Kindai Bluefin Tuna, Farmed Sustainably, Available in Philadelphia - The Philadelphia Inquirer

photo credit Laurence Kesterson

Well damn, and we were told it couldn't be done.

""All populations of bluefin tuna are being caught faster than they can reproduce," according to Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch."

But the people love tuna. So what will be done about a favourite sushi menu item? Well, Japan's Kinki University's Fisheries Laboratories might just have an answer.

"Kindai tuna are farmed, rather than ranched: raised to maturity from wild bluefin eggs, which ensures genetic diversity. Mediterranean, South Australian, and Mexican tuna ranchers capture juvenile fish, raise them in net pens, and often ship them to market before they are mature enough to reproduce. Critics say ranching doesn't help rebuild stocks, though the higher prices they fetch help fishermen."

Mmkay, some input. Ideas to stop the over-harvesting of bluefin tuna: great. Farming fish: potentially good, depending on how you manage your wastes and ensure genetic diversity. The fact that these are wild eggs is a plus. Pen-raised fish: probably bad, as it leads to a lot of waste creation and potentially stressful living conditions for the fish. Sending them to market before they reproduce: probably good, since the genetic diversity won’t be impaired after years of breeding the same stock of fish over and over again. Will this restore stocks? No, but I don't think that's the point. I think the point is to take the stress off removing wild tuna from the environment, and this will do that.

Is this the end-all of the bluefin tuna debate? No. But I think it's a step in the right direction.

Want more information about choosing a sustainable fish? Check out the post on sustainable seafood!

Full article here (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

Meals of Mass Destruction: Shrimp - Huffington Post

Unlike other shrimping nations, the vast majority of US shrimp is caught, not farmed. Most of it comes from the Gulf of Mexico...well, until now.

But that's hardly the problem with the shrimping industry. The problem lies within their methods.

Shrimp farming, like any fish farming - or farming in general, - is dirty. In the sense that farms produce massive amounts of waste. Shrimp farms are usually located on coasts and will drain their wastes off into the water supply, contaminating surrounding environments and communities. Bacteria and infection are common, and just as common are toxic "medicines" like chloramphenicol (a carcinogen) and sodium triphosphate (a neurotoxin). Yummy.

Shrimp fishing is just as bad. The traditional method is trawling, which essentially scrapes the seafloor clean of whatever was there. Sure they catch the shrimp, but they also catch everything else. This is called "bycatch" and it is the capture of non-target species, which are usually left to die while the shrimpers collect their bounty.

"Unfortunately neither fishing nor farming is a truly sustainable way to produce shrimp. Farming is responsible for habitat destruction and is often done cheaply, producing a lower quality product, while trawling for wild shrimp is harmful to the oceanic environment and its inhabitants. So which is the lesser of the two evils? There's no easy answer."

Fortunately, this article provides a lovely list - with links - on what you can do to become a more eco-conscious shrimp eater. If nothing else, at least check out the list. There's some good stuff there! And don't forget to buy the rest of your seafood sustainably too!

Full article here (Huffington Post)