Sustainable Seafood
Our oceans face significant threats from overfishing. At REEF Scuba, we push for worldwide sustainable fishing policies, but until that dream becomes a reality, we strive to equip you with knowledge to make seafood choices which reflect your values.
Though avoiding fish consumption is the best option for ocean health, it may not be possible for all. For those reliant on seafood or not ready to forgo fish, below is information we have researched and compiled about sustainable seafood choices and fishing methods.
REEF Scuba Research
REEF Scuba created the Sustainable Fishing Practices White Paper in order to summarize our views on nearly every wild-caught commercial fishing method. When used in combination with sustainable recommendations from the organizations listed at the bottom of this page, and with REEF Scuba’s country specific analysis, we believe consumers can make better seafood choices.
Below you will find our first country-specific analysis, where we overlay our criteria with that of the top sustainable seafood certifying organizations. The goal of this effort is to supply a gold standard of sustainable seafood recommendations and we hope to expand this to other countries soon.
Worth Checking Out…
Seaspiracy is a fantastic film about the health of the ocean and what it means to consume sustainable seafood - is it even possible?
The following organizations offer certifications for sustainable seafood. While they will often steer you away from the most destructive options, we recommend going a step further and only consuming REEF Certified options when possible.
Ocean Wise
Ocean Wise is a global environmental charity who work with seafood supply businesses to help them make more ocean-friendly purchasing decisions and improve the sustainability of the seafood they offer. The Ocean Wise symbol, found on menus and display cases, designates a seafood option as more sustainable. Ocean Wise’s ‘Seafood Search’ tool also provides a quick and straightforward way to assess the sustainability of different seafood options.
At REEF Scuba we believe that this tool is not always strict enough, and that’s why we take Ocean Wise’s recommendations one step further in our white paper, linked at the bottom of this page, so that you can make your own informed seafood choices.
Marine Stewardship Council
The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is an international non-profit organization which awards wild fisheries that demonstrate sustainable fishing practices with an eco-label that can be displayed on product packaging. The MSC is one of the most well-known seafood certification organizations, and many people trust their eco-label to guarantee the sustainability of the fish they buy. That said, many doubts have been cast about the credibility of the MSC. For further information, see Credibility of the MSC label | Ethical Consumer.
At REEF Scuba, we agree that MSC certified seafood is not the gold standard of sustainability, although we would still advise consumers to buy MSC-labelled fish over unlabeled options.
Seafood Watch
Seafood Watch, a program of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, provides a detailed guide of most commercial seafood options, containing information about the species, farming method(s) and extent to which they should be considered sustainable. This seafood guide is available as a mobile application in select countries, with a much smaller printable ‘pocket guide’ available for download in countries where the application is not yet available. Seafood Watch also works with businesses, governments and other partners around the world to increase the reliable supply of sustainably sourced fish. Check out their Consumer Guides to see if they have recommendations for your area.
Friends of the Sea
Friend of the Sea is a project of the World Sustainability Organization which provides recommendations and certification of sustainable initiatives within the fisheries, aquaculture, fishmeal and omega-3 fish oil sector. The Friend of the Sea eco-label can be found on the packaging of products which have met minimum sustainability criteria set by Friend of the Sea. Users can also search for individual approved companies on the Friend of the Sea website, available to view at: Friend of the Sea Approved Companies. For people looking to eat out, the Sustainable Restaurants mobile application created by Friend of the Sea provides a tool in which to search for approved restaurants serving sustainable seafood within the local area.
“People still do not understand that a live fish is more valuable than a dead one, and that destructive fishing techniques are taking a wrecking ball to biodiversity.”
— Sylvia Earle