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The problem:
People are eating more seafood than ever, and the ocean and its fish are being
pushed to the limit. According to the United Nations, approximately
two-thirds of ocean species are overfished, and many types of ocean fish
farming are highly damaging to coastal environments. The situation is so serious
that a study in the journal Science recently projected that – without a change in
course - the populations of all wild fish species currently caught will collapse before the year 2050.
The solution:
Each of us can help solve this crisis by
becoming "ocean friendly" when making our seafood choices. By choosing species
that are abundant, and fished or farmed with minimal harm to the surrounding
environment, we can eat well and do good at the same time!
Food for Thought:
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Go with the green!
Carry a seafood wallet card, a guide to which fish species get the "green light"
as good choices. These cards are great references when buying seafood at grocery stores and
restaurants, and are available for free from the
Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch Program.
- Good for you, good for your local economy.
Be a conscious consumer and try to buy local,
environmentally responsible seafood as much as possible. This promotes
sustainable management of marine resources, and preserves a way of life
for progressive-minded farmers and fishermen in your region. Help create
a conservation economy!
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Got mercury?
These days it's important to know where your seafood comes from. Some species of fish contain
dangerous levels of mercury, PCBs, and dioxins due to pollution coming
from land run-off and air-fallout into the ocean. Children, pregnant women, and women of childbearing age are especially at
risk. Use the "Got mercury?"
calculator to estimate your weekly intake of mercury
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Not all salmon are created equal.
While many types of aquaculture could
actually help feed the world, salmon farming is the "poster child" for the wrong way to do it. Salmon farming can spread
disease to wild salmon and pollute our ocean. Choosing sustainably farmed vegetarian species such as tilapia and catfish, or
farmed shellfish, can make a positive difference!
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Skip the shrimp cocktail.
Much of the world's shrimp fishing industry is extremely wasteful, with an average of more than five pounds of
bycatch killed and discarded "less
valuable" sea creatures – for every pound of shrimp brought to
port. And shrimp farming typically
relies on unsustainable industrial practices that can be damaging to
both coastal ecosystems and human health. If you need a "shrimp
fix," you can choose responsibly and savor every
sweet shrimp morsel!
Additional Resources: These Ocean Project Partners and other organizations have great resources, seafood wallet guides,
seafood almanacs, and more information and tools that provide ways for you to
make wise choices about the seafood you buy and eat.
Safety Issues:
- Safe Fish Chart
The Children's Health Environmental Coalition is a resource center for environmental health risks
affecting children, including their Safe Fish Chart - especially for children,
teens and all women of child-bearing age.
- KidSafe Seafood
Some fish are healthier than others - especially for children. SeaWeb's KidSafe Seafood provides best
choices, recipes, facts and other resources.
- Oceans Alive
Environmental Defense's site has some of the latest on fish that should be eaten in limited quantities
or not at all because of contamination.
- Natural Resources Defense Council
Learn more about mercury contamination in fish and how to help protect yourself and your family, and download their mercury in fish wallet guide.
- Mercury
View Blue Ocean Institute's short animated film how mercury gets into fish and onto your plate.
Sustainable Seafood:
Other Regional and Issue-specific Seafood Programs:
The problem:
The ocean lies downstream from all of us, so many of the problems facing the ocean actually begin back on
land. Polluted runoff from streets and farms, for example, carries pollutants
and fertilizers into coastal waters. Increasingly, this creates "dead
zones" where sea animals cannot survive. And global warming, from such activities as transportation of food, is already killing coral reefs and having numerous other
adverse effects on our ocean. Where our food comes from and how it is
grown do affect the health and productivity of our ocean, and in turn the
health and productivity of our life on land!
The solution:
Each of us can use our consumer power to become part of the solution. We
can be "ocean friendly" whether we choose to eat seafood or not. By choosing locally grown, organic
foods that are farmed in environmentally sensitive ways and by reducing or
eliminating our meat (including fish) consumption, we can help protect our
ocean!
Food for Thought:
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Go back to the future!
Organic food is produced without
pesticides or synthetic fertilizers, thus helping to keep these
potentially hazardous chemicals out of the food chain, our bodies, and the
waters that sustain our ocean planet.
