The marine community recognizes that one of the main issue we are facing is over fishing. As a consumer it is important to make sure you are choosing sustainable seafood. Sustainable seafood is seafood that is sustainable caught. It is making sure that the amount of fish we take out does not put a strain on the population size. It is important to make sure we leave enough fish in the ocean so they can reproduce at levels where the fish we do remove wont harm the population as a whole. Making sure the numbers are sustained.Consumers are given many options to help them make smart, sustainable choices. The Monterrey Bay aquarium has made cards that label each type of seafood as green, yellow or red. if a seafood is marked as green, it is a sustainable choice, if its yellow the population numbers are at risk, and if its red than the seafood is not seen as sustainable.
This is a link to seafood watch, a way to check sustainability and learn more about the issue.
Here is a copy of the seafood watch card by Monterrey Bay Aquarium
Another issue we face is byproduct. Not everything that comes up in a net is the same. Fishermen fishing for tuna pull up a lot more than tuna in their nets. In recent years we’ve brought up a billion pounds of byproduct annually. Most of this byproduct dies because it is not released back into the water. These creatures die for no reason, and are not used. A solution to this would be specially designed nets and traps that would cut down on what fish, size wise are able to get into the net, or traps.
Overall it is important to be a smart consumer and make the right choices for the environment, it will ultimately benefit everyone in the future.
