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Monterey Bay Aquarium SeafoodWatch® ®

Ye l l ow f i n t u n a

Seafood Watch SeafoodWatch fish fact cards

will help you learn about the issues that put some

seafood items on our “avoid” list. When you’ve read

them, pass these cards along to a friend who loves

seafood. Check our website for more information

like this on over 100 favorite seafood species.

www.seafoodwatch.org

Become Aware. Ocean–friendly seafood comes from

sources that meet the following criteria:

There is littleenvironmentaldamage fromthe fishinggearor fish farmingactivity.

The popula-tion beingfished ishealthy andabundant.

There is littlebycatch (thecatching anddiscardingof unwantedmarine life).

The fisheryor fish farmis wellmanaged.

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KeyTerms

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KeyTerms

FisheryThe organized catch ofa certain species of fish, ina certain geographic region.

Fish Farming/AquacultureRaising fish or shellfish inmarine or fresh water.

Marine Stewardship Council(MSC) The MSC rewardssustainable fisheries with theblue eco-label, as seen here:

ManagementRegulating where, when andhow people catch or farmfish. Fisheries are managedby either state agencies(0–3 miles offshore), federalagencies such as the U.S.National Marine FisheriesService (3–200miles offshore),or through internationalagreements (200 miles ormore offshore). Fish farmingis regulated by variousstate and federal agencies.

BycatchUnwanted fish and othermarine life that is caughtaccidentally in fishing gearand discarded overboard,dead or dying.

Illegal FishingNot obeying fishing lawsand regulations.

OverfishingCatching fish faster thanthey can reproduce andmaintain a healthy andabundant population.

Rockfish

Many rockfish populations have plummeted due to decades of heavy fishing. Even when

fishing stops, it may take over 100 years for these long-lived species to recover.

Quick Fact: Overfishing



MakeChoices forHealthyOceans

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IssuesSome rockfish live morethan 100 years and don’tbreed until they’re 20 yearsold. They can’t reproducequickly enough to keep upwith demand.

Fishermen catch mostrockfish with bottom–trawls: dragging largenets along the seafloor.Trawling damages underseahabitats and accidentallycatches other marine lifethat is dumped overboard,dead or dying, as bycatch.

LocationRockfish are found alongthe Pacific Coast, fromMexico to Alaska. Morethan 100 species worldwidelive in kelp forests, amongrocky outcrops and incanyons up to 2,625feet (800 meters) deep.

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MenuAlternativesPacific halibut, striped bassand black rockfish fromCalifornia and Oregonare your best choices.

Rockfish caught withhook and line from Alaskaand British Columbia aregood alternatives.

OtherCommonNamesPacific red snapperRockcod


FarmedSalmon

Currently, farming salmon does more harm than good. Fish escape, diseases are spread,

waters are polluted and large quantities of wild fish are caught for use as feed.

Quick Fact: Fish Farming



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IssuesMillions of farmed salmonhave escaped from net–pens.The full impact of these non-native salmon on wild salmonpopulations is unclear.

As there are no organic stan-dards for seafood in the U.S.,“organic salmon” is a mislead-ing name, often referring tofarmed salmon.

OtherCommonNamesAll Atlantic salmon are farmraised. Some Chinook andCoho salmon are also farmed.

Health AlertEnvironmental Defense Fundhas issued a consumptionadvisory for farmed salmondue to elevated levels ofPCBs, dioxins and pesticides.Visit www.edf.org/seafoodfor more information.

MenuAlternativesWild-caught salmon fromAlaska, including pink,chum, red, silver, and kingsalmon, and farmed Arcticchar are your best choices.



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IssuesSalmon feed requires anaverage of three poundsof wild fish to grow onepound of farmed salmon.As a result, farming salmonuses more fish than itproduces, putting morepressure on our oceans.

Most farmed salmon areraised in open net–penswhere parasites anddisease can easily spreadto nearby wild fish andlarge amounts of fishwaste, pesticides andchemicals are releasedinto the environment.

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OrangeRoughy

Fishermen catch orange roughy when the fish gather to breed and feed, wiping out

entire generations at a time.




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IssuesOrange roughy may live100 years or more and don’tbreed until they’re at least20 years old. Years of heavyfishing have severely reducedtheir populations, which maytake decades to recover.

