How To Ensure Your Seafood Is Sustainable, According To The Marine Stewardship Council
The earliest known seafood dinner was a bowl of shellfish eaten on the coast of South Africa 165,000 years ago. As long as there have been humans, weโve eaten seafood.
Seafood is an excellent source of lean protein, omega-3s, iron, and vitamins B and D, and itโs one of the most carbon-efficient foods on the planet. If youโre looking to educate yourself about sustainable seafood, check out the Marine Stewardship Council’s website for information, resources, recipes, and more.
Whether itโs in a gooey tuna melt or rolled up into a maki roll, tuna is one of the most versatile kinds of seafood. Itโs that versatility that makes the fish the third most popular seafood in the US, after shrimp and salmon, says Chef Adrienne Cheatham. โGiven its popularity, itโs important to know how to look for sustainable tuna choices,โ says Cheatham, โso weโre ensuring healthy fish populations now and for our future generations.โ
What makes seafood sustainable?
According to the MSC, in order to be considered environmentally sustainable, seafood must come from healthy fish populations, have minimal impact on the marine ecosystem, and be properly managed (so no overfishing). Sustainable seafood can be harvested in perpetuity while still maintaining a healthy environment. Thatโs what โsustainableโ means, after all โ able to be sustained.
โSustainable seafood means it has been caught in a way that means thereโs plenty more fish in the sea now and in the future,โ says the MSC.
When a fishery is certified with the MSC blue fish label, it means that the fishery meets MSCโs sustainability standardsโnamely, that the fishery (1) maintains healthy fish populations, (2) minimizes its impact on the environment, and (3) fishes in responsibly managed areas.
– Marine Stewardship Council
“Sustainable seafood means it has been caught in a way that means thereโs plenty more fish in the sea now and in the future.”
While most of the fish we get here in the states is wild caught, seafood harvested via aquaculture is the fastest-growing form of food production worldwide according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Note that not all wild-caught seafood is sustainable, and neither is all aquaculture seafood.
Because most of our fish comes from the ocean, itโs especially important to purchase sustainably fished seafood to ensure healthy fish and marine populations in the future. โIโve worked with seafood for the entirety of my cooking career and am incredibly passionate about making sure we have access to it for years to come,โ says Cheatham.
How do you know if your seafood was harvested sustainably?
In short, read the labels! One of the easiest indicators to look for is the MSC blue fish label, meaning the product has been certified to the MSC Fisheries Standard. The MSC blue fish label provides assurance that the seafood is wild-caught and comes from a certified sustainable source.
Another way to determine your seafoodโs sustainability? Research the company that makes it. Companies with sustainable practices want you to know about them, so it doesnโt take long to Google a seafood producer and find out if it puts sustainability at the forefront of its business model.
The perfect tuna salad recipe for Earth Month
Cheatham crafted an easy meal with sustainably fished tuna that is perfect for a quick, healthy lunch. Her tuna tonnato is full of pantry staples like relish, mustard, and tuna, along with a few fresh veggies for a โlight, bright dish thatโs perfect for spring and summer,โ she says.
Find the full recipe here, which uses lemon, celery, onion, eggs, and potato to liven up tuna salad, bringing it from sad desk lunch territory into โa great lunch or a patio snack to fix for guests, or dinner on a night in,โ says Cheatham. She serves the tuna mixture over greens and alongside some satisfying, crusty bread. My local grocery store didnโt have any endive, so I heaped the tuna salad over a bed of spinach and arugula insteadโit was one of the best lunches Iโve made in a long time.
Cheatham notes that while the dish looks light, itโs packed with protein from the tuna and eggs. And she emphasizes the importance of buying canned tuna with an MSC label on it.
The MSCโs website features sustainable seafood recipes dishes from innovative chefs representing cuisines from all over the world, like Smoked Salmon and Mango Salad and Cape Hake Fillet with Zucchini Salad. After trying their recipes, you can read more about the fishermen behind the ingredient. Reading their firsthand stories forges stronger connections between our food and the sea they came from.
โSustainability includes our future, is the way I think about it,โ said Jack B. Vantress of the American Albacore Fishing Association in Cheathamโs recipe. โSo it’s important to choose sustainable seafood because this is our future.โ
THIS STORY IS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH OUR FRIENDS AT THE MARINE STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL
Natalie Gale is a Boston-based freelance journalist. When sheโs not writing about art, food, or sustainability, you can find her biking to the farmersโ market, baking, sewing, or planning her next Halloween costume. Say hi on Instagram!
