Solving the problems for your health, the health of the oceans and the creatures that live there.
Many fish contain mercury and other toxic substances that we absorb when we eat them. Additionally, many species are overfished or caught in ways that harm other marine life or the environment. For your health, download the Seafood Watch Pocket Guide put together by the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Find out which fish to avoid buying and which to choose for your health and the health of our oceans. For more information, read the full stories on the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Website

Solving the Problems of Bycatch - Around the world, fishermen are working with scientists to reduce wasted catch and to catch with care.

Trap doors are saving turtles — Sea turtles were drowning in shrimp trawls so U.S. fishermen invented the Turtle Excluder Device, or TED—a trap door in the net that lets turtles swim free. TEDs are now required on U.S. shrimp boats, and the U.S. bans imports of shrimp from countries that don't require TEDs.

Pingers protect porpoises — Fishermen off New England found a way to warn whales and porpoises away from their nets: electronic beepers, or "pingers" which make a sound under water helping them avoid the net.

Today, many fisheries manage the entire fishing fleet as a unit. If the total amount of wasted catch goes over the limit, all boats in the fleet must stop fishing.

Habitat Damage — WaterFish and shellfish need habitat—places to hide, feed and breed. As human numbers grow, it becomes more and more important for us to take care of ocean habitats. Only then can the sea continue to feed us.

The coasts need our care — Healthy coastal wetlands are a fertile habitat for fish and shellfish. Coastal waters suffer from having so many people living and working nearby. Wetlands have been paved or plowed under. Bay waters are polluted. When we damage these coastal habitats, we destroy the homes of many of the fish we eat.

Bottom trawlers catch fish by dragging nets across the seafloor. Some trawlers put rockhopper gear, including old tires, along the base of their nets to roll over rocky reefs so they can catch fish hiding between the rocks. These types of fishing gear crush life on the seafloor and damage the places where fish feed and breed. Some scientists believe that fishing with rockhoppers and dredges harms the ocean more than any other human activity.

Once the living seafloor is damaged, it can take centuries to grow back. Near Australia, bottom trawlers have pulled up and destroyed six-foot-tall gorgonians (coldwater coral) that were at least 700 years old. And with trawl fleets fishing all over the world, the seafloor in popular spots never gets a chance to recover. Parts of the North Sea off Denmark are trawled up to 400 times a year.

What you can do
In any part of America, we can support our beliefs with our dollars. Purchase only the fish as recommended on the Monterey Bay Acquairum's Seafood Guides mentioned above. Ask questions of your fish supplier about where your fish comes from and how it was caught so that they know you care. You'd be amazed how much your hard earned dollar speaks.

What others are doing
Many are working to protect certain critical areas from fishing of any kind, and fish others more carefully. Fishing is allowed in most marine protected areas, including National Marine Sanctuaries. But wherever possible, the scientists suggest, we should favor fishing methods that spare the seafloor. Longlining, hook-and-line fishing and trap fishing are all habitat-friendly methods.

For more information: Monterey Bay Aquarium's Website