EDFish

EDF Recognizes World Oceans Day

By / Published: June 8, 2012

Rahel Marsie-Hazen, Howard University Fellow

Today, June 8, 2012 marks the fourth World Oceans Day.  The United Nations established this special day both to celebrate and pay tribute to the mighty body of water that covers 71% of the Earth’s surface and contains 97% of the planet’s water. The world’s oceans generate most of the oxygen we breathe, regulate our climate, clean the water we drink and house potential medicines for illnesses.

Let’s not forget that our oceans also provide us with seafood, which plays an integral role in the food security of billions of people worldwide. Small and large communities in many regions of the world depend on fish as a primary source of protein. For many, it provides an invaluable supplement for diversified and healthy diets. Our oceans also support the fishing industry, which provides an important means of income for millions of people and their families.

Our oceans do a great deal for us and on this day we must recognize that they are in serious trouble. According to the 2010 State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture report, more than 80% of global fisheries are fully or over exploited. But the tide is turning in American fisheries. Fisheries management reform and best practices are nursing these fisheries back to health—rebounding fish stocks, returning job stability and providing consumers with fresh and sustainably caught seafood. And this is definitely excellent news to celebrate. Happy World Oceans Day.

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I’ll Have the Cod, Please

By / Bio / Published: May 9, 2012

Being a conscientious seafood lover is difficult today. What is sustainable? What is not? We wrote an op-ed published in the Boston Globe yesterday that we hope will help clarify the right choices to make in order to support both local fishermen and fish stocks. Given the ups and downs of fish populations, what matters most is having a management system in place that puts the fishery on a path to long term stability. Read the op-ed.

 

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Consumers Deserve to Know about Seafood Contaminants

By / Bio / Published: April 12, 2012
Tim Fitzgerald, Sr. Policy Specialist, Oceans

Tim Fitzgerald, Scientist and Senior Oceans Policy Specialist

If you can choose whether to have tartar sauce with your fish, why not high levels of mercury?

The Washington Post ran a story last week that said fish consumption advisories for pollutants like mercury do more harm than good by discouraging people from eating fish. Tuesday, the newspaper published a letter in response from me and Dr. Lynn Goldman, Dean of The George Washington University’s School of Public Health and Health Services and member of EDF’s Board of Trustees.

Eating seafood is an important part of a healthy diet. However, that does not justify ignoring the fact that some types of fish contain high concentrations of environmental contaminants. Just last week, a new study came out that documented significant losses of IQ points from the American population as a result of elevated blood mercury levels (and other environmental contaminants). Read More »

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Seafood Fraud: What You Order Isn’t Always What You Get

By / Bio / Published: April 9, 2012

Plated seafood. Image by Eliza Adam (Creative Commons License)Mislabeled seafood, or seafood fraud, is a hot topic in the fish world these days. Recent exposés by the Boston Globe and Consumer Reports have revealed an alarmingly high rate of seafood  deception in restaurants and markets. Conducting DNA testing on fish from local restaurants, the Globe found that about 50% of tested fish were mislabeled. What does this mean? Well, for the average seafood consumer, it means that the fish you pay for is often not the one you actually get.

Seafood fraud can result in adverse health effects, reinforce the market for illegal fishing, and perpetuate false information about the true state of the marine environment.

But unless you’re a marine biologist, fisherman or seafood purveyor, it can be hard to tell the difference between wild and farmed salmon, red snapper and tilapia, or grouper and Vietnamese catfish (aka basa). The FDA has a list of the most commonly substituted seafood items, but good luck finding this posted anywhere that you buy fish. Read More »

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Neuroconservation: Your Brain on Ocean

By / Bio / Published: January 3, 2012

Roaring Ocean, Oregon Coast. Photo by Charles Seaborn.

The fate of the oceans is now in human hands, yet most of us ocean conservationists don’t know much about why people do things that harm the ocean, or how to motivate behavior that is good for the ocean.  As I note in my book, Heal the Ocean, the re-connection of people to the sea will be key to pervasive conservation and intelligent resource use.  But how can we do that?

I recently had the opportunity to learn about how humans relate to the ocean by moderating the Blue Mind: Your Brain on Ocean panel of scientists, futurists and communicators as part of the inaugural Bay Area Science Festival. We also explored how conservationists might be able to apply the insights of neuroscience, behavioral science, and psychology to improve conservation strategies and outcomes.

BLUEMiND Graphic from Inaugural Summit, June, 2011.

The panel line-up included marine biologist and research associate at the California  Academy of Sciences, Dr. Wallace J. Nichols, who also has an economics degree from Duke University, and hybrid and communications expert Sarah Kornfeld. “J.”, as Dr. Nichols likes to be called, and Sarah hosted a groundbreaking conference in June at the Academy of Sciences called BLUEMiND to explore the response of the human brain to the ocean. Read More »

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Head to Tailfin: Sustainable, Locally-caught Seafood

By / Bio / Published: October 25, 2011

Recently, I had the pleasure of joining the “Head to Tailfin” dinner organized by Slow Food Boston at Boston’s 606 Congress restaurant.  The seven-course menu paired original seafood creations crafted by Executive Chef Rich Garcia, a former chef in the U.S. Marine Corps who has been featured in the culinary magazine Star Chefs, with Spanish wines selected by sommelier Jack Guinan.  And, wow, was the meal something special!

Chef Garcia’s aim was to show how the whole animal can be used, from the head all the way to the tailfin.  Consistent with the slow food philosophy, Rich used locally caught seafood, with one exception: The fifth course featured shrimp from the Gulf of Mexico as a show of support for the region’s seafood industry recovering from the detrimental ecological and public perception effects of the Deepwater Horizon blowout.

Among the dishes of New England origin, my favorite was a toss-up between deep-fried cod tongue and cheeks, and sous vide long fin squid with Hill Farms pork belly.  The cod was caught under the sector management system implemented in the New England groundfish fishery last year, one of the newest catch share systems in the nation.  The squid was caught by the same fishermen who created and operate Rhode Island’s fluke sector out of Point Judith.  Diners were able to learn which captain caught their squid, and where and when it was caught, using QR codes provided during the meal as part of the new “Trace and Trust” program.   Read More »

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