Seafood Watch

Red sea cucumbers are having a bit of a ✨moment ✨ And if you’re not familiar with this high-protein, festive seafood, it’s time to get acquainted. With a versatile flavor, red sea cucumbers are a culinary dark horse. And in British Columbia they’re incredibly sustainable. Hand-harvested individually by scuba divers, sea cucumbers land solidly in the green. This method of harvest prevents bycatch and seafloor damage, and the strict management of the fishery ensures a healthy population. So what are you waiting for? Life begins at the end of your culinary comfort zone! 🥒 Check out the full Seafood Watch report at the link below, and buy this Best Choice seafood option online (dried or frozen)! https://lnkd.in/gZ_EF3mx #RateAMinute #SustainableSeafood #MontereyBayAquarium #TheKardashians  #SeaCucumber

🛟 Behind the scenes, aquariums are working to protect species before they disappear forever.  Sometimes, animals that face threats in the wild need a helping hand. That’s where the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Saving Animals From Extinction (SAFE) program comes in. Corals face increasing threats worldwide. While here at Monterey Bay Aquarium we focus on deep-sea corals, our friends and Seafood Watch conservation partners at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago are surveying the shallows. When coral reefs in Florida were devastated in a 2023 mass bleaching event, Shedd biologists embarked on a collaborative expedition to Dry Tortugas National Park with over a dozen organizations to study coral DNA, collect samples, and eventually transplant healthy corals back onto the reefs. Furthermore, the team identified survivors of the bleaching event and collected individuals to safeguard in gene banks. If future heat waves or diseases crop up, these genes won’t run the risk of being lost. Together, we’re working toward healthier reefs. Healthy reefs = healthy fisheries, and you can help by staying informed about what’s on your plate! Whether it's the deep sea or remote tropical reefs , your support of sustainable seafood has far-reaching effects. Check out our Seafood Watch guides at the link below to find seafood that protects corals and supports a healthy ocean. https://lnkd.in/gNfNdV6N #Coral #SciComm #AZA #SAFE #OceanOptimism #AZA #ConservationPartners #MarineBiology #MontereyBayAquarium

Protecting ocean habitats by eating sustainable seafood can help coral reefs—and all the life that depends on them!  🌊 🪸 Our warming ocean and human impact are putting entire reefs at risk. When corals disappear, countless ocean animals lose the homes they depend on to survive. These animals range from clownfish to sea turtles to sharks.  Take the Great Barrier Reef for example: it’s home to over 9,000 animal species, according to National Geographic–including animal species that millions of people rely on for food. While many fishing methods are perfectly safe for the seafloor, certain methods like bottom trawling can also cause severe damage to reefs. Bottom trawling drags heavy nets and chains along  the seafloor to scoop up bottom-dwelling fish, which can also dismantle coral beds in the process. Limiting when and where trawling occurs can lessen impacts to sensitive ocean habitats. The good news is: our choices matter. Seafood Watch green ratings ensure our seafood is caught using methods that protect our ocean ecosystems. By choosing sustainable seafood, we protect the ocean and people who depend on it! Learn more about the importance of coral: https://lnkd.in/gUA8yz6i

Celebrating Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AANHPI) with our friends at Magpie Cafe in Sacramento! Chef + owner Janel Inouye brings her island nation heritage and love for the ocean to select dishes, featuring delicious sustainable seafood that helps protect our blue planet 🌊💙 Magpie is a Best Choice Restaurant member, committed to serving at least one green best choice dish. Discover sustainable seafood on their menu!  We’re proud to partner with businesses creating thoughtful, community-centered food experiences rooted in culture, care, and sustainability. 🥢🍋🐠 Find more Best Choice Restaurants that offer sustainable seafood near you: https://lnkd.in/gBqw225u

🐢 Meet the Kemp's ridley turtle—the smallest sea turtle in the world at around 2 ft. long and under 100 lbs. when fully grown. In the mid ‘80s, Kemp's ridley nests had dropped to around 700. While several factors led to this decline, too many were being caught as bycatch in shrimp trawl nets, along with loggerhead and green sea turtles. Today, the number of Kemp's ridley nests has increased to around 17,000 annually. One key factor in their recovery: Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs). Built into shrimp trawl nets, TEDs are an innovative gear modification that give sea turtles an escape route and are 97% effective at excluding them, according to NOAA Fisheries. TEDs are used by most shrimp trawling vessels in the U.S. Atlantic, so turtles and other large animals exit nets safely and just keep swimmin’! ➡️ Check out our sustainable shrimp guide at https://lnkd.in/gBF-fWA3  so you know what shrimp to buy and what to avoid. 📷 Images 1-3: Kemp’s ridley sea turtles (Credit: NPS Photo) Image 4: Sea turtle exiting a net via a TED (species unconfirmed) (Credit: NOAA Fisheries/Dan Foster) Image 5: Loggerhead sea turtle exiting a net via a TED (Credit: NOAA Fisheries) #TEDsSaveTurtles #SustainableSeafood #SeafoodWatch #MontereyBayAquarium

This Sunday, Mother's Day and National Shrimp Day share the same date—and we think that's worth talking about. Woodrow Wilson made Mother's Day an official holiday 112 years ago. National Shrimp Day has no such origin. No founder, no proclamation, no act of Congress. It just became one of those food holidays that somehow stuck in the '90s. Here's what we do know: shrimp is the most popular seafood in the U.S. On average, we each eat over 4 pounds a year. And a lot of it isn't ocean-friendly. That's why we created our sustainable shrimp guide. It tells you exactly what to buy and what to avoid, so the choice is simple. This Sunday, Mom deserves ocean-friendly shrimp. Our shrimp guide tells you what to look for. Save this post and check: https://lnkd.in/gtJg68aa  for more ocean-friendly shrimp options. The above is a simplified summary of our shrimp recommendations—exceptions apply. See all recommendations at SeafoodWatch.org.

Help ensure our seafood ratings are accurate and up to date by reviewing and commenting on newly released draft assessments. The following assessment is available for public comment through June 1, 2026. Blue (golden) tilefish (U.S. Mid-Atlantic) We're committed to a transparent and inclusive process, and our assessments go through several internal and external reviews. We encourage you to learn more about our standards and the broader assessment process to provide feedback on draft assessments during the open public comment period. Learn more at: https://lnkd.in/gXVNWTJs 

On Monday, May 4, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program released an updated rating for giant red sea cucumber from British Columbia, Canada, which remains green-rated. Learn about these ratings and more at: https://lnkd.in/gbc5UDds 

World Tuna Day is a reminder that healthy fisheries aren't just good for the ocean. They're good for people. When Pacific bluefin tuna thrive, they  support commercial fleets, charter operators, coastal businesses, and recreational anglers. By prioritizing science-based harvest strategies, fishery managers can create the predictability that coastal communities need to thrive. Let’s lock in a long-term plan that protects the health of our tuna for generations to come. Learn more about bluefin tuna recovery https://lnkd.in/gFcntM8R Healthy ecosystems produce healthy communities. That's a win for working waterfronts everywhere! #SeafoodWatch #WorldTunaDay #SustainableSeafood