Seafood, the Environment, and You

For those of you who might not know or for those of you who might need to be reminded, my title mimics the title of one of my fraternity brother's lectures during a "senior lecture series" where seniors had to give presentations related to their majors or whatever they wanted to talk about all while standing on a keg of beer.

This lecture series was done before I joined the fraternity. In fact, I think it was only done one year, so it never took hold as a tradition. Apparently though, it was a good time. But the lecture whose title I'm imitating was "Beer [or was it Booze?], Chemistry, and You."A fellow who went on to get his Ph.D. in Chemistry ("Goof") did it.

Anyway, an article in Audubon Magazine a while back relates science and decisions you make in a more serious manner than Goof's lecture at the Stove, so I thought I'd pass it along since probably many of you eat seafood.

Ted Williams in "Gone Fish" provides some helpful information for readers who are concerned about the fish they eat.

A few quotations stood out to me that relate to "the environment" on a large scale. You can ponder the connections on your own:

• "'Seafood guides educate people, but a minority. Personal conversation choices done mean much if public policy isn't changed.'" (related by John McMurray)
• "But for offshore species, commercial and recreational overkill is the result of a federal law predicated on the mistaken belief that 'stakeholders' will do what's best for the resource and the public good even when it means resisting their immediate appetites." 
• "Basically their argument comes down to this: 'Our current economic ill-health requires us to keep destroying the resources on which our economic health depends.'"

Early in the article, the author provides five fish guides "you should probably pay most attention to," and they are the following, some with hyperlinks:

• Blue Ocean Institute's Seafood Guide
• Seafood Recommendations from the Monterrey Bay Aquarium
• Seafood Selector by the Environmental Defense Fund
• Greenpeace's
• National Resources Defense Council's Sustainable Seafood Guide

Just because I was curious, I thought I'd see how past culinary decisions stack up. Using the guide from the Blue Ocean Institute, I punched in seafood choices that members of the Nasty family have eaten in the past. I'm going choice-by-choice.

Like many Americans, I first got introduced to seafood by eating fish sticks, and we have a package in the freezer. The sticks are made of Pollock, which is a good choice. American or Walleye Pollock both garner a green fish rating, and the Walleye variety earns the sustainable fishery rating by the Marine Stewardship Council.

Though I rarely get to eat them, I love Crawfish. Whenever I get back to the South, I gorge on those critters, which seems to be an excellent choice according to the Blue Ocean Institute.

Mrs. Nasty likes crabs, especially Dungeness Crab, a choice that earns a green fish rating. But Dungeness aren't always available, so she'll often select King Crab from time to time, which gets a not-bad rating with the lighter green fish. 

When we've been to Florida, I've gotten a Grouper from time to time, but it's not a selection I'm enamored with since it's kind of bland. That choice isn't so good with the Black species earning the lighter green fish, and the other two species--Gag and Red--earning yellow fish ratings. In addition, all three get red flags for this reason: "These fish contain levels of mercury or PCBs that may pose a health risk to adults and children." Yikes.

I also really like Oysters. And when I was in Baltimore for a conference this fall, I had a platter of  raw oysters from different areas--Canada, the Chesapeake, and another place I can't recall, maybe Rhode Island. I liked the Chesapeake ones the best, and I'm also fond of Gulf oysters. Green Fish for the Eastern Oyster, baby!

I've had Red Snapper before, but it's not something I order regularly when I have a chance. I won't be ordering it again since it gets an orange fish rating coupled with a red flag. 

Salmon, that choice is on all kinds of restaurants' menus. I don't really care for it much. Mrs. Nasty is more likely to order it than me. Whether you made a good choice on Salmon depends on what species you get and how it was raised, as you can see. Farmed-raised Atlantic Salmon are a bad choice. 

Another species that's all over the place--on menus and supermarkets--is Tilapia, a fish with little flavor. It looks like American raised ones are a better choice than ones from Asia, Central America, and South America. 

And finally, I'll end this post with a fish that is really fun to catch, Walleye. You're not going to get hand-caught Walleye in a restaurant, but even thought they're mass cultivated, the species gets the lighter green fish rating, so I'm happy about that.