Solutions

Consumers mobilizing markets

Love seafood, but want the ocean to love you back? SeaChoice is here to help. We’ve heard from Canadians coast-to-coast that they: (a) Love to eat seafood, but are unsure if their choices are helping to support healthy oceans, or (b) Don’t eat seafood very often because they’ve heard about problems with fisheries and aquaculture.

Don’t despair; there are sustainable seafood choices you can make today that will help support healthy oceans and the people going the extra mile to get those options onto our plates.

SeaChoice can help you choose seafood with confidence. We have seafood (and sushi) guides for your wallet and your iphone. Plus more! Please contact us directly via email if you or your organization would like printed copies of any of these products.

Our sustainability rankings are based on science-based assessments conducted in partnership with the Monterey Bay Aquarium that cover wild, farmed, freshwater, domestic, and imported seafood. We’ve aimed to asses the items Canadians eat most and our list is always growing. Search our full database for the complete list and comprehensive sustainability information. You may also be interested to know how the SeaChoice program ranks seafood according to sustainability criteria for wild and farmed seafood.

Shopping tips

The first time you hit a restaurant or seafood counter with your SeaChoice guide, you’ll probably find some of the information you need to make an informed decision is missing. Canada is lagging behind the US and Europe in seafood labeling and this makes it difficult for you to make the right choice. Here are a few tips:

• Don’t be shy, ask questions. Finding out whether an item is farmed or wild and the place it came from is often enough to determine the sustainability ranking. This information should be available from counter or wait staff.
• Get to know some favourites. There is a lot of seafood out there and it comes from all over the world. You can’t get to know all of it overnight. Start with some sustainable choices you’d like to try, look for them locally, enjoy, and keep exploring.  Found a good place with decent options and information?  Let us know, and we will share this information with others seafood lovers out there!
• Stay low. Eating lower on the marine food chain is a good, sustainable seafood rule of thumb. Farmed shellfish, trap caught shrimp, prawns and crabs, as well as small, fast growing fish like sardines provide tasty seafood while using few marine resources. They’re lower in contaminants too.
• Sometimes practices matter too – line caught or bottom trawl; net pen farmed or closed containment. You can learn about the common gears in our In Depth Guide. Then you can strike up a conversation with your local fishmonger or chef. They’ll be impressed by your knowledge and your request for sustainable choices.
• Keep up the conversation. A few years ago customers were not asking businesses for sustainable seafood and businesses weren’t providing it. Now, more and more Canadians are asking, and guess what? Businesses are figuring out how to provide sustainable products. Keep it up! Whenever you’re buying seafood talk about sustainability—thank businesses for doing a good job and if you’re disappointed in the selection or labeling, let them know.   

Help us help you

What are your thoughts on farmed fish? How often do you eat seafood? Let us know! To take a sustainable seafood survey, please click here. There are only 20 questions, so it should take about five minutes. Your help is appreciated!