Fish School #1: What Makes Seafood Sustainable?
TLDR: Eat U.S. seafood from close to home.
Today’s Fish School post answers the question “What makes seafood “sustainable”?
Before you read, we’d like to know:
Thanks! We may use your responses to shape future posts.
So what is Fish Forward’s definition of sustainable seafood?
The simple definition of sustainable is “able to be maintained at a certain rate or level.”
When we extend that definition to something that we consume, like seafood, it means producing that item – for seafood, either catching wild fish or growing it in a hatchery – at a rate now that can be maintained for future generations.
There are a lot of factors that control whether we can maintain the rate of seafood production at the same time as supporting healthy fishing communities. It’s worth spending a bit of time on those factors so that you know what to think about when you go into the world and try to evaluate your seafood purchases. We encourage you to do your own exploration as you develop your seafood consumption values. You can look for an explainer from your favorite seafood or ocean policy organization. We looked at some of the likely suspects for you (NOAA Fisheries, Seafood Watch, Marine Stewardship Council, Natural Resources Defense Council) to summarize factors that guide our value system.
Our simplified summary is: Sustainable seafood comes from fish stocks managed using sound science, comes from healthy habitats and ecosystems, and supports communities.
Sustainable seafood management is based on science.
This means that managers, usually state or federal agencies, use the best science out there to figure out how many fish can be removed from the ocean to keep the population thriving in the long term. Science is the foundation of sustainable management and includes Western science and fishermen’s or indigenous knowledge. For fish farming, this includes using science to design fish farms with low overall environmental impact.
Sustainable seafood comes from healthy habitats and ecosystems.
This means that the places where your seafood lives and grows are well maintained, and that removing fish does not create imbalances in the ecosystem. For fish farming, this includes responsibly sourced feed for the farmed fish, welfare of the farmed fish, and minimizing the impact of the fish farming business on the surrounding environment.
Sustainable seafood supports communities.
This means that your seafood is caught by people living in or connected to the community and the shoreside businesses there. This also means ensuring that fishermen and workers in the seafood industry have safe and legal working conditions, are treated fairly, and are not subjected to forced labor or human trafficking.
That’s still too much to think about. What’s an even easier way to remember how to choose seafood responsibly?
We tried to craft a simple, Michael Pollan-esque ethos to guide your seafood choices.
Here’s our crack at it:
Eat U.S. seafood from close to home.
We’ll talk more about why we recommend U.S. wild and farmed fish below. For the “close to home” bit – we’re asking you to put your money and attention towards the fishing communities near you. And if you don’t live near the coast, buying seafood harvested within the U.S. is a great sustainable choice. We’ll get into more of the why in a minute (spoiler: It’s the incredible laws we have governing U.S. fisheries).
Why do you keep pushing us to eat U.S. seafood?
We keep pushing you to eat U.S. seafood because U.S. fisheries and fish farms are the best managed in the world!
For farmed fish, fish raised in the U.S. tends to have more oversight in the use of pesticides or antibiotics than fish raised abroad. It also has more stringent requirements on the location of fish farms to reduce risks to the surrounding environment.
For wild-caught fish (our passion), U.S. fisheries are some of the most rigorously managed out there.
This Substack is, in part, an ode to a federal act – the Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (or MSA, Act, or Magnuson-Stevens Act for short). It is the Act that we are experts in, and it turns 50 in 2026 (take a break and Schoolhouse Rock with us)!
When we were starting this adventure, a very thoughtful friend asked–why do you believe in this Act?
We believe because we’ve seen this Act do the incredibly challenging work of supporting all the concepts of sustainability we outlined above and more. Our former boss, Sam Rauch, described the perfectly imperfect U.S. fisheries management process well:
Biologically, economically, and culturally, [U.S.] fisheries could not be more distinct. So instead of imposing a one-size-fits-all solution from Washington, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act established eight councils to design ways to manage fisheries in different regions around the country. Each council’s voting members include one representative from NOAA Fisheries and one from each state fishery agency in the region. Additional voting members, nominated by state governors, include commercial and recreational fishermen, environmentalists, academic and government scientists, and others. These stakeholders bring expertise on the unique challenges facing fisheries in each region.
Managing to meet 10 national standards, among other things, the councils set fishing limits that prevent overfishing, allocate quotas to competing user groups, implement gear restrictions, and protect sensitive habitats. The decisions they propose are subject to review and public comment by scientists and stakeholders before being put into effect. This transparent, participatory process ensures that the people most affected by fishery management decisions have a say in how their fisheries are managed.
The U.S. federal fisheries management process the Magnuson-Stevens Act created is not quick or ideal. However, it’s got all the right intentions and has devoted, decades-long participants who show up year after year to steward U.S. fish stocks for future generations. The Act has been responsible for some of the greatest environmental success stories in U.S. history. For example, the MSA was the driving force behind recovery of West Coast rockfish species that we didn’t expect to bounce back in our lifetime. This is the equivalent for fish to what the Endangered Species Act did for bald eagles.
How do I know if fish is caught or farmed in the U.S.?
Ask or look at labels.
Most restaurants and fish counters proudly discuss their product sources, especially if the source increases marketability. Tinned and frozen products are required to list country of origin on their packaging.
So tell us – how do you make your seafood buying decisions?
I liked the article so much I joined with a paid subscription. Keep getting the good work out.
Rick, sustainable fishery scientist in NMFS