Conservation
Sustainable Seafood Forum
A Commitment to Provide Healthy Seafood Choices
What is the Sustainable Seafood Forum (SSF)?
- Partnership of leading seafood restaurateurs, seafood suppliers, retailers and the Aquarium of the Pacific who have made the commitment to provide their customers healthy seafood choices that are clearly identified and documented as coming from both sustainable wild stocks and sustainable aquaculture operations.
- Advised by group of distinguished scientists who are experts on health and nutrition, aquaculture, fisheries, environmental sustainability, and social sustainability.
- Committed to working with fisheries and aquaculture operations to move them toward sustainability through education.
- Believe that “Good aquaculture practices are necessary for the future of commercial fish stocks”.
Criteria used in selecting sustainable choices:
- Healthfulness - concerned about (1) advising sensitive populations (see below) (2) contamination levels for all populations
- Environmental sustainability
- Socio-cultural integrity integrity of the communities engaged in capture and culture fisheries. fair wages, safe and healthy working conditions, fair labor practices, adequate housing and schools
Key Terms
- Sustainability definition used by SSF: “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.
- Aquaculture - cultivation of fresh-water and marine species in a controlled environment
- Omega-3 fatty acid – the human body cannot produce omega-3 fatty acids, which benefit the heart of healthy people, and those at high risk of — or who have — cardiovascular disease.
Recommended fish to eat: Sustainable by environmental, social, and health standards set by scientists and various governmental agencies. Farmed salmon or wild salmon caught sustainably, farm-raised rainbow trout, herring, mackerel (Atlantic Jack), sardines, shad (American), whitefish, anchovies, chub mackerel (Pacific), farmed sturgeon caviar, AND there are many more fishes that are recommended in specific conditions, for example if they are sustainably caught or farmed.
Special note to Sensitive Populations - Women who are pregnant or nursing, or who plan to become pregnant in the next 12-18 months, children under the age of six, and individuals with weakened immune system. In addition to the “Avoid” category listed above, should avoid these fish due to high levels of Mercury: swordfish, king mackerel, tilefish (aka golden bass or golden snapper – Gulf of Mexico), Spanish mackerel (Gulf of Mexico), marlin, grouper, tuna (fresh or frozen), walleye (Great Lakes, Canada)