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Eating Seafood Responsibly

It goes without saying that boating and seafood go together like the proverbial apple pie and ice cream. Nothing compares to a nice filet off the grill at the end of a long day in the sun. If you possess the skills and the gear to haul dinner out of the deep you are usually in little danger of harming the ecosystem as long as you adhere to the regulations and catch limits in the areas you frequent.

For those of us who are less talented in the fine arts of fishing, however, a more likely scenario involves heading to the local market and stocking a cooler full of seafood for a weekend on the water. By now, most folks are aware of the many health benefits to be had from the fruits of the sea. But how often do we consider the impact our seafood choices have on the health of the Planet around us?

Like everything we consume, seafood is a resource, subject to the same pressures and market forces that affect anything of value. An obvious example of what is wrong with the current way this resource is being managed can be found in the headline stories of Bluefin Tuna fetching $100,000 or more in the Tokyo fish markets. While some folks might chalk this madness up to decadent millionaires willing to spend anything on a meal just because they can, the reality is much more bleak for one of Nature’s most majestic creatures.

By all accounts Bluefin fishery stocks are on the verge of extinction, having been fished to the brink with little if any thought to the future. Economics 101 dictates that scarcity creates value. When people want something and they have trouble getting it, they usually become willing to pay more. 99.9% of us cannot imagine spending six figures on a single fish, but the fact is the .1% who can is willing to spend big regardless of the consequences.

Once considered to be the provider of an endless bounty, the Ocean has been swept clean. Dig a little online or in your bookstore and you will be shocked by the statistics. If there is any place on Earth where the Wild West mentality of “get what you can while you can” is at work it is in the offshore fishing fleets. Sure, there are rules and regulations governing coastal waters that provide a degree of comfort to those of us who want our grandkids to experience the thrill of hauling in a big one. And there are also remarkable examples of fisheries like Alaska where sustainable practices have been recognized as the key to long term survival.

For the most part, though, the damage being done to bring fresh fish to market is out of control. Bottom trawlers that rip up the sea bed, long lines that kill everything, drift nets that do the same, helicopter-guided catch boats, fish finders with military grade electronics, and good old fashioned greed are just a few of the culprits driving the demise of our fisheries.

While concerned parties argue for tougher rules and regulations to combat these practices – as they should -the most effective way for the average person to make a difference now is to let your wallet do the talking. By refusing to purchase seafood that is not harvested sustainably we can all make a very real, very positive impact on the world around us.

So how do we make the right choices?

Until recently there has been a lack of current information out there for folks looking to make informed decisions about what ends up on their plate. Through the dedicated efforts of our friends at the Blue Ocean Institute things are changing for the better in this regard.

Available for free, the Blue Ocean Institute Guide to Ocean Friendly Seafood is a simple, yet powerful tool anyone can use to help reverse the harm being done. Updated regularly, this handy guide lets you know in easy to understand terms what is good and what is bad about the seafood options you might consider. A color coded key lets you see at a glance which species are in trouble, which are doing fine, and which are on the fence. A brief sentence or two accompanies each description so you can see exactly what factors go into these rankings. In addition, species prone to mercury concentrations and other health hazards are highlighted too.

Anyone who has ever bought anything at www.greenboatstuff.com has received one of the printed versions of this guide with their order. Foldable into the size of a business card, the guide fits in a wallet or purse with ease. The most current version can be downloaded directly from The Blue Ocean Institute through the following link http://blueoceaninstitute.com/pdfs/miniguide_color.pdf

Cell phone and PDA users can visit www.fishphone.org and download a version straight to your favorite communication device.

For the truly advanced, texting “Fish” and the species name to 30644 will provide instant feedback you can use to make the right call. Not to digress, but guys, if you’re looking for a way to impress that special someone, try this trick at dinner and you are sure to score points you just can’t put a price tag on.

