Why Shop Ocean-friendly?

In addition to being healthy, all KidSafe Seafood choices are ocean friendly. Whether fishermen catch them in the wild or fish farmers raise them in pens, responsible practices ensure that our ocean and coastlines are not damaged—and that we have plenty of fish for the future.

Why does it matter if the fish we eat are ocean-friendly? For two important reasons:

First, many of the most seriously contaminated fish, like shark and Atlantic (farmed) salmon, are also the ones that are the most over-fished or are raised on fish farms that pollute.

Second, if we want to have enough safe, nutritious seafood for the future, we all need to eat fish that are caught or harvested responsibly. As the demand for seafood grows worldwide, two-thirds of all commercial seafood is being fished to the maximum limit. There is also tremendous waste in the fish business: for some fisheries, nearly 25% of fish caught are discarded as unusable or undesirable.

Fish farming—known as aquaculture—is widely viewed as the long-term solution. Yet, many problems within the industry need to be resolved. Environmental and health standards vary widely from country to country, and from fish farm to fish farm. In some cases, they are nonexistent. Many aquaculture operations are damaging coastal environments and harming natural fish populations. Others are producing fish that contain harmful contaminants.

For more information:

• If your favorite fish is not on the KidSafe list, click here to find out why.
  
• To learn more about taking care of the ocean, eating ocean-friendly seafood, and other useful information, visit:

• Environmental Defense
• Monterey Bay Aquarium-Seafood Watch Program
• Keep Oceans Clean Campaign
• Seafood Choices Alliance
• SeaWeb