Understanding Sustainable Seafood

What is Sustainable Seafood?

Sustainability is defined as meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. A resource is considered sustainable when, through thoughtful practices, it is sure to be available for use in the future. In terms of seafood, this means catching or farming seafood responsibly, with consideration for the long-term health of the environment and the livelihoods and cultures of people who depend upon the environment and its wildlife.

What Can You Do As a Consumer?

People who enjoy consuming seafood have a particular interest in making sure that it’s available to eat, today or in fifty years. When you purchase seafood, the money that you spend directly funds the efforts of the people who work to catch and process the fish or shellfish you’re putting on your table. The system is a little like voting; your money is your ballot, and when you use your money to purchase sustainable seafood, you’re voting for seafood that’s guaranteed to be available for future use. If you choose to order something off a menu at a restaurant that features sustainably caught seafood, you’re voting for the people at that restaurant to continue purchasing sustainable seafood. As a consumer, you have an opportunity to influence the availability of seafood for you and everyone else who enjoys the delicious food from our oceans.

Use GULF's Guide to Buying Sustainable Seafood for easy tips on how to make educated, sustainable seafood choices as a consumer.

Click here for the guide!

Why does Sustainability Matter?

A sustainable fishery protects the livelihoods of those who depend on aquatic resources by safeguarding everything needed for biodiverse wildlife to survive and thrive through environmental stewardship and responsible practices.

Sustainable fisheries increase the value of U.S. fisheries to the economy, support fishing communities, and maintain healthy marine ecosystems by:

Taking care to never harvest more than can be replaced.
Ensuring that the environment and ecosystems that support the fisheries stay healthy and remain able to do so.
Guaranteeing that those who rely on fisheries for a living can continue to provide for their families.

The Science of Sustainability

“Sustainability” is a word we hear often, in all sorts of contexts, whether it’s the sustainability of business and finance, or of natural resources. At a basic level, sustainability means utilizing a resource in a manner in which it can be replenished. In fisheries and in the seafood industry, a great deal of work goes behind ensuring fish and shellfish populations are harvested sustainably, ideally in a manner that industry-members can also maintain profitable businesses.

Keeping track of finfish and shellfish populations is no easy task, yet it is vital to the health of coastal communities around the United States. There is much more to monitoring the health of species than just counting animals; one must also take into account the ecosystem an animal lives in and relies on, food availability, environmental conditions, habitat quality, and other species that may share that habitat or ecosystem. As a result, collaboration is vital in keeping track of a fishery’s health. State and federal management agencies, universities, and fishermen must all work together to provide as much information as possible on the fishery so that its status can be determined