How many fish in the sea?
What others are reading:
No related posts found!
No, this isn’t a dating column. Hopefully, I’m past having to date anyway and consider myself lucky to have my own fab catch. And that is the perfect transition to talk about fish (get it, catch?).
Green Peace recently released their list of the best (and worst) national grocery chains when it comes to sustainably harvested seafood and it reminded me of when I took my first environmental stance. (Imagine those wavy flashback lines.) Here we are in our local grocery store and my mom picks up canned tuna. We had just learned in school about how tuna nets were catching my favorite ocean animal, the dolphins. Imagine her shock when I screamed out, “You’re killing the dolphins!” I think she was so surprised she dropped the can on the floor.
“What are you talking about?” came her reply to me and was what the four other shoppers who were now staring at me thought as well. I was insistent that day that she had to buy the dolphin safe tuna, even though it was twice as expensive as the standard tuna. Of course, what could you say to a emotional young girl? “No, I don’t care about dolphins?”
Flash forward to the Green Peace report, which states that although the canned food industry had done a better job, there are many stores and companies that continue to ignore the problems the fishing industry is causing with depleting fish population and the oceans’ health. But, on the positive side, of the 20 largest chains, 11 of them have shown progress in at least offering sustainable fish products. The top four companies are Wegmans, Ahold USA (Stop & Shop and Giant), Whole Foods and Target.
In addition, there are some great companies out now that are certified by third-party organizations to be Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) approved. Meaning their products are sourced in a responsible manner. One such product that we recently ate at our office was Shrimp and Veggie Spring Rolls from Blue Horizons Organic. This company is offering both organic ingredients and certified seafood in a tasty and affordable product.
So next time your shopping for seafood, look for the MSC logo and know that you’re helping to save the oceans.
You can read more of Robin’s post on her blog at www.EasyBeingGreen.info.