Seafood and Sustainability

With concern about sustainability becoming more and more of an issue and a cause for many people, consumers are now becoming more conscious about the stuff that they buy in the supermarket. This is most prevalent when it comes to seafood. Consumers are now becoming more aware about the damage that is being done by overfishing for the sake of making profits. A number of fish species that are now being negatively affected by overfishing and the fears are quite real that if it is not curtailed, many fish species will become endangered or even become extinct. These include seabass, various flatfish like halibut and flounder, salmon, and tuna.

Because of the active efforts of various environmental organizations, sustainability has become a byword when buying fish and other seafoods. So what does sustainability mean? Simply explained, sustainability means supporting and nurturing the conditions where humans, the planet’s different animals and nature can all coexist without harming one another. Being the intelligent species in the planet means it is up to us to ensure that we protect our planet’s biodiversity and not just think about profits or our stomachs.

Because of this awareness, supermarkets are now more well versed about which fish produce are sustainable and provide that information to its customers. The customers, on the other hand, are now also more conscientious about what they buy, with more and more people now asking for fish and seafood products that are sustainable.

Sustainability is also the reason why farmed fish are now becoming more popular. Dory, catfish and tilapia are just some of the fish species that can be farmed and are highly sustainable. With scientific knowledge and ingenuity, some fish species that are considered non-sustainable are now in the process of being cultured. For example, pioneering work from Japan and Australia has now made possible the farming of tuna.

So when you go to the supermarket to buy fish for that yummy dish you want to make, ask first if it is sustainable. Only buy sustainable fish, you’ll be glad you did.