Fished or Farmed: A Q&A Deep Dive with Seafood Watch

As one of the leading experts in the field for several decades, Bon Appétit Management Company has long relied on Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch guidelines to inform our sustainable seafood purchasing.  

The Seafood Watch program scientifically assesses the environmental sustainability of seafood products on the U.S. market and then uses those findings to transform how seafood is fished and farmed. Commitments like ours at Bon Appétit  — and our chefs’ efforts to put those promises into action — help push the needle on seafood sustainability so that people and planet can thrive for the long term.  

In honor of National Seafood Month in October, we chatted with Morgan Smith, Seafood Watch Senior Market Engagement Manager with the Monterey Bay Aquarium, to dive into how Seafood Watch seafood ratings are made and the nuanced environmental impacts for both farmed and wild-caught fish. 

Our chefs at Bon Appétit strive to purchase only green- or yellow-rated fish species under the Seafood Watch program. What factors inform the rating system, and how are the ratings decided? 

Seafood Watch is a ratings program at its core. We assess how fisheries and aquaculture operations perform against our science-based standards for environmental sustainability, which include factors like chemical use on farms and whether fishing methods harm the seafloor or other ocean animals. 

We use these ratings to create sustainability recommendations for wild-caught and farmed seafood. These recommendations are the backbone of our work. They work like a traffic light. 

Green means go. Green-rated seafood is well managed and caught or farmed responsibly. It poses a low environmental risk. We recommend buying yellow-rated seafood if a green-rated option is not available. This seafood poses a moderate environmental risk. Red means take a pass for now because this seafood poses a high risk to the environment. It’s overfished, lacks strong management, or is caught or farmed in ways that harm other marine life or the environment. We also recommend some sources of certified seafood, which is indicated by the color blue on our website.  

We use our recommendations to work directly with businesses to improve their seafood sourcing and with producers to improve their practices. We also create tools for people who want to purchase sustainable seafood for themselves. 

This year for National Seafood Month, we are interested in shedding some light on the nuanced environmental impacts for both farmed and fished seafood, and how we can find more and less sustainable options in each category. What are some common misconceptions about the sustainability of seafood options, and can you explain how the issue is not so black and white?   

A common misconception is that certain species or farming and fishing methods are inherently bad. Farmed and wild fish can range from very sustainable to not so much, depending on the species and how it’s produced. That’s why you won’t find a lot of blanket statements claiming it’s all good or it’s all bad. How it’s farmed or fished matters. In fact, you’ll find green, yellow and red options for most seafood species. For example, shrimp can be farmed in intensive systems or extensive systems, where no feed or chemicals are used, with vastly different impacts.  

There are also often ways to mitigate harmful impacts. For example, seabirds can sometimes get caught in fishing gear, but adding streamers — brightly colored ribbons that flap in the wind — to some gear types helps deter seabirds and reduces their rate of entanglement. With the right changes, even red-rated fisheries and seafood production may have the potential to improve. 

Another common misconception is that farmed seafood is inherently destructive. Farmed seafood often gets bad press, sometimes rightly so, but it’s important to understand not all farmed seafood is unsustainable. When done correctly, aquaculture can be sustainable since farmers can control many factors, such as feed, water quality, and waste. It’s important that we pursue more sustainable methods of aquaculture as over half of the seafood Americans eat is already farmed. Incidentally, there is little risk of accidental bycatch of struggling species like turtles, whales, and sharks in fish-farming. 

What are some examples of sustainable options for both wild and farmed fish?   

The big three are salmon, shrimp, and tuna. Americans love these three types of seafood. 

A good rule of thumb is to buy U.S. wild-caught salmon. Only a tiny amount of U.S. wild-caught salmon should be avoided.  

Shrimp can be a bit trickier, but sustainable options exist. We recommend most shrimp caught or farmed in the U.S., and we also recommend shrimp certified by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council, Marine Stewardship Council, Global Seafood Alliance Best Aquaculture Practices, or Naturland.  

And if you’re looking for, say, canned tuna, you want to make sure one of these terms is on the label: pole-caught, pole-and-line-caught, troll-caught, FAD-free, free school, or school-caught.  

One of our favorite tips is to do your homework before you go. Knowing a few sustainable items ahead of time can take some of the guesswork out of grocery shopping. Our seafood guides can be a great source to help you identify sustainable options. You can also choose dining options that are already serving sustainable seafood options — like those managed by Bon Appétit. 

Also, don’t be afraid to try new things. Arctic char, for example, is rated green and can be a good substitute for salmon. And most bivalves — think clams, mussels, oysters, and scallops — in stores and restaurants are farmed and are some of the most environmentally sustainable seafoods you can buy. 

Seafood Watch is celebrating its 25-year anniversary this year. Congrats to you all! How are you all marking the special occasion?   

We’re celebrating 25 years by doing what we do best: recommending great, sustainable seafood options! We’ve launched the Super Green List of seafood no-brainers. Specially curated to celebrate our 25th anniversary, the Super Green List includes ocean-friendly and nutritious seafood. Simple and straightforward, you can eat these species in good conscience — for your body and for the planet. So far, items include farmed mussels, albacore tuna caught with trolling lines or pole-and-lines, U.S. farmed rainbow trout, farmed seaweed, Alaska flounder and sole, U.S. farmed catfish, farmed clams, and U.S. farmed striped bass. New items are added every month until the end of 2024, so check back in to see what’s next.  

Finally, what’s one thing you wish everyone knew about Seafood Watch and the important work you do?  

No matter where you live, the ocean plays an enormous role in your life. It drives weather and climate, produces oxygen, and acts as a carbon sink. The very same ocean is threatened by climate change, plastic pollution, overfishing and a host of other issues. One strong positive ocean action that nearly all of us can take right now is responsibly choosing what we eat and where it comes from. 

We also encourage you to ask retailers, “Do you sell sustainable seafood?” It’s one of the most powerful actions you can take for the ocean. This question lets businesses know they should sell seafood caught or farmed in ways that don’t harm the environment. You will undoubtedly encounter businesses that don’t know if their seafood products are sustainable, but remember, your opinion counts. When customers ask for sustainable seafood, restaurants and retailers begin to seek and demand sustainable options from their suppliers.