Top Farmed Seafood Choices

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The growing demand for seafood cannot be met by wild caught fish. Aquaculture is the solution to the problem of increased seafood demand. We do want to ask all the right questions in determining if the fish (or clam, or shrimp) is sustainable. Sustainable? What exactly is that? Lets define sustainable as being able to maintain (or better yet increase) the wild population of a given species. Doing no harm to other organisms while procuring the target species. Producing no negative environmental impact. So what exactly are good choices here? This is going to require you ask your local fishmonger when you buy, but here are some good choices.

  1. Oysters; Most farmed oysters are not only sustainable, but actually beneficial to the local water quality due to the large amount of filtration power they supply.
  2. Catfish; Being omnivorous catfish do not require much wild caught fish meal in their feed, and effluents are limited or treated to avoid harm to the environment.
  3. Algae; Lets hope it doesn't come to this, although as a food source for fish it is a great idea.

Comments

Randall said…
Fishmonger - talking about leaving us hanging. lol. There are entire websites out there devoted to this topic alone. I tell my customers my honest opinions and to do some research. Telling them to not focus on just one opinion or website, they will gain a much deeper understanding of the topic. And when they come back, that actually have an opinion of there own, and educated questions. I love this topic because there are no solid answers, and when I think I have a solid opinion, there arises a new, rational point of view that I did not come up with on my own.
I would really like to see your (personal and professional)deeper rooted opinions, Fishmonger.
As is normal, I enjoyed your post as short winded as it was. hahaha
May 29, 2008 at 12:10 AM
Fishmonger said…
There are indeed whole sites dedicated to the issues of farmed seafood.What I was trying to do is to give people just the stars in this category. You can't go wrong with oysters, just warn your significant other. As far as my personal opinion; I believe that everyone needs to make an effort to eat sustainable seafood. This will help drive our industry in positive ways. It is important to provide information for the consumer, and help them to make good choices.
May 29, 2008 at 7:44 AM
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