Which fish are sustainable?
Making environmentally friendly seafood choices

Believe it or not, our daily diets can have a profound impact on the environment. This is especially true for seafood lovers, who can choose to buy specific types of seafood that are more eco-friendly.

In 2009, Americans spent billions of dollars on fish at restaurants and grocery stores. Many environmentalists want consumers to heed the warning that the world's oceans are being overfished and certain types of seafood are endangered and facing extinction.

Experts from The International Union for Conservation of Nature warn that bluefin tuna are among the more than 40 species of fish in the Mediterranean alone that are under threat of vanishing from the region. The Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch® lists several breeds of seafood in its "avoid" column, indicating that these are overfished and/or fished or farmed in ways that harm other marine life or the environment. Some seafood on the list include imported king crab, grouper, spiny lobster, farmed salmon, many different shrimp, and tilapia from China and Taiwan.

To help make smart purchases, some consumers would like to see warning labels on certain seafood packaging to indicate if the species is threatened. A poll conducted by Greenpeace in Japan several years ago found that 68 percent of consumers were in favor of the warning labels. Ninety-one percent of Canadians feel seafood should come from sustainable sources, according to a June 2011 poll by the World Wildlife Fund.

Some retailers are already stepping up their conservation efforts. In March 2011, Costco, the popular warehouse center, stopped selling 12 species of fish that have been identified as threatened by overfishing. Other stores are doing the same.

Public awareness of overfishing is on the rise through grassroots organizations and major environmental outfits. As such, consumers often want to know where to turn to find sustainable seafood for their dinner tables. Right now Seafood Watch lists these species as their "Best Choices" in sustainability.

* Arctic Char (Farmed in recirculating systems)

* Barramundi (U.S. farmed in fully recirculating Systems)

* Catfish (U.S. farmed)

* Clams (Farmed)

* Cobia (U.S. Farmed)

* Cod, Atlantic (Iceland, Northeast Arctic hook-and-line)

* Cod, Pacific (U.S. bottom longline, jig, trap)

* Crab, Dungeness

* Crab, Stone

* Halibut, Pacific

* Mackerel, Atlantic (Canada)

* Mussels (Farmed)

* Oysters (Farmed)

* Perch, Yellow (Lake Erie)

* Salmon (Alaska Drift Gillnet, Purse Seine, Troll)

* Scallops (Farmed off-bottom)

* Striped Bass (Farmed)

* Tilapia (U.S. Farmed)

* Trout, Rainbow (Farmed)

* Tuna, Albacore (U.S. Pacific, Canadian Pacific Troll, pole-and-line)

* Tuna, Albacore (Canned) White (U.S. Pacific, Canadian Pacific Troll, pole-and-line)

* Tuna, Bigeye (U.S. Atlantic Troll, pole-and-line)

* Tuna, Skipjack (Troll, pole-and-line)

* Whitefish, Lake (Trap-net)

Through smart purchases, consumers can help protect the world's oceans.