There is even a new Sushi Friendly guide at http://blueoceaninstitute.com/pdfs/oceanfriendlysushi.pdf

The choices made by generations past and present have pushed our fragile Planet to where we find ourselves now. Going forward these same choices we all face will either dig the hole deeper, or help get things back on track. If you want to make a difference, you can. Please take a minute and let the Blue Ocean Institute Guide to Ocean Friendly Seafood show you how.

Eating Seafood Responsibly

Green Galley Gear

Let’s face it, good food and drink is an essential part of enjoying time on the water.

Unfortunately, so many boaters seem to forget that they are on the water when it comes time to whip up a meal or pass out the sundowners. Troll through any big marina, hit a crowded beach, or just spend a few days floating around and you are pretty much guaranteed to come across all sorts of junk that has escaped from the galley.

Styrofoam  dishes, plastic utensils , food containers, the stray synthetic “coolie cup” that slipped off somebody’s cold one, coolers, and of course our constant companion, the disposable water bottle, are just a few of the  things that so many boaters take for granted. And yet, this stuff is literally choking the waterways we claim to enjoy.

When it comes time to set up your galley please keep a simple principle in mind – Do not use anything that will not break down if it goes over the side.  

This precautionary principle will serve you well in many aspects of boating, and it is fairly easy to apply if you put your mind to it. All you have to do is look at everything you use in or around the galley and find a natural alternative to the cheap plastic junk that all the ads tell you belong on a boat.

Sound hard? Maybe.

 Doable? Of course.

Worth The Trouble? Your conscience can easily answer this one.

Let’s look at some common galley gear and the green alternatives that are out there.

Dishes –

Plain old paper plates are a good choice if you are on a budget, although they do take up precious space in the trash and a tree was probably cut down somewhere along the production line. If you go this route, shell out another buck or two for the stuff made from recycled paper products. Don’t let the marketing gurus trick you into buy recyclable instead. Remember, advertising executives know our attention span is often short enough that we can be duped into thinking recyclable and recycled mean the same thing. In fact, any paper product “can” be recycled, but most never are.  If you do go the disposable route you also need to avoid the poly-paper blend versions. These are usually shiny, slick, and come in lots of fancy colors. As sturdy and pretty as they may be, the poly base means they are full of chemicals, petroleum, and all sorts of bad stuff. If you really want disposable stuff, look for the new cornstarch or sugarcane based plastic dishes, or even those single use versions made from bamboo or other sustainable materials. The new bio-plastics can be a little tough to find, and while they look like traditional plastic, they will actually biodegrade with ease since they are made from vegetable oils. Be careful using the bio-plastics with really hot stuff, sometimes it melts. Wood dishes have come a long way in recent years. Many options exist from plain to fancy, and most of the wood stuff comes from sustainably grown plants like bamboo (technically a grass, not a wood), acacia, and others.  Be mindful you don’t buy a nice natural wood bowl covered in paint or some other synthetic finish. Look for food safe oils or other natural, plant based finishes. Stainless steel dishes are great on a boat. Now I know the image of a steel mill doesn’t exactly conjure up environmentally friendly images. However, if you compare the environmental impact of a set of stainless dishes that you will have on board for years and that will break down given enough time in the water vs. the completely non-biodegradable plastic set you replace every season or two, stainless wins hands down. Glass and ceramic can be good choices if you can keep them from breaking. Consider recycled glass products, and be wary of ceramic glazes, many contain lead or other nasty stuff.

Utensils –

Biodegradable plastic utensils are available if you look hard enough, but again be careful with hot stuff. Leaving a bio-plastic spoon in a hot baked potato might leave you with nothing but the handle. Wood is a great option here, especially chopsticks. Kids love trying to master them and clean up is easy. Good stainless utensils will last for years, although some people don’t like the metallic taste they can impart.

