Chilean Sea Bass gets Best Choice from the Seafood Watch Program
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Image from Wikipidia-click for licensing
Great news for the culinary world! After a year long re-evaluation of the Chilean Sea Bass (aka Pantagonian Toothfish) fishery, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Program has updated the status of this fish from “Avoid” to include both a “Best Choice” and “Good Alternative” selection, while keeping the “Avoid” rating for fish from certain areas.
In 2006 Seafood Watch first added Chilean Sea Bass to their list, with the rating of “Avoid”. It listed multiple concerns with the fishery including: over fishing, bycatch of sea birds, illegal fishing, and poor management. But over the past 7 years many of those concerns have been adequately addressed by the fishery with help from the fishermen, conservation groups and scientists.
Specifically, Seafood Watch states, “When buying Chilean seabass look for options from Heard and McDonald, the Falklands or Macquarie as a “Best Choice,” and Ross Sea, South Georgia or Kerguelen as “Good Alternatives.” Or look for the blue eco-label of the MSC for certified sustainable products.”
Additional Reading
Undercurrent News
National Geographic
