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Profs and Pints DC presents: “Buying Sustainable Seafood,” or how to shop like a marine biologist, with David Shiffman, marine conservation biologist and faculty research associate at Arizona State University’s Washington Center.
Growing numbers of Americans are feeling concerned by the environmental impacts of their meals and looking to sustainable seafoods as healthy and eco-friendly choice for dinner. With so many environmental impacts associated with so many different kinds of fishing, it can be incredibly difficult, however, to figure out what fish options are actually sustainable.
Adding to the confusion, many of the leading figures and organizations offering advice disagree on what sustainable means and offering conflicting recommendations about the same species of fish. The Atlantic blacktip shark, for example, is listed as green/best choice by NOAA FishWatch and red/worst choice by the Environmental Defense Fund’s Seafood Selector. Some influential activists argue that no seafood is sustainable, a claim popularized by Netflix’s SeaSpiracy, and that anyone who cares about the environment should avoid seafood entirely.
Making matters worse is outright deception by some seafood harvesters and sellers. Because no government regulations govern what products deserve the label, some industry groups wrongly describe as sustainable seafood that is far from it. Some grocery stores out there sell extremely unsustainable products and even actively mislead people by greenwashing with false sustainability claims.
Join marine conservation biologist David Shiffman as he helps clear the waters surrounding sustainable seafood consumption. He’ll discuss the different definitions and standards for sustainable seafood, teach you how to read a sustainability label like a fisheries biologist, and challenge some of the most common misconceptions about sustainable seafood, overfishing, and ocean conservation. You’ll learn how to avoid being misled by grocery stores and industry groups, and pick up tips and tricks for finding healthy, delicious seafood that is sustainable as well. (Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. Talk starts 30 minutes later.)
Image: Mackerel, bluefish, porgy, whiting and other fish for sale at a store in northern Virginia. (Photo by Jarek Tuszyński / Creative Commons)