Pots and Pans – This is a tough one for some folks, and an area where we get a lot of opinions. You obviously can’t use wood over an open flame, although when properly used, bamboo steamers are quite versatile and double as attractive food servers. For the most part stainless steel is the greenest option available. Cast iron works great, but is prone to rusting, especially on a boat. At www.greenboatstuff.com we refuse to carry non-stick cookware. Treated with Teflon, or some other such synthetic, these cook-sets make clean up a breeze, but at a steep price. Mounting evidence shows that the chemicals from these non-stick coatings are showing up in the bloodstream of people around the globe, and even in the breast milk of nursing mothers. Who knows the damage this may ultimately cause, but for our part, we think folks would rather scrub a little harder instead of ingesting Teflon. 

Food Storage – Use stainless steel instead of plastic. More and more stainless food containers are coming on the market all the time. The folks at To-Go Ware have a great product just for this purpose. For more info check out www.greenboatstuff.com/towaststfoca.html

Liquid Storage – I won’t bore you with more statistics on how many disposable plastic water bottles are literally floating around out there, but the numbers are staggering. Recent concerns about PCB (chemical code for really nasty stuff) contaminants leaching from those cute, multi-colored “permanent” plastic water bottles has made a lot of people rethink their water bottles. These same concerns have a lot of concerned mom’s looking for alternatives to the traditional poly sippy cups and baby bottles too.  New “good plastic” water bottles that supposedly do not leach toxins are making the rounds as a result, but most of these are still petroleum-based, permanent plastic none the less.  The best water bottles, in my opinion, are either stainless steel or aluminum. Built to last for years, these bottles can be made from recycled materials and then recycled themselves when they finally give out. Be careful with aluminum though – as long as the bottle has an impermeable liner you should be fine, bottles without liners can impart toxins of their own. Food grade stainless steel is one of the best materials out there for both food and liquid storage. Tough and relatively lightweight, stainless does not require a liner to be safe.

Towels, Linens and Soft Stuff – Avoid anything synthetic. Polyester, nylon, or artificial fibers not only cause problems when they are created, but they can persist in the environment for years. Focus on natural fibers like organic cotton, hemp, and the like. These materials cause minimal if any harm in their production, and they also break down easily if they ever go over the side.

Chip Clips, Towel Hooks and all the Little Stuff – Once again, avoid synthetics. Nylon or plastic galley gadgets come in all sorts of sizes, shapes and colors. All you really need to know about this junk is that it polluted the environment when it was made, and it will be here 100,000 years from now. Brass, bronze, stainless steel, and even wood are good examples of materials that can do the job well, last for ages, usually be recycled, and yet cause minimal damage to the environment. Avoid painted gear if you can, along with chrome, zinc, or other plated surfaces. All this stuff causes harm.

