How Your Next Seafood Dinner Can Help the Ocean
Sometimes, I get a minute at my desk to read over the highly informative and educational journals/magazines/publications that relate to protecting animals and their habitats. Today, I had the opportunity to read the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s 2nd Edition of Turning the Tide (The State of Seafood) publication. Many of you may not have access to this, so let me give you the gist:
Our oceans are in trouble. Why? Many species of fish have been over fished, and done so without considering how long it will take for these animals to get back to healthy populations.
Why else? Marine debris, plastic pollution…trash in our oceans! You have probably seen pictures of this on our Houston Zoo Facebook pages:
So what can we do? Well…a lot, actually. Making smart choices about what we eat and where we buy it is a huge step. We can also limit our use of plastics, and when we do use plastics-make sure they end up in recycling, not on our beaches or on the land in any way.
If you are wondering how to make smart seafood decisions (I don’t blame you…we live on the Gulf Coast and have easy access to seafood!), check out this list of top North American Sustainable Seafood Companies (go to them first to buy your seafood). This list is from the Turning the Tide, The State of Seafood publication:
Grocery Stores:
Walmart
Kroger Company
Costco
Target
Safeway
Publix Super Markers
Ahold USA (Stop & Shop, Giant, Martin’s Food Market)
BJ’s Wholesale Club
Whole Foods Market (who also just helped us raise money for elephant conservation! Thanks Whole Foods!)
Giant Eagle
Trader Joe’s
A & P
Winn-Dixie Stores
Thank you to these stores for keeping our oceans healthy, and the animals who live in our oceans healthy!
These stores have public sustainable seafood sourcing policies and work in partnership with members of the Conservation Alliance for Seafood Solutions.
If you’re interested in finding out more about specific types of seafood to eat, or avoid, check out the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch recommendations.
OR, check out this page for a list of seafood to eat and to avoid that is specific to those of us in Texas!
Thanks for doing your part to save wildlife. And remember, every time you visit the Houston Zoo, you help save animals in the wild!