Fishermen catch orangeroughy with bottom–trawls:dragging large nets alongthe seafloor. Trawlingdamages undersea habitatsand accidentally catchesother marine life that isdumped overboard, deador dying, as bycatch.

LocationOrange roughy is caughtoff New Zealand, Australiaand Africa, as well as in theNortheast Atlantic Ocean.

Health AlertEnvironmental DefenseFund has issued a con-sumption advisory fororange roughy due toelevated levels of mercury.Visit www.edf.org/seafoodfor more information.

MenuAlternativesPacific halibut, U.S. farmedtilapia and wild–caughtAlaskan pollock are yourbest choices.

Pacific flounders and solesand Greenland turbot aregood alternatives.

OtherCommonNamesDeep sea perchEmperor fishRosy soldierfish

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ChileanSeabass

In just one decade, the Chilean seabass fishery has been pushed to the verge of

collapse due to intense legal and illegal fishing activity.

Quick Fact: Illegal Fishing



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IssuesDue to improved enforce-ment, illegal fishing has beenreduced. However there arestill concerns about enforce-ment since the U.S. inspectsjust 2% of the fish importedeach year.

Health AlertEnvironmental DefenseFund has issued a con-sumption advisory forChilean seabass due toelevated levels of mercury.Visit www.edf.org/seafoodfor more information.

MenuAlternativesSablefish, also known asblack cod or butterfish, fromAlaska and British Columbiais your best choice.

Sablefish from California,Oregon and Washingtonis a good alternative.

OtherCommonNamesPatagonian toothfishAntarctic toothfish

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IssuesChilean seabass may live50 years and breed latein life. They can’t reproducequickly enough to keep upwith legal and illegal fishing.

It is difficult to control illegalfishing because Chilean sea-bass are caught in the vastand remote Southern Ocean.

In 2004, a small portion ofthe Chilean seabass fisheryreceived the MSC eco—label.If you must buy Chileanseabass, be absolutely cer-tain it carries this label.

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AtlanticCod

Atlantic cod has been fished so heavily for the past 50 years that some populations

are now listed as threatened or endangered.




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IssuesDespite management efforts,Atlantic cod populationsremain overfished. Numbersare so low that some popu-lations are listed as threat-ened or endangered.

Fishermen often catchcod with bottom-trawls:dragging large nets alongthe seafloor. Trawlingdamages undersea habitatsand accidentally catchesother marine life thatis dumped overboard,dead or dying, as bycatch.

LocationAtlantic cod are groundfish,living along the seafloorup to depths of 1300 feet(400 meters) on both sidesof the Atlantic Ocean.

Most Atlantic cod fishedin U.S. waters are caughtoff New England.

OtherCommonNamesScrodWhitefish

MenuAlternativesPacific cod caught in Alaskawith bottom longline, trapsor hook and line gear isyour best choice.

Alaskan pollock and stripedbass are also best choices.

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SharksScientists estimate that millions of sharks are caught and killed each year just for

their fins or are caught accidentally by fishing gear intended for other fish.

Quick Fact: Bycatch



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OtherCommonNamesMany species of sharksare caught for humanconsumption, includingmako, thresher and soupfin.Dogfish, a smaller shark,is used as a substitutefor cod in fish-and-chips.

Health AlertEnvironmental Defense Fundhas issued a consumptionadvisory for sharks due toelevated levels of mercury.Visit www.edf.org/seafoodfor more information.

MenuAlternativesSablefish from Alaskaand British Columbiaand farmed sturgeon areyour best choices.

Wild-caught sturgeon fromOregon and Washingtonand U.S. mahi mahi aregood alternatives.

LocationMore than 100 nationsfish for sharks throughoutthe world’s oceans.

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IssuesMost sharks are slow-growing fish that maturelate in life and producevery few young. They don’treproduce quickly enoughto keep up with global fish-ing pressure.

Each year, fishermen cutthe fins off more than 38million sharks and throwthe dying animals over-board as bycatch.

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Some species of sea turtles are being driven to extinction because they accidentally

get caught in fishing gear targeting swordfish.

Quick Fact: Bycatch

Swordfish



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IssuesPelagic longlines are usedto catch 85% of swordfishglobally. Each year, as manyas 1.4 billion hooks aredeployed targeting sword-fish, but the bait also attractsother marine life resultingin high levels of bycatch.