Groceries and Boating

Food and Boating go together, plain and simple. Enjoying a nice meal in the cockpit, or a quick snack while afloat is an important part of the time we spend on the water. Unfortunately, so much of the stuff we walk out of the grocery store with these days causes unnecessary harm. Here are a few thoughts.
-At the Grocery Store
Packaging
Plastic, plastic, everywhere. We have become a society that values convenience above almost anything else. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the amount of plastic packaging we encounter every day. Plastic is cheap, plastic is lightweight, and plastic is forever. 
            After World War II the plastic industry began to develop polypropylene and polyethylene for all sorts of industrial and domestic applications. Like so many post war products, i.e. chemicals and fertilizers, the scientists of the day were more concerned with the short-term benefits of plastic than they were with the long-term impact their wonder product would make on the environment. 
            The extent that plastic has infiltrated the marine ecosystem is overwhelming. Not only do we see bags and bottles and all things plastic at so many beaches, but this stuff may also be finding its way into the cellular tissue of our bodies.
            Close to 90% of the junk floating in our oceans is plastic. According to a 2006 article by Kenneth R. Weiss, “a piece of plastic found in an albatross stomach last year bore a serial number that was traced to a World War II seaplane shot down in 1944.” Unless it has been picked up, washed ashore, or been consumed, almost every piece of plastic that has found its’ way to the ocean is still there.
            Nowhere is this more apparent than in an area called the North Pacific subtropical gyre. This particular patch of Ocean is located northeast of Hawaii and stretches nearly to California. This million square mile wasteland is full of floating plastic.  A rotating air mass and slow moving surface currents combine to produce a massive clockwise flow of debris. Some of the garbage occasionally breaks off and reaches Hawaiian and other pristine beaches, but most of it just spirals around. A 2001 survey of the area sponsored by the philanthropist, Captain Charles Moore, estimated that there are six pounds of plastic floating in the gyre for every one pound of naturally occurring zooplankton. Put another way, 3 million tons; 6 billion pounds, of plastic is spinning around this one part of the Ocean.
            Since most people will never sail through this stretch of sea some might say, so what? Out of sight is out of mind. Other than being foolish and irresponsible, this attitude neglects to consider the molecular behavior of plastic and how it may infiltrate the food chain.
            Because plastic is a man made, synthetic material it does not break down, or biodegrade, like organic substances such as paper or fabric might. But plastic does photodegrade. Exposed long enough to sunlight, plastic will break into smaller and smaller pieces, eventually disintegrating into individual molecules of plastic. As if this wasn’t bad enough, these little plastic blobs act as sponges, absorbing all types of toxins. Japanese scientists discovered that these poisons can become nearly a million times more concentrated in plastic than they can floating around on their own.
            Now imagine a school of tuna or salmon or any other ocean going main course happens to swim through some of this man made soup. It doesn’t take an advanced degree to believe mister fish just might ingest some of this stuff. How much is absorbed and how much passes on is for the guys with advanced degrees to debate. But go swallow a handful of plastic pellets that has been soaking in oily pesticides and tell me how you feel.
            The point of course is to avoid plastic on your boat at all costs. This is much easier said than done, but we must start somewhere.
            While you fill your shopping cart with groceries try to minimize or even eliminate plastic. Instead of buying the 24 pack of handy water bottles-that are usually wrapped in a big sheet of plastic- grab a gallon or two of drinking water and use refillable personal water bottles on board. Not only will you save money, precious garbage space, and the environment, you will probably stay healthier too. Instead of swapping germs by grabbing your kids’ identical jug of backwashed H2O, each crewmember can mark their own earth friendly stainless steel water bottle. (More on this idea later.)    
            Personal sized plastic fruit cups, yogurt containers, juice boxes, and on and on can all be replaced with more Ocean friendly packaging. Whatever the item, if it is plastic look for alternatives, they are out there.
            Once you reach the checkout counter the inevitable question is coming. Paper, or plastic?  If you must, choose paper. Better yet, bring a canvas shopping bag or two with you and load them up. If you are new to this green stuff, plan on feeling a little self-conscious here. It will take a few trips to get over it, just remember the North Pacific gyre.
Food
            Boat food is usually summer time food. Burgers, hot dogs, steak, fish and chicken- easy BBQ chow. Fruits and veggies, pasta, chips, the list goes on. The first thing to consider when you are stocking up is to buy, whenever possible, certified organic food.
         If you want to learn about the health benefits of eating organic food there is no shortage of information out there. As a green boater, however, the reason for eating organic has more to do with the water you are on than the body in which you reside. 
