By Jen Levin, Guest Columnist
Seafood is about as mysterious to many people as the ocean itself. Some of the most environmentally conscious people I meet say they don’t eat seafood because of ecological concerns. Here’s the irony: Seafood is one of the most environmentally friendly proteins available.
The key to supporting sustainable seafood is being aware of where it was harvested and under what regulations.
We’re lucky here in the Northeast with ready access to the Gulf of Maine seafood. From the region’s major grocers to waterfront seafood shops, local seafood is always available. And, compared to other fisheries, we have one of the most researched, well-managed, and monitored fisheries in the world.
The regulatory system for the Gulf of Maine fisheries carefully monitors the catch levels of cod, haddock, mackerel, pollock and other species of fish to ensure long-term sustainability. Fishermen harvest allocations of fish based on scientifically determined stock sizes.
For example, recent news regarding decreased cod stocks in the Gulf of Maine has many seafood consumers avoiding the species at the store and on the menu. What news reports often fail to mention, though, is that fishery managers respond to changes in stock sizes by decreasing allowable catch levels. So if you see local cod on a menu or at the market, you can trust that it was harvested responsibly. The overall — and legally mandated — goal is to ensure long-term sustainability of each stock. In this scenario, it becomes even more important for consumers to support local fishermen working under lower, sustainable catch limits.
The mystery of seafood becomes clear with our local product. Not only are we supporting our local industry, we can be assured that the product was harvested under strict, science-based regulations to sustain fish stocks long into the future.
Jen Levin is the Sustainable Seafood Program Manager at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute. For more info, visit www.gmri.org.
