# The SBHonline Community Daily > Restaurants Wine & Food Off The Island >  >  Best & Worst Seafood Options

## andynap

Sustainable Eating: The Best And Worst Seafood Options

Charles Crust. 
You don't have to be an eco-activist to do your part for the environment. Sometimes the best way to live green is to change the small habits for the better  like being more selective of the seafood you eat.

Sustainable seafood is fish caught in such a manner that the species' population and habitat, as well as the other creatures and habitats around it, aren't adversely affected. Unfortunately, many fishing practices today do just the opposite  decimating sea creature populations, destroying their ecosystems, and polluting the environment.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch has compiled an extensive list on which seafood is the best to eat, and which you should stay as far away from as possible. You can print out a handy pocket version of the guide to always know when out and about what seafood is best in your region, or even download the iPhone app.

Here are some of the best and worst seafood options that you could be serving up for dinner, as noted by the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

BEST: Wild Alaskan Salmon

Alaska salmon freshwater habitats are kept relatively clean, and the salmon do not face challenges they would face in other places like California and the Pacific Northwest, like damming or deforestation. Wild-caught fish do not inflict damage on the environment the way farmed salmon does, which pollutes the ocean with waste. Alaska salmon is known by many names. Look for coho, sockeye, king, pink, red, and sake on the market, but always make sure to check that it's been wild-caught.

WORST: Farmed Salmon

Most farmed salmon you'll find these days is Atlantic salmon. According to Seafood Watch, the amount of food needed to raise farmed salmon is one of the primary concerns, as around three pounds of wild fish are needed just to grow a single pound of farmed salmon. The concerns don't stop there -- since the salmon are usually kept in open pens in the water, waste goes directly into the sea. Pollution, chemicals, parasites and non-native farmed fish that escape from salmon farms can be all be extremely detrimental to the surrounding ecosystems and the creatures that inhabit them.

BEST: U.S Pink Shrimp

U.S. consumers love their pink shrimp, often used in salads and shrimp cocktails, making it all the more important to know which are options are the best options. Wild-caught pink shrimp from Oregon is the best option because of their population management standards. U.S. farmed shrimp is another good choice because it's raised inland in closed tanks that reduce damage to the surrounding environment. U.S. farmed freshwater prawns are also considered one of the more sustainable options, farmed in small-scale setups that use methods compatible with the prawn's biology.

WORST: Imported Shrimp

Imported shrimp, whether wild-caught or farmed, are on Seafood Watch's list to avoid due to all the pollution and habitat loss resulting from such operations. Wild-caught shrimp is usually captured in trawl nets that destroy habitats and kill everything from sea turtles to sharks and seahorses, creating more than 25% of the world's wasted catch. Most farmed shrimp comes from Asia and Latin America, where practices vary from country to country, making it hard to determine the exact environmental impact. Since U.S. farmed shrimp is held to much stricter and measurable standards, it is always a better alternative.

BEST: U.S. Farmed Catfish

U.S. farmed catfish is one of the most sustainable fish on the market thanks to the responsible practices employed. The risk of fish escaping and spreading disease to native populations is reduced by raising the catfish inland in ponds. Their mostly-vegetarian diet includes soybeans, corn and rice. Look for it on the market known as channel catfish.

WORST: Orange Roughy

Orange Roughy is more susceptible to overfishing due to its slow growth and late reproduction stage. Bottom trawling, an invasive fishing method that severly damages the seafloor, is used to catch the wild fish. Scientists think it could be decades before the populations recover due to the heavy amount of overfishing the species has experienced for decades

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## MIke R

excellent!!!,,,the shrimp thing is HUGE..if you dont know _exactly_[/u] where your shrimp came from you are probably getting shrimp which is VERY bad for you...farm raised southeastern Asian shrimp which is raised in sewerage and antibiotic filled pens is the norm, and supplies most of the world with its shrimp....St Barts included I am sure....

I cringe when I read dinner reports in here which talk about shrimp  dishes...better them than me!

very true about the catfish....and the orange roughy...tilapia is another one to avoid

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## BBT

I promise if you ever saw tilapia being farmed you would never touch it. I am sure horsemeat hamburger is better for you than tilapia. The best is when a waitperson tries to tell you it is just like grouper.

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## JEK

From your lips to YouTube's ears . . . .

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## Petri

There's nothing bad with horse meat (as long as the source is high quality, like with every meat).

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## BBT

Much better than the ones I saw in Florida.

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## MIke R

> The best is when a waitperson tries to tell you it is just like grouper.




The day I listen to a wait person describe what the seafood is to me is the day someone beats me over the head with a baseball bat I hope...LOL

usually when they start to I just say..."stop...its ok..move on to what else you have"

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## BBT

You have to admit is is fun to listen to them make up the Sh--. 
I have had so many laughs. The best was  Salmon from the Gulf of Mexico.

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## MIke R

Bob..the best  is in PTown when I go to a restaurant who I sell fish to, and the unknowing waitress says to me "and tonights special is fresh grilled striped bass caught right here in Provincetown"

and I smile  and say "honey I caught *and* sold the fish to this place .....so I'll pass thank you..."

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## BBT

That's a great line.

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## MIke R

or this one

the waitress says..tonights special is shrimp scampi

me: great! is the shrimp wild caught?

waitress:..uhmmmm..I dont know

me: can you find out?

waitress:...sure

waitress returned...no I am afraid it is farmed shrimp but I am told it is very good

me: can you find out where it was farmed?

waitress: ( now looking visibly irritated)
sure...

me: thanks

waitress returns:...the chef is not sure but he thinks its from the Gulf...

me: tell the chef they don't farm shrimp in the Gulf and no thanks I'll pass... so what are your other specials tonight?


waitress ( looking like she wished she never got this table )....well we  also have  grilled salmon


me:  wild or farmed????

waitress:...(giving me the dirtiest look imaginable)..really????

me...yes ...really

waitress....I will go check


waitress returns....the chef says its farmed and he doesn't know from where...


me....ok....give me the strip steak..medium rare

the cow is from Texas right????

