Do You Eat Sushi?
If so, please make sure to download the 2009 Sustainable Seafood Guide for Sushi. Just click the link or the image below and print out the PDF which you can then fold into a wallet card. Did you know that our love for sushi is severely depleting many of our oceans' fishes? Bluefin tuna are in particular danger because they have been so drastically overfished. A more responsible alternative to bluefin tuna is albacore tuna (shiro maguro).

In addition to downloading your handy sustainable sushi pocket guide, also be sure to download the 2009 Seafood Watch guide for your local region, as well. We all need to take care of our oceans. Whether dining in or out, be sure to express an interest in sustainable seafood options to your grocer, chef, or restaurant. As long as they know there's consumer demand for sustainable options, they hopefully will make responsible choices about what types of seafood to supply.

And remember . . . never order the Chilean Seabass! This fish has been severly overfished to the point where there is a great deal of illegal fishing taking place. Did you know that the real name of the Chilean Seabass is the "Patagonian Toothfish"? The name was changed for marketing purposes so that it would sound more appetizing to consumers. Let's leave the toothfish alone for a while and try to let them recover. . .

The True Impact of Eating Shrimp
Are you aware of the impact our appetite for shrimp is having on the environment? According to the August 2007 issue of the Sierra Club's "Southern Sierran" newsletter, as many as 20 pounds of fish are caught, killed, and discarded as by-catch to obtain every one pound of shrimp. Shrimp trawlers rake the ocean, destroying a variety of life in their path and doing severe damage to the ocean floor. As many as 150,000 turtles are killed every year as a result of shrimp fishing. While about two-thirds of the U.S. shrimp now come from shrimp farms, the Sierra Club says that about 99% of this farmed shrimp comes from coastal areas of developing countries. Due to the billions of tons of organic waste, fertilizers, pesticides, and antibiotics that are dumped into coastal waters as a result of shrimp farming, it is believed that more than one-third of mangrove forests may have disappeared in the last 20 years. The Sierra Club recommends eating more plant-based, organic, and locally-grown food if possible. The Monterey Bay Aquarium also has a "Seafood Watch" program with handy pocket cards that offer recommendations about sustainable seafood.

The pocket cards can be printed out and carried in your wallet. They're available for the following U.S. regions: National, West Coast, Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, Central U.S., and Hawaii.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium also has more information about sustainable seafood on their web site. When it comes to your seafood meal, even small personal choices make a big difference, so keep the environment in mind before your next feast!