What is Seafood Watch?
A program of Monterey Bay Aquarium designed to raise consumer awareness about the importance of buying seafood from sustainable sources. We recommend which seafood to buy or avoid, helping consumers to become advocates for environmentally friendly seafood. We're also partners of the Seafood Choices Alliance where, along with other seafood awareness campaigns, we provide seafood purveyors with recommendations on seafood choices.
What is our mission
Seafood Watch's mission is to empower consumers and businesses to make choices for healthy oceans.
How did Seafood Watch begin?
Monterey Bay Aquarium developed a list of sustainable seafood as part of our 1997-1999 "Fishing for Solutions" exhibit anticipating visitor questions about making better seafood choices. Our Portola Cafe restaurant and husbandry department also adopted a "sustainable seafood" policy. The list evolved into the Seafood Watch pocket guide for consumers.
Today, we have a dedicated staff to create and distribute regional Seafood Watch pocket guides across the United States and Canada.
Why do seafood choices matter?
The choices we make as consumers drive the seafood market place. Your purchasing power can make a difference by supporting those fisheries and fish farms that are better for the environment, while at the same time relieving pressure on others that are not doing as well.
Some of the key problems that help us evaluate whether a fishery is sustainable include the level of bycatch observed, the fishing methods and their impact, if it is farmed—how it is farmed, and how well the fishery or aquaculture operation is managed. With nearly 75% of the world's fisheries either fully fished or overfished, these issues are more important than ever. By using the Seafood Watch pocket guide you are making choices based on the best available information and supporting environmentally friendly fisheries and aquaculture operations.
What is "sustainable seafood?"
We believe that seafood from sources, either fished or farmed, that can exist over the long-term without compromising species' survival or the health of the surrounding ecosystem is sustainable. We favor conservation of the resource in the face of scientific uncertainty.
How does Seafood Watch develop recommendations?
Our Seafood Watch guides reflect what is sold in the regional market. To create each regional guide, we establish partnerships with regional zoos and aquariums. Our staff does most of the research, collecting government reports, journal articles, and making personal contact with fishery and fish farm experts to create a Seafood Report. After a thorough review process, the information is run through our criteria for sustainability and a recommendation is developed. Our regional partners assist with choosing the species to be researched and distribute the pocket guides to their guests.
For more information about our research, ranking and review process, please see:
How do you ensure accurate, up-to-date information?
Our staff researches and evaluates each seafood item on our pocket guides. We work with fishery or aquaculture experts to gather pertinent information. Our research manager oversees the peer review process of our research reports. Each pocket guide is updated twice a year and recommendations are updated continuously on the web site.
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Find out how you can help provide the public with sustainable seafood choices.
Seafood Watch Program Documents
To order Seafood Watch Cards
More Questions? Comments?
Please contact us at the Seafood Watch Hotline (877) 229-9990 (toll-free) or e-mail us.
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