Sustainable Seafood
What is sustainability?
Sustainability is a concept, a goal of fisheries managers. Sustainability is the maintenance of a level of a stock of fish which allows perpetual harvest. The species maintains adequate numbers of adults to reproduce and the young are able to grow into harvestable size and abundance and the species maintains its ecological role. Before we get into that discussion, we should define who the regulatory players are.
The harvest of wild stocks of fish from the ocean or from tidewater areas is managed by either the individual states, an interstate compact of several states or the federal government. The interstate compacts include the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission or the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission. These commissions cooperatively manage the migratory fish shared by the states in their waters up to three miles offshore.
Beyond three miles, the federal entity that oversees harvest of any fish species in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ, 3-200 miles) are the Regional Fisheries Management Councils under the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). They work in conjunction with the Commissions and the states to develop management plans and provide guidelines to harvest a particular species. There is federal authority to force a state that is not in compliance with an agreed upon plan into compliance. The governing body on the state level in Maryland is the MD Dept of Natural Resources. In Virginia, it is called the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC).
In our discussion of sustainability, we will need to define a few terms.
- resource -- each fish specie is viewed as a single renewable resource
- biomass -- the total population of a species
- user groups -- competing interests utilizing a fish species for different reasons
- maximum sustainable yield (MSY)-- maximum harvest that still allows a species to replenish itself
- total allowable catch (TAC)-- the annual recommended catch for a species
- mortality -- removal of fish from a population by fishing or natural causes
- harvest gear -- method by which the fish species are caught
- by-catch -- the harvest of fish or shellfish other than the species for which the fishing gear was set
- quota -- the maximum amount of fish that can be legally harvested in a given time period
The basic model in modern day fisheries management is to have a target population for a particular species. Then, allow only enough harvest by all user groups (TAC), such that the population can replenish itself each year. Each year, the biologists, assess the biomass (population) of a particular species, and determine how many pounds of fish/crabs can come out of the water. They then divide this poundage between the various user groups (recreational & commercial). The commercial quota poundage is then divided again amongst the various harvest gear types (gill net, pound net, haul seine etc). For migratory species, the quota may be split between states. This is a simplistic model, but in general it holds true for most species. If a population of a particular species is below their target population, then the managers requires cuts in harvest (reduce mortality)(cut poundage quota, close season, raise minimum size) and allow the population to rebuild.
A truly sustainable species is one that is at or moving towards its target biomass (population). It is not currently being over fished and it is well managed (has a governing body that oversees the fishery). There are many species that fit this definition.
These include but are not limited to the following:
- Wild Striped Bass (Rockfish)-- Morone saxitilis
- North Atlantic Swordfish-- Xiphias gladius
- Summer Flounder or Fluke -- Paralichtys dentatus
- Domestic Squid -- Loligo pealeii
- Alaskan Pollock -- Theragra chalcogramma
- Mahi Mahi -- Coryphaena hippurus
- Maine Lobster -- Homerus americanus
- Alaskan Halibut -- Hippoglossus stenolepis
- Atlantic Yellowfin Tuna -- Thunnus albacares
- Atlantic Sea Scallop -- Placopecten magellanicus
- Pacific Sardines -- Sardinops sagax caerulea
Over the last few years, many chefs across the country have become involved in promoting the consumption of only "sustainable" species. We in the seafood industry welcome this support. We believe that responsible chefs can help shape public opinion and create demand for some species where there wasn't any before (underutilized species -- this can transfer demand from over utilized species). These same chefs can also have a tremendous negative effect on the demand for certain species not deemed sustainable. Many of us remember the swordfish boycott of the late 90's. What many people don't know today is that the North Atlantic swordfish is a real success story of fisheries management. In 1998, the NMFS closed over a million square miles of ocean to commercial swordfishing (an area known as the Charleston Bump). This allowed the juvenile swordfish population to explode (big increase in recruitment). It took 8 years for the adult swordfish population to recover fully and it now stands at 110% of the target biomass. We need to promote the success stories as vigorously as the horror stories that are spread by the media.
Information on sustainable species can come from a variety of outlets. The most popular source of sustainable fish for chefs is the Monterey Bay Aquarium List. This list is a good starting point for chefs but shouldn't be viewed as the final word. For example, there is a single Chilean sea bass fishery in the South Georgia Sea off the Falkland Islands that is certified sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council. The summer flounder (fluke-- Paralichtys dentatus) is at 77% of its target biomass. It will be fully recovered by 2013. It is not overfished and its population is growing. Choosing sustainable species requires more research than just reading from a list. Another excellent source of information on many fish species is the NOAA Fish Watch web site. It outlines the sustainability status, life cycle, and harvest of many domestic fish species.
