Good Fish_ Sustainable Seafood Recipes From the Pacific Coast - Becky Selengut [9]
The important questions to ask when buying wild fish are: what is the species, where was it caught, and how was it caught? If you want Pacific Coast wild seafood, you can feel good picking the types I specify in this book, though keep in mind that this is a constantly evolving story—which makes a resource like Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch indispensable (see page 239 for contact information).
Farmed Fish
Let’s clear up a common misconception: while there can be some issues with shellfish farming (obstructed access to beaches, complaints of unsightliness, litter), in general it is extremely sustainable for two very important reasons. First, farmed shellfish are not fed using wild fish feed, so there is no negative drawing of species (protein loss) from the oceans to convert to feed. Second, farmed shellfish, just like wild shellfish, filter feed, thus contributing to better water quality. There are few simple decisions when it comes to eating seafood ethically, but here is one: shellfish such as oysters, clams, and mussels make the oceans cleaner. Three cheers for these little pumping filter feeders!
Let’s move on to fish farming. On the Pacific Coast we’re mainly talking about salmon farms, which are located right on the ocean’s shores (versus on land in a closed-containment system). This method of farming carries with it huge problems. Studies are finding that ocean farming hurts wild fish. Think of it this way: if there were an outbreak of disease on an island where there were no ferries or bridges, the disease would be self-limiting. Compare this to a disease breaking out in the middle of New York City—pretty limitless how far that disease could spread, right? It just seems like a bad idea to mix and mingle high-density fish farms right in the middle of wild-fish ocean migration routes. The ocean is an extremely efficient distribution medium; we need to be very careful about what we introduce into this vast open system. Closed-containment land-based farms make a lot more sense.
Other issues worth considering when thinking about fish farming are feed ratio and quality of feed. Carnivorous fish at the top of the food chain require a lot of wild fish feed to convert to usable protein. (For example, farmed bluefin tuna are said to have a feed ratio of anywhere from 5:1 all the way up to 20:1—depending on how big the fish and which study you’re looking at—where the first number is pounds of wild feed to produce the second number, pounds of fish flesh.) It is much more sustainable to choose fish lower on the food chain that are either vegetarian or require small amounts of fish protein to produce their flesh. Another issue worth exploring is the quality of the feed given to farmed fish. I’m interested in the sustainability of our oceans but also in the health of the fish for those who consume it. Farmed fish may be a renewable resource, but if that fish is fed genetically modified grains treated with chemicals, I can’t, in good conscience, get behind it. This is an area that needs more investigation; consumer pressure will help get to the bottom of these issues.
LESS IS MORE
We humans eat too much fish.
We humans eat too much of the same kinds of fish.
Farmed salmon, imported farmed shrimp, and wild fish, such as bluefin tuna, are in such high demand that they are produced or harvested in staggering, unbelievable numbers. In the case of offshore farming, the fish are packed into cages like sardines in a can, escape into wild populations, spread disease, and create all sorts of problems for our environment. Antibiotics are applied en masse by many offshore farming operations to control outbreaks of disease; unfortunately, those diseases, not to mention the antibiotics, still find a way to get into our oceans. In the case of bluefin tuna (and other wild species), we are simply fishing them