Wallet Cards Fail the Fish. Fish still need our help!!

According to a bit by Scientific American, Monterey Bay Aquariums own research has found that there has been no impact whatsoever in the consumption patterns of fish caused by their distribution of wallet card advisories on various fish species. One factor of this is that the cards address the fish that are produced by the U.S. fisheries, when America actually imports about 80% of the fish we consume. Another factor could be conflicting recommendations.

Let's find a way to get it together! please be concerned with the things you eat. My personal recommendation would be to avoid farmed salmon, bluefin tuna, cod and shrimp. Farmed salmon is bad for so many reasons, including the detriment it does to natural populations in the area of farming, fish lice, and harmful (to you) dyes that are used in the fish to make them look natural before marketing them. Two well managed fisheries int he U.S. are the Alaskan Salmon fishery, made possible by their careful watch on natural populations and limited harvests per year. Also the Pacific Halibut fishery is stable and halibut are yummy!!


and neat looking!

So if you have been using the Monterey Bay Aquarium wallet card, I say stick with it, but since you already care, do some extra research and make some annotations based upon the fish you see on the market. If this is just now appearing on your radar as something you'd be interested in learning more about, start with eating those sustainably fished species and go from there!

If you need help, here's a delicious recipe!
Alaska Halibut Royale

* 1 cup dry white wine
* 2 tsp. salt
* 1 1/2 lbs. Alaska Halibut steaks, thawed if necessary
* 1/4 cup fine dry bread crumbs
* 1/2 cup each sour cream & mayonnaise
* 1/4 cup minced green onions
* paprika

Combine wine and salt; pour over halibut. Marinate in refrigerator at least 1 hour. Drain halibut on paper towels; dip both sides in breadcrumbs. Place halibut in shallow buttered baking dish. Combine sour cream, mayonnaise and green onions; spread over halibut. Sprinkle with paprika. Bake at 400°F for 10 minutes per inch of thickness, measured at the thickest part, or until halibut flakes when tested with a fork. serves 4

More information on fishes can be found at the National Oceans and Atmospheric Administrations Office of Sustainable Fisheries
A great source for info and purchase of sustainable fish foods is Eco Fish.
AND specifically for you sushi lovers, the Environmental Defense Fund has a GREAT guide on the status of common sushi fishes with Japanese names!

So it's up to you. you could choose to eat it now 'cause it's likely many fisheries will collapse in our lifetime and people will never eat them again. Or you could be part of a solution and become on educated consumer. Please make a conscious decision on this! my hope is that it'll be enviro conscious, but it's your choice!!