April 8, 2013 — One of the most common questions we encounter is, "How do I know what fish is ok to buy?" Polls show that most Americans want sustainable seafood, and over half are willing to pay more for it, yet navigating the waters of eating better fish remains baffling for many of us. To make matters more complicated, sustainability labels are confusing, and fish fraud runs rampant. So how do we do the right thing?
One simple step we can all take is to buy wild domestic seafood. 91 percent of the seafood consumed in the U.S. is imported, and over half of what we catch here is sent overseas. Talk about a broken food chain. With our own traditional fishing communities struggling for better access to the marketplace, it's nonsensical that we eat so much imported fish. In fact, American fisheries are actually the world leader in terms of sustainability. When the Magnuson-Stevens Act was passed in 1976, it became federal law that no U.S. waters could be overfished. Though it has taken time, around the country wild fish stocks are rebuilding, management is improving, and independent fishermen have a better chance at passing their work down to the next generation.
Atlantic Spiny Dogfish is one recent example of an American seafood success story. Unappreciated here in the U.S, no rules were put in place to protect the species, and increased demand for the fish in Europe led to declining stocks. Strict management was implemented, and the fishery was declared rebuilt in 2010, receiving MSC certification in 2012. Dogfish is somewhat of a Cinderella story in the fish world: it's gone from an undervalued species to a sustainable, delicious, affordable option. What is more, it supports the Northeast fishermen who are looking for new fish to catch after recent cuts to the Atlantic cod quota.
Read the full story at the Huffington Post