Longline bycatch includesat least 250,000 sea turtlesa year—killing thousands.This is a serious concernin the Pacific Ocean wheresome sea turtle populationsare critically endangered.

LocationSwordfish are foundthroughout the world’soceans. In addition to theU.S., more than 20 countriescatch swordfish, includingBrazil, Japan and Spain.

Health AlertEnvironmental DefenseFund has issued a con-sumption advisory forswordfish due to elevatedlevels of mercury. Visitwww.edf.org/seafood formore information.

MenuAlternativesHarpoon or handline caughtswordfish from the U.S. andCanada and sablefish fromAlaska and British Columbiaare your best choices.

U.S. caught mahi mahi andswordfish are good alterna-tives, as gear modificationshave minimized bycatch.

OtherCommonNamesBroadbillEspadaEmperador

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BluefinTuna

The high demand for bluefin tuna—which can sell for more than $100,000 each in Japan—

has taken its toll. The Atlantic population has declined by nearly 90% since the 1970s.




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IssuesOverfishing is still occurringon the already depletedAtlantic bluefin. They can’treproduce quickly enoughto keep up with demand.

Fishermen catch bluefintuna using longlines, whichalso entangle thousands ofsea turtles, seabirds, sharksand marine mammals, endan-gering their populations.

Bluefin tuna migrate acrossoceans, making internationalmanagement and enforcementof regulations difficult.

LocationBluefin tuna are caughtin the Pacific, Atlantic andSouthern Oceans and in theMediterranean Sea. Morethan 31 nations, includingthe U.S. and Japan, aretrying to manage thishighly migratory species.

Health AlertEnvironmental Defense Fundhas issued a consumptionadvisory for bluefin tuna dueto elevated levels of mercury.Visit www.edf.org/seafoodfor more information.

MenuAlternativesTroll or pole-caught albacorefrom British Columbia orthe U.S. and troll- or pole-caught skipjack tuna areyour best choices.

Troll or pole-caught bigeyeand yellowfin tuna are goodalternatives.

OtherCommonNamesHorse mackerelGiant tunaMaguro

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Groupers

Many species of grouper are overfished—they are caught faster than they can reproduce

to maintain healthy and abundant populations.




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IssuesGroupers can live as longas 40 years. They onlyreproduce for short periodsof time each year.

Years of heavy fishing havereduced grouper populationsto very low levels. Althoughmanagement is improving,many species of grouper arestill considered overfished.

Bycatch in the grouper fish-ery includes both undersizedindividuals and protectedspecies of groupers.

LocationThere are more than 85species of groupers foundworldwide. The U.S. grouperfishery is concentrated in theGulf of Mexico and aroundthe Main and NorthwestHawaiian Islands. Mostimported grouper comesfrom Mexico.

OtherCommonNamesHapu‘u (in Hawai‘i)Hapu‘upu‘u (in Hawai‘i)MeroSea bass

Health AlertEnvironmental Defense Fundhas issued a consumptionadvisory for groupers dueto elevated levels of mercury.Visit www.edf.org/seafoodfor more information.

MenuAlternativesTilapia and barramundi,both U.S. farm-raised areyour best choices.

Black sea bass and U.S. mahimahi are good alternatives.

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RedSnapper

Red snapper are overfished worldwide and large numbers of juvenile snapper

are accidentally caught in shrimp nets before they’ve had a chance to reproduce.




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IssuesSnappers are slow growingand can live for 60 years.Years of overfishing andpoor management havedepleted snapper popula-tions worldwide.

Juvenile red snapper arecaught as bycatch in theGulf of Mexico shrimpfishery. U.S. shrimpersare attempting to reducesnapper bycatch and rebuildsnapper populations toabundant levels. This process,however, is predicted totake until 2032.

LocationSnappers are found through-out tropical and subtropicalwaters, including the Atlantic,Pacific, and Indian Oceans,as well as in the Caribbeanand Coral Seas.

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MenuAlternativesTilapia and barramundi,both U.S. farm-raised areyour best choices.

Pacific flounders and solesare good alternatives.

OtherCommonNamesEhu (in Hawai‘i)‘Ula‘ula (in Hawai‘i)

Don’t confuse red snapperwith “Pacific red snapper,”which is the market name formany West Coast rockfishes.