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One at a time.
Try to replace one food item with an organic version each time you shop. Since more than 90% of food-based toxic chemicals are found in animal products, eating low on the
food chain protects us from exposure to these dangerous chemicals. So prioritize by purchasing organic animal products and
then substituting for those fruits and vegetables, such as peaches,
apples, and spinach, that tend to be high in pesticide residues.
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Eat lower.
The average cow consumes roughly 56
pounds of grain and 25 gallons of water each day. That's a lot of
resources for each hamburger or steak. Eating lower on the
food chain (i.e. plant-based diets)
conserves food resources that would otherwise be used to feed the animals
we eat and protects us from exposure to harmful chemicals.
- Eat a carbon light diet
Carbon dioxide produced on land does impact the ocean. Production and transport of all foods results in carbon dioxide emissions, but different foods have very different impacts. Use this simple carbon calculator to find a carbon light diet to suit your taste and help curb global warming.
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Just ask.
Ask your local grocer to stock organic alternatives for as many foods as possible. The more frequently
more people ask for organic choices, the more likely grocers are to offer
organic.
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Think global, buy
local!
You can do right by the planet by purchasing
from local businesses. The food on our plates has traveled 1,500
miles, on average. Support local family farmers and fishers, and help
reduce global warming caused in part by food transportation, via air,
ship, and truck. You can also help protect the ocean by purchasing seasonal foods
at farmer's markets, roadside stands,
and pick-your-own farms. Find stores and restaurants that use
products raised by local family farms.
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Build Community.
Consider joining a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture),
a partnership of mutual commitment between a farm and a community of supporters that creates a
direct link from the producer of your food to you. CSAs are popping up all around!
Thank you for caring for our blue planet! By incorporating this information into your family's meal planning
and by sharing these pointers with friends, you can help make our ocean
healthy for the next generation. Each small step you take does help the ocean, and
each person you inspire to action magnifies your positive impact!
Choose “Ocean-Friendly” Paper
The Problem: Behind every brand new, stark white sheet of paper is a lot of muck that pollutes the environment and our ocean and that is bad for our health. The pulp, paper, and paper product industry is actually one of the largest and most environmentally damaging industries in the world - in fact, it is the third most environmentally polluting industry in North America!
Paper productions consumes millions of acres of virgin forest; is a significant contributor to industrial global warming pollution; uses tons of freshwater; and pollutes that water, the land, and air with dangerous chemicals such as dioxin.
The Solution: Each of us can use our consumer power to become part of the solution by purchasing “ocean-friendly” paper. “Ocean-friendly” simply means that the paper production process does not harm the environment or our blue backyard - the ocean.
When shopping for paper, look for the following characteristics:
- 90 - 100% PCW (post consumer waste) content.
It is not enough to look for the recycled logo; most “recycled” paper on the market is actually mainly composed of woods chips and mill scraps. The U.S. Environmental Projection Agency (EPA), for example, only requires paper to contain 30% of PCW to be labeled “recycled” which means additional tress still had to be cut to produce the paper.
To be beneficial to forests, landfills, and the environment, recycled paper should be composed of 90% - 100% PCW. Compared to copy paper made from 100% virgin forest fiber, copy paper made from 100% PCW recycled content reduces:
- total energy consumption by 44%
- net greenhouse gas emissions by 38%
- particulate emissions by 41%
- wastewater by 50%
- solid waste by 49%
- wood use by 100%
(Source: Environmental Defense Paper Calculator and The Green Line Paper Company).
- Non-bleached paper, or paper bleached in a chlorine free process such as oxygen bleaching, and manufactured in a closed loop system (i.e. full effluent recycling) to minimize harmful waste.
- Paper sourced from ecologically managed plantations or made from alternative fibers - such as hemp, kenaf, bagasse, wheatstraw, rice straw, elephant pooh etc.
You can easily purchase “ocean-friendly” paper online at The Green Line Paper Company.
The Ocean Project is pleased to let you know that we use only 100% “ocean-friendly” paper for the Seas the Day calendars, bookmarks, and our other paper products and publications. Learn more about The Ocean Project’s blue practices here.
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