Understanding the 2011 Smart Seafood Guide
Download the 
PDF File
With so many seafood choices, how do we determine which are best for our health, the environment and our community? While most seafood guides focus primarily on environmental sustainability, Food & Water Watch’s 2011 Smart Seafood Guide includes considerations like human health implications. In addition, our annual seafood guide is the only one to factor in the socio-economic impact of consuming certain seafood. Finally, our consumer-friendly guide is unique in organizing seafood by its flavor profile (e.g. mild white fish, steak-like fish, etc.), providing you, the consumer, with alternatives to less healthy, less sustainable seafood based on your own tastes and priorities.
| Get the Guide |
|---|
|
 Download the card version |
| View the online guide |
In addition to listing invasive species, we’ve looked at a number of new species this year, evaluating a total of over 100 types of seafood according to three major categories:
- Human health considerations
- Environmental considerations
- Socio-economic considerations
Below are the five major criteria we set for the seafood we recommend in our guide.
We encourage you to consider these criteria before making a seafood selection at a grocery store, market or restaurant.
1. Contaminants
Is the species associated with contaminants like PCB or mercury? If so, how much? Does the species come in contact with parasites or diseases? Do warnings exist advising consumers to limit consumption?
2. Status of the Stock
Is the species overfished or experiencing overfishing? Is it well-managed (is there an effective management plan in place limiting catch, promoting long-term health, etc.)?
3. Catch Method or Farming Method
What types of gear are used to catch the species and does the gear cause any habitat damage or bycatch (e.g. are other species of marine life unintentionally killed during its use)? If the species is produced in a farm facility, what are the ecological impacts? Are there user conflicts involved in farming the species (does the farm promote responsible energy and water usage, efficient feed conversion, and proper disposal of effluent, while avoiding the use of chemicals and/or drugs)? Is the farm susceptible to escapes that could jeopardize wildlife? Does the farm contribute to the spread of disease/parasites?
4. Economic/Social/Cultural Significance
Is this a key species for a community (does the community predominantly fish for this species and depend on it)? Is the species revered or sacred to the community? To date, Food & Water Watch’s seafood guide is the only guide to consider these socio-economic implications.
5. Key Species
Is the species important or necessary for the survival of other wildlife (is it is a primary food source or does it create critical habitat for other wildlife)?
What You Can Do
- Always ask where seafood comes from and how it was produced — was it wild-caught or farmed? For example, choose wild-caught, or otherwise sustainably produced, domestic shrimp over imported farmed shrimp.
- Tell the FDA to increase inspection of imported seafood.
- Ask Congress to increase funding and oversight for the FDA’s seafood import inspection program.
- Tell the USDA to expand country-of-origin labeling so that it includes processed seafood and includes every store and restaurant.
__
Labeling
“Organic”, “sustainable,” “eco-friendly” — what do they all mean? Seafood labels can be very confusing. For example, the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) says its label certifies that seafood is sustainably managed. Unfortunately, many of the fisheries it approved are actually associated with significant environmental problems. Organic labels, if you see them, don’t mean a thing here in the United States for seafood — there are not yet U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) organic standards for seafood. While some attempts are made to provide information, the best method for you as a consumer is to ask questions and learn directly from the people who are selling the seafood.
COOL
Country-of-origin labeling (COOL) is important, but existing laws fall short of requiring all information to be provided for all fish products. In 2005, the USDA developed mandatory COOL rules, which were intended to help inform consumers about where seafood comes from and if it is farm-raised or wild-caught. Unfortunately, USDA did not create a strong labeling program.
“Processed” seafood is exempt, leaving more than 50 percent of fish products sold in the United States without labels. Processed seafood can be anything that has been altered in a substantial way, such as cooked, smoked or canned seafood, or that has been mixed with other ingredients. Examples include seafood soups, seafood medleys, fish blocks and breaded or salted seafood. Excluding processed seafood from COOL requirements is especially troubling, because this category of seafood product has a high risk of contamination.
Ninety percent of fish sellers, such as wholesale markets, don’t have to label the origin.
No enforcement mechanism exists and violators face minimal fines.
_______________________________________________________________________
Mercury and PCB Methodology
Mercury and PCB contaminant information for the 2011 Smart Seafood Guide is drawn from Environmental Defense Fund’s (EDF) Health Alert List. EDF calculates health advisories based on government databases and scientific studies and establishes recommended safe consumption levels for men, women and children. Food & Water Watch does not include any species in our guide that cannot be safely consumed by adults four times per month.
_______________________________________________________________________
The Dirty Dozen
The species on our “Dirty Dozen” list fail to meet two or more of our criteria for safer and more sustainable seafood. The worst offender on our list, imported coastal farmed shrimp, for instance, suffers from both contaminants and poor farming methods, as does another major offender, open-water farmed salmon. Bluefin tuna, a wild-caught species that is horribly depleted, does poorly in several categories: The status of the stock is low due to international unsustainable catch methods/overfishing and the fish is high in contaminants.