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AtlanticFlatfish

Populations of Atlantic flounder, sole and halibut are depleted due to decades of

heavy fishing pressure.




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IssuesAtlantic flatfish populationsare depleted due to heavyfishing pressure over thelast half-century. Despite amanagement plan intendedto allow flatfish populationsto rebuild, most stocks arenot recovering.

Fishermen catch flatfish withtrawls: dragging large netson or close to the seafloor.Trawling can damage under-sea habitats and accidentallycatch other marine life thatis dumped overboard, deador dying, as bycatch.

LocationThere are over 500 speciesof flatfish worldwide. Theylive on or near the seafloorin coastal waters. The Atlanticflatfish described in this cardlive off the U.S. East Coast.

MenuAlternativesPacific halibut and U.S. farmedtilapia are your best choices.

Pacific flounders and solesand Greenland turbot aregood alternatives.

OtherCommonNamesAtlantic flatfish of concerninclude Atlantic halibut, grayand lemon sole, summer,windowpane, winter, witchand yellowtail flounders.

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KingCrab


Decades of heavy fishing and poor management have depleted populations of king

crab from imported sources.




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IssuesHalf of the king crab inthe U.S. is imported fromRussia, where laws arepoorly enforced and illegalfishing has depletedcrab populations.

Although some of Alaska’sking crab fisheries aredepleted, there are man-agement efforts in place tomake sure that overfishingdoesn’t occur.

LocationKing crabs are bottomdwellers. They live in cold-water environments, fromthe Sea of Japan to theGulf of Alaska.

MenuAlternativesDungeness and stone crabare your best choices.

King crab from the U.S.,snow crab and blue crabare good alternatives.

OtherCommonNamesAlaskan king crabBlue king crabGolden king crabRed king crabScarlet king crab

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WildShrimp


Globally, over 60% of the marine life caught in shrimp nets is discarded overboard

dead or dying, making it one of the world’s most damaging fisheries.

Quick Fact: Bycatch



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IssuesFishermen catch shrimpwith trawls: dragging largenets along the seafloor.Trawling damages underseahabitats and accidentallycatches other marine life,including endangered seaturtles, juvenile fish andother bycatch, that isdumped overboard deador dying.

This bycatch amounts tomore than 1.8 million tonsof marine life each year.

IssuesShrimp trawl nets can bemodified to minimize bycatchby adding Bycatch ReductionDevices (BRDs) and TurtleExcluder Devices (TEDs).These modifications havebeen effective in the U.S.and other countries wheretheir use is enforced.

OtherCommonNamesWild-caught shrimp includesbay, brown, Northern, pink,rock, white and tiger shrimp,tiger prawns and spot prawns.

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MenuAlternativesPink shrimp from Oregonand spot prawns fromBritish Columbia are yourbest choices.

U.S. farmed shrimp is alsoa best choice as U.S. shrimpfarmers must follow strictpollution standards.

U.S. spot prawns and U.S.farmed or trawl-caughtshrimp are good alterna-tives. U.S. shrimp fishermenadhere to bycatch reductionmeasures.

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FarmedShrimp


The development of shrimp farms has destroyed millions of acres of coastal habitat.

Quick Fact: Habitat Damage



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IssuesOn average, shrimp feedrequires two pounds of wildfish to grow one pound offarmed shrimp. As a result,farming shrimp actually usesmore fish than it producesand puts more pressureon our oceans.

Shrimp farmers may useantibiotics to prevent ortreat disease outbreaks.Overuse can lead to thedevelopment of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

IssuesAbout 2.5 million acres ofwetlands and coastal man-groves have been convertedto shrimp farms, destroyingimportant habitat for a widevariety of wildlife and humans.

Untreated wastewater fromfarms pollutes the coastalenvironment and contami-nates the groundwater.

OtherCommonNamesFarmed shrimp includes blacktiger and white shrimp andfreshwater and tiger prawns.

MenuAlternativesU.S. farmed shrimp is yourbest choice as U.S. shrimpfarmers must follow strictpollution standards.

Pink shrimp from Oregonand spot prawns fromBritish Columbia are alsobest choices.

U.S. wild-caught shrimp,including spot prawns, aregood alternatives. U.S. shrimpfishermen adhere to bycatchreduction measures.

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