What Kind of Seafood Is Sustainable?

Fish and shellfish can be a more ecological protein choice than other foods for animals such as beef, pork and chicken. But you need to choose carefully.

Not all fish are sustainable. And it is more complicated than opting for certain species over others, because the sustainability and nutritional value of the fish is affected by a series of factors.

So, we ask the experts to go in seafood. This is what they had to say.

Think small

From a health point of view and an environmental perspective, “the smaller, the better,” said Sebastian Heilpern, a sustainability scientist at Cornell University.

Small fish tend to be a good special source of omega-3 fatty acid (there are also plant-based sources such as nuts) and essential nutrients such as iron and zinc. When he eats small fish, he is also common eating skeleton pieces, which increases his calcium absorption. And, narrower fish reproduce rapidly, so they are generally more abundant and less vulnerable to environmental changes.

The largest fish, on the other hand, generally accumulate more pollutants such as mercury and lead. That is because they are the usual predators. They eat a lot or closer fish. Then, moderate amounts of pollutants in those small fish can accumulate at harmful levels in larger fish.

Then, go for sardines and anchovies. “They are very, very nutritious food sources,” said Dr. Heilpern, “and tend to be quite productive and capable of resisting all that exploitation that humans gave them.”

An exception to the “small” rule is the cultivated shrimp, according to Kathryn Fiorella, an environmental scientist and Epidemiologist from Cornell.

The shrimp cover the range of sustainability much more widely than other smaller fish and shellfish. Some varieties, such as Whiteleg cultivated in certain types of ponds in the United States, Ecuador, Honduras and Thailand, meet good environmental standards. But others, raised in different types of ponds in places like China, India and Mexico, do not.

The problem is that detailed information is not usual for consumers. So, “I try not to eat shrimp,” said Dr. Fiorella.

Molluscs are also good

Bivalve such as oysters, scallops and clams are highly nutritious and abundant in Omega-3, B-12 and iron.

And, when they are grown, “consuming mollusks probably has a benefit to the ecosystem,” said Dr. Fiorella. They do not have to be fed by farmers, he said, and eliminate pollutants such as nitrogen and water phosphorus and make them substances that are not harpul. They also consume phytoplankton, which can help limit the flowers of harpist algae. And they grow in reefs, providing structures that help a variety of species to prosper.

The 2021 classifications confirmed that cultivation bivalves are among the most sustainable environmentally sustainable foods in general.

The bivalve captured in nature, thought, are not so good for the environment, because the methods used to harvest them are often destructive. Then, read the label.

Cultivated fish? It is complicated.

Today, more than half of the fish consumed worldwide are grown. This type of production tends to cause carbon feer emissions that calmed the planet that fishing in nature. But sometimes it is done in dense conditions where the disease can easily spread and pollutants and antibiotics can escape rivers and oceans.

In addition, unlike mollusks, farmers often need to feed their fish with more fish.

“Much time, if you eat a kilogram of salmon, only a kilogram of wild fish is needed to produce it,” said Alice Moore, who manages the Good Fish guide in the Marine Conservation Society, a British non -profit organization. The food made of grains and vegetables generally does not give enough fish the nutrients they need.

Catching fish in nature avoids the thesis, but fishing vessels can emit a lot of carbon and can damage ecosystems. For example, background drag can devastate the seabed and increase the fuel consumption of a ship.

Water column fishing, under the surface and above the bottom, avoid that. But to sweep the wrong species, reproducing females and fish that are too small.

The crabs and lobsters are in cheats, so there is more precision, without incidental capture and without drag. But a team of team can tangle in danger of extinction, with mortal consequences.

“It’s a mined field,” said Moore classifying the pros and cons cultivated and wild fish.

The guide of your team can be used to seek the sustainability of the fish in the supermarket, as well as the Marshal Watches Guide of Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Point to the variety

Simply eating a broader range of seafood can be very useful. In the United States, only 10 species represent almost 80 percent of seafood consumed, with shrimp, salmon, caned tuna, tilapia and alaska polish that leads the lists. That exerts a lot of pressure on a few species, and that can make them less resistant, more vulnerable to diseases and pests, and more likely to be destabilized by climatic and envernmental changes.

And, not all species have everything from the nutritional point of view. Therefore, the variety guarantees a larger range or nutrients.

“If you had salmon last week, take that can of sardines,” said Dr. Heilpern. “Mix it.”