trawlers' nets collect up not only the target fish population but also catch everything else; the "extra" fish catch however is usually just thrown overboard after the fish have already died) to physical damage to the seafloor.
Fishing practices such as dynamiting have clear implications for the health of coral reefs.
Heavy Metal Bioaccumulation
"In America one-in-six children born every year have been exposed to mercury levels so high that they are potentially at risk for learning disabilities and motor skill impairment and short-term memory loss. That type of mercury exposure is caused by eating certain kinds of fish, which contain high levels of the toxin from both natural and man-made sources such as emissions from coal-fired power plants. One government analysis shows that 630,000 children each year are exposed to potentially unsafe mercury levels in the womb....
...Nearly all fish contain trace amounts of methylmercury. How does this element get into our fish supply? Mercury occurs both naturally and from man-made sources. Some of it can be traced to coal-burning power plants. Smokestacks release toxic mercury emissions which rain down into rivers, lakes, and oceans. Bacteria convert the mercury to a form that's easily absorbed by insects and other small organisms. Mercury moves up the food chain as small fish eat the small organisms and big fish eat the smaller fish. The highest concentrations accumulate in large predators such as shark, swordfish and tuna...some of America's favorite fish." (NOW, The Mercury Story, January 21, 2005)
Sustainable Seafood Sources
The following guide is taken from the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Every year, the aquarium releases updated Seafood Watch guides. There are both national and regional guides. They offer downloadable pocket versions of the guides and now you can access the guide from you cell phone by visiting www.seafoodwatch.org from your mobile device.
Seafood Watch: National Seafood Guide 2008
Our "Best Choices" are abundant, well managed and fished or farmed in environmentally friendly ways. Seafood to "Avoid" are overfished and/or fished or farmed in ways that harm other marine life or the environment.
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