          Non-organic food is routinely treated with chemical fertilizers, pesticides, hormones and antibiotics. Organic food is not. Through various means these chemicals inevitably find their way into the waters we enjoy. When fertilizers are introduced into either fresh or salt water they simply do their job, feeding the plants and especially algae that live there. Algae does not know when it is full. As it eats it grows, and as it grows existing plants begin to die. Microscopic bacteria eat the decaying material, and like the algae, the bacteria multiply. Bacteria require oxygen to survive.  When the bacteria increase in number they remove more and more dissolved oxygen from the water, eventually suffocating the fish and larger aquatic creatures unable to flee.       
        Algal blooms can also produce powerful neurotoxins that are harmful to anything they touch, including people. The infamous red tide and the lesser know blue tide are algal blooms. While there does not yet appear to be definitive scientific proof linking red tides to fertilizer discharge, the red tides miraculously occur quite often in coastal areas that are linked to intense agricultural activity. Hmmmm?
       Pesticides, hormones, and antibiotics produce all sorts of nasty problems in the waters they sneak into.  Would you buy fish at the market if you knew it had this stuff in it? If it is not organically raised fish you probably already are.
        Organic or not, the fish you buy for the weekend barbecue on board can have an impact on our marine environment. Through tricky marketing campaigns and outright deception the worlds’ seafood salesmen have done their best to convince us that eating their product is both good for us and good for the planet. Like many things we are told, the devil is in the details. Most fish, if properly raised, caught, and prepared is good for us. The problem, however, is that many fish we think are beneficial are often raised and caught in ways that do more damage than we may know.
How to cook your feast in an environmentally friendly way will be covered in chapter five.
The Audubon Society publishes a handy, wallet-sized chart that advises consumers which seafoods to enjoy, be cautious with, and avoid completely. You can download and print this guide from their website at
http://seafood.audubon.org/
            The farming of salmon, for example, is believed to produce a multitude of environmental problems. Being businessmen who want to sell a lot of fish, most salmon farmers raise as many fish as possible in as small an area as they can. This often leads to diseases that are controlled by adding antibiotics to the food the salmon eat. This salmon food is usually made up of ground fish that are often caught in huge nets that may cause extensive damage to the seafloor. In addition, dolphins, seals and other large animals are swept up in these nets and killed.
According to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Program it takes approximately three pounds of feed fish to produce one pound of farmed salmon, hardly a sustainable practice. In addition, a recent study suggested that farmed salmon might contain up to 16 times the PCBs, (polychlorinated biphenyl’s-. i.e. nasty man made chemicals) found in wild salmon. While there is dispute over this number, if farm raised salmon have only twice the toxins of their wild cousins that is too much for me to feed my kids. Finally, most farm raised salmon meat is actually white-the farmers die it red for marketing reasons. Yuck!
                   Everyone’s favorite, shrimp, also has some pretty dirty laundry. Depending on where it comes from and how it is caught, a shrimp ‘s journey to your grocery store can leave a destructive, deadly trail. Many shrimp are caught using huge nets dragged behind big powerful boats called trawlers. In addition to often tearing up the seafloor, these nets are not particular about what they scoop up. For a shrimp fisherman anything he brings aboard other than shrimp is called “bycatch.”
These unwanted victims are almost always thrown overboard, usually dead or dying. Estimates vary but some watchdog groups believe up to 90% of the total catch on a shrimp boat may be bycatch.  What this means to us shrimp lovers is that for every 10 pounds we enjoy on the barbecue, 90 pounds of swimming, thriving sea life is gone.
                    Scallops, tuna, cod, the list of troubling seafood is growing. With a little effort there is much you can learn about what is really being sold to you at the fish counter. In this books Appendix there are numerous sources listed where you can explore this subject further. Suffice it to say you should.
            The other traditional main course boat foods-beef, chicken and even pork chops all have similar tales to tell about how they affect our waters. The same is true for the fruits and vegetables, milk or juice, and all the other foods you enjoy on your boat. You might ask how can a steak from a cow raised in Kansas, or an apple from Washington state, affect a South Pacific coral reef?
Without getting too involved here the answer lies in the fact that planet Earth is a closed system. Other than the sunlight that powers all things and some gas and heat that sneaks into space, what happens on this planet stays on this planet. Any process-be it in Kansas, Washington, or anywhere else that introduces potentially toxic material into that system affects the entire system. To what degree is debatable and I do not have the letters after my name to argue the particulars. But common sense is common sense. Organic food is better for the Ocean, plain and simple.