Never ones to sit on their laurels, the folks at the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch Program have announced that they will be launching their much anticipated Sushi Pocket Guide on October 22nd. And before anyone gets snippy about whether "sushi" is properly referring to "fish" or "rice", let's all agree that it's safe to assume the folks at Seafood Watch are working to protect seafood.Based on their familiar Pocket Guide format that allows consumers to make informed decisions on fish and shellfish in markets and restaurants, the Sushi Pocket Guide will alert users which sushi selections are best choices, good alternatives, and those to avoid.
I applaud the efforts of the Seafood Watch team, though I still have grave concerns for the state of commercial fisheries. I'm a seafood lover and sushi is indeed one of my weaknesses (I've never met a hamachi I didn't like). "Just say no" programs targeting mostly yuppie American consumers are not enough. We need to work both ends of the supply chain by seriously fixing fisheries. We need innovative solutions, such as the promising research being done in catch shares, to bring our fisheries up to sustainable standards.
The Seafood Watch Pocket Guides certainly have their place in the spectrum of efforts needed to halt our trends in fishing down the food chain. Provided they don't create a false sense of security that consumer choice is all that it takes.
3 comments:
Cruel, cruel that you posted this just before my dinnertime... I am prematurely salivating thanks to you.
I completely agree with you by the way, this is only part of the message, that hanging consumer choice is important but it isn't the silver bullet.
That said, I also think 'seafood guides' for the rich and westerly do more than just change consumer choice at the restaurant/supermarket; they also raise awareness, and I am guessing this is even more important than consumer decisions for building support for the other, equally if not more important initiatives you mention.
One weapon in the arsenal and they all need to be used...
In the hands of some they become more than just consumers choice though. I put some into the hands of my future brother-in-law since I had a stack here at the house. He manages the food operation for a hospital and retirement homes, and has changed his buying habits for seafood to match closely with the cards.
Nice picture by the way... now I'm needing some uni and ebi and ...
Thanks for the post; and you're right that it takes action at both the consumer and supplier ends to make a difference.
Our Seafood Watch program creates consumer pocket guides (24 million distributed so far, plus online via Seafood Watch Mobile). Our team also works with major buyers, including food service companies like Compass Group and ARAMARK to get them to commit to buying sustainably wild-caught and farmed seafood.
The consumer action is telling big buyers that responsible seafood purchasing is an important issue. And we're definitely getting their attention.
Ken Peterson, Monterey Bay Aquarium
Post a Comment