Sometimes the better choice in my food purchases is obvious. Fresh produce is better than processed food that comes in boxes. Seasonal food from local farmers is a better choice than food shipped from somewhere far away. Simple and logical.
The waters get significantly murkier when it comes to seafood. I buy seafood from the fishmonger at my local greenmarket. I know it is all caught near Long Island so I’m keeping it local. But when I brought home a nice piece of monkfish recently, I looked it up online and found some things that confused the issue for me.
It turns out Monkfish is on the “avoid” list of most of the sustainable seafood organizations. It was once a discarded by-catch (caught in the process of catching other species) but became prized and eventually over-fished. The way it is normally caught can be harmful to the sea floor too. It turns out that monkfish populations have largely recovered in recent years but it still remains on the “avoid” list.
I already had this fish home so I made the curry that I wrote about in my previous post and it was delicious. Should I purchase monkfish in the future? I’m not sure. Was it line caught? By-catch? I should have asked. I assume the best since greenmarket shoppers in NYC tend to be tough on the vendors about sustainability and environmental concerns. After reading the online guides though, I shouldn’t just assume just because I’m at a greenmarket, everything is totally okay. Next time I’ll ask a question or two.
It’s not always as simple as looking at a guide either. I found a Northeast regional guide to sustainable fish that recommends Pacific fish as an alternative to the same species caught in the Atlantic due to stress on specific fisheries. This does not take into account the environmental impact of shipping it cross-country. Which is worse?—buying fish caught thousands of miles away from a fishery that can handle the harvest or buying a locally-caught species that may be under stress? What if you don’t live near a coast? Should you only eat catfish?
There aren’t always hard-fast rules about the best purchases you can make. I’m careful but pragmatic. Fresh, local monkfish was at least a better choice than if I had bought a box of fish sticks. Environmentally better, healthier and it tasted better. Could I have made a better choice? Probably. The important thing is that more of us are asking questions about what we eat and making conscious decisions about what is best for us and our environment.