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## Petri

> and I smile  and say "honey I caught *and* sold the fish to this place .....so I'll pass thank you..."



The fish is not good enough for you? ;-)

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## MIke R

> Originally Posted by Mike R
> 
> and I smile  and say "honey I caught *and* sold the fish to this place .....so I'll pass thank you..."
> 
> 
> 
> The fish is not good enough for you? ;-)




LOL...not at all...I am just not paying 24.95 for something whose loin is sitting in my refrigerator at the moment

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## andynap

I bet the waitperson really loves a farty old man.

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## MIke R

seems to me if you are going to sell something, you should at the very least know where the hell it came from??>..that's not asking a lot in this day and age...is it???

I can't believe more people don't ask these simple questions.....they just blindly order and consume something and have absolutely no clue as to where it came from???...really??....seems odd to me

and only the waitress who has no clue gets the treatment....just as many take the time to learn their product and have the answers right away and they are left alone....LOL

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## JEK

I always ask at the Sand Bar: Fresh and Dover.

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## MIke R

yeah and I will love you  forever..and the check is in the mail...and you know the next one....  :Big Grin:   :Big Grin:

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## andynap

If the wait*person* doesn't know where the food came from that's the fault of the restaurant for not telling her/him for certainly she/he didn't buy it. The menu should say anyway- most of ours around here do-

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## MIke R

> If the wait*person*-



this coming from someone who doesn't recognize womens basketball as an actual game????....LOL

but yes I agree with all of what you said

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## andynap

Women play basketball??

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## MIke R

LOL>>>>no..havent you heard???....they pretend to

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## andynap

Well my 11 year old granddaughter is on her school basketball team and thinks she can beat an old man in HORSE- Ha- I have no mercy-  }:|  }:|

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## MIke R

pass the baton paisan....it's time...LOL

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## Petri

> me....ok....give me the strip steak..medium rare
> 
> the cow is from Texas right????



Last autumn we were at a local relatively good restaurant (has Bib Gourmand in the Michelin guide), they had a steak theme and we had booked the chef's table.

I asked the chief waitress where the beef was from.  I don't remember if she checked it from the kitchen (we were just next to it) but all I got was the wholesale company they got it from.

PS. At least the wholesale company is known for their good quality..

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## Voosh

Just a side note. I can eat any kind of seafood (even frozen stuff) with no problem. Orange Roughy just murders my stomach. Anyone else have that reaction?

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## BBT

Mike you eat farmed beef. I figured only wild beef for you.  }:|  }:|  }:|

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## MIke R

LOL...let me know where the wild cows are and I will go get me one...ok???...

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## JEK

As close is I've come is beef from Jacksonville Texas our Tyler way. Pure grass-fed beef and they tasted too green for me.

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## MIke R

this beef and veal I get here at this farm in Vermont is pretty darn close to wild....

http://www.houdefamilyfarm.com/

ate a lot of wild elk in Colorado which I loved

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## andynap

Wild means no fat = no taste unless you cook it fast.

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## MIke R

yep.....or cook it slow in liquids

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## andynap

Yes but not Elk, Deer or Ostrich- fast grilled or fried.

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## MIke R

I don't know - I have made some pretty good deer and elk rump roasts....done  like a pot roast

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## MIke R

the  top sirloin tip steaks I get from the farm here are very very lean...I soak  it all day in red wine...and a very quick toss on a very hot grill....medium rare......perfect...like butter!

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## andynap

Well you do what you are used to- I have never seen a deer or elk roast here nor do I think I ever will.

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## MIke R

no you wont see it unless you butcher the deer yourself and cut it that way or get someone to dress it that way...one New Years Eve party many years ago I did a huge  deer rump roast in a  Dutch Oven pot roast style...put it out and more than half the people had a "yuck" look on their faces....by the end of the party there wasnt a morsel left...and it was an 8 pound roast

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## rivertrash

> As close is I've come is beef from Jacksonville Texas our Tyler way. Pure grass-fed beef and they tasted too green for me.



Funny. I had never heard of any grass fed beef raised near here.  Then again, I never wanted any.  When I saw JEK's post, I went to Google and found several sources of grass fed beef near here.

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## JEK

When I lived in Plano a buddy was from J'ville and we would run over and pick up a side.

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## Voosh

As in "I eat my own road kill?" (Which I've said before is a bumper sticker I am so tired of in the north here.)   :Wink:    :crazy:  



J'ville? The one just south of Tyler?  (Take 69 down, loop around Tyler on 323 back to 69 and then take 79? Just did it in October. We regretted not being able to meet up with Dick and Cecie.)

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## BBT

> this beef and veal I get here at this farm in Vermont is pretty darn close to wild....
> 
> http://www.houdefamilyfarm.com/
> 
> ate a lot of wild elk in Colorado which I loved



Nice

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## MIke R

very....Kevin split a share with me  last fall but that didn't work out so good because you don't get to pick the cuts of meat you would like....now I just do an item by item order...going up next week as a matter of fact...veal chops....veal stew meat...pork chops....ground veal...ground beef.... strip steaks..soup bones....a few dozen eggs....done....in the summer they do chickens too

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## andynap

So you are freezing most of it??

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## MIke R

no..I'm bringing a  lot  down for my Mom this time..typically we go more frequently to keep eating  it fresh...its not far from us at all....and freeze a little for when they dont have anything to offer

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