Photo by KIRAN MANOJ on Unsplash

It’s National Sustainable Seafood Month!

O.K. I made that up, but have you ever noticed that there is a national day for everything? On Oct. 1 alone, it was National Hair Day, Fire Pup Day, National Homemade Cookies Day, National Consignment Day and National Child Health Day. And the list goes on for every single day of the month. 

For example, on Oct. 2 is National Fried Scallops Day, Oct. 17 is Hagfish Day and on Oct. 19th is National Seafood Bisque Day. Do you see a theme here? So, in honor of all these national holidays, I’m going to put forth your next challenge to buy sustainable seafood.  

Sustainable seafood is seafood that is either caught or farmed in ways that consider the long-term vitality of harvested species and the well-being of the oceans, as well as the livelihoods of fisheries-dependent communities. 

Overfishing, lack of effective management, and our own consumption habits are just a few factors contributing to a decline in wild fish populations, according to Monterey Bay Aquarium, which cited that 90 percent of the world’s fisheries are now fully exploited, over-exploited or have collapsed. 

It’s only fitting that we ensure that our seafood is alive and well in our oceans for years to come. Otherwise, what would happen to National Fried Scallop Day if there were no scallops left to eat?  

Challenge No. 1: Download the Seafood Watch App from Monterey Bay Aquarium or print out the sustainable seafood pocket guide that you can take anywhere. 

Challenge No. 2: Ask your local restaurants and grocery stores where their seafood is caught and how and reference your app or seafood guide. At the very least, ask if it’s sustainable but, unfortunately, they almost always say yes, even when it’s not. But hey, at least you’re asking, and that’s one step closer to creating a new consumer movement. Now, I recommend you calling the restaurant beforehand because if you have a hangry husband like mine, he’ll quickly tire of you asking about all the seafood options while the server goes and checks with the chef. Also, you won’t have to worry about them spitting in your food for being such a pain. 

Challenge No. 3: Ask your local restaurants if they will consider using Smart Catch – a program for chefs who want to serve sustainable seafood to their guests. If you want to go a step further, I leave little comment cards with the information about Smart Catch and their suppliers. (I know you are thinking this may be going a little too far, but I believe in supply and demand and if enough people are demanding sustainable seafood, the supply chain will be impacted. Contact me and I’ll send your own personal template to print and use.) 

So now you say to yourself, “I’m just one person. What I do is not going to have an impact.” So, I’m going to share a story. There was a man walking along the beach where thousands of starfish had littered the shoreline. As he walked further along the shore, he noticed a person flinging the starfish into the ocean one by one. The man asked him, “Why do you even bother? There’s so many. You’re not even making a difference.” The other person picked up a starfish and flung it into the ocean and replied, “made a difference to that one.” 

Because we cannot do everything does not mean we should refuse to do the something we can do. We are part of a global community, but we can make an impact right here if we take the time to ask a few simple questions and make the right choices. No demand. No supply.  And changes would begin to happen. 

Editor’s Note: I know I covered this in one of my recent blogs, but I need to remind you, while asking for sustainable seafood, don’t forget to make sure there was no labor trafficking involved either. I know that means you would need to reference two guides, which by the way, ILAB’s Sweat & Toil App will break down which countries to avoid getting seafood from. I realize this is a lot but as the new coordinator for my local Human Trafficking Task Force, I would feel like I wasn’t doing my job if I didn’t throw that in there.  

Disclaimer: Be prepared for eyerolls, mockery and frustration from family & friends, but hopefully you’ll educate them in the process, and who knows, they may join you in saving one more starfish.