Good Fish, Bad Fish

Good Fish, Bad Fish With fish consumption exploding around the world, can Hawai‘i lead the way to sustainability?

Joanne Fujita

December 18 , 2002 Honolulu Weekly

Grilled mahimahi. Seared ‘ahi. Broiled shutome. Do these sound like menu items from the neighborhood restaurant? Sure, but they’ve also become standard fare in restaurants as far removed from Honolulu as Los Angeles and Seattle, Chicago and New York. Hawai‘i’s seafood is now one of its most popular calling cards. As Hawai‘i’s fish have become famous for their exquisite taste, so have the health benefits of eating fish been seized by the nation’s fixation on wellness. Research has shown that fish provides protection against cardiovascular disease, spurring the health- conscious to opt for its tender flesh instead of red meat. Omega-3 fatty acids, found in therapeutic doses in fatty fish such as ‘ahi, aku and salmon, are credited for reducing inflammation from rheumatoid arthritis, inhibiting tumor growth, ameliorating arrhythmia and lessening the risks of heart disease. Omega-3 fatty acids also contribute to brain and nerve tissue development. So, on top of everything else, fish is brain food, just like Mom said. Indeed, living in Hawai‘i, where the quality and the variety of seafoods — both local and imported — are superb, eating fish is a very smart thing to do. But this increase in popularity has an effect, as fish and shellfish are now the only wildlife — the only major food source — that is still commercially hunted. To remain sustainable, this important bounty from the sea relies on the fragile balance of nature and the responsible behavior of human beings. And herein lies the problem.

The problem with seafood The United Nations estimates that within the next 10 years the demand for fish worldwide will increase nearly 40 percent. The United States ranks third, behind Japan and China, in total annual seafood consumed. This tremendous demand fuels the industrial-scale hunting of marine fish, some species of which are dwindling to their lowest population levels in history. The methods by which seafood is caught are often devastating to other animals that aren’t targeted. Shrimp trawlers are especially guilty of wasting unwanted marine life: For every pound of shrimp caught, 4-10 pounds of bycatch are discarded worldwide. Longlining indiscriminately hooks seabirds, turtles and juvenile fish as well as the targeted fish. Even though Hawai‘i’s longlining industry has taken strong action to reduce the bycatch by adjusting the depths of the hooks, many other nations that longline, have no such regulations in place. It is easy to assume that the fish and shellfish seen in abundance at the markets have flourishing populations — and that they’ve been caught using environmentally sustainable methods. This, unfortunately, isn’t always the case. Different species of fish have widely varying rates of reproduction and migration habits and so are affected in very different ways by the fishing industry. And, now that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has advised that women of reproductive age should not eat shark, swordfish, king mackerel and tile fish because their high mercury content could damage the brain of a developing fetus, the notion of fish as a universally healthful food is itself becoming rife with exceptions. These issues pose a problem for the consumer who wishes to make responsible choices: Which types of seafood are safe, harvested in a way that’s harmless to the environment and plentiful enough to eat? The question has deeper implications than simply what to serve for dinner: Consumer choice affects not only what Foodland displays in the seafood case, but also what restaurants list on menus, what markets sell to the restaurants, and, finally, what fish the fishermen go after and sell to the markets. A public concerned about how its seafood choices affect the environment will cause suppliers to react in ways that will meet demand. In this way, a movement can be formed, and change can occur. To this end, the following explores areas of concern affecting our seafood supply, and how you, the consumer, can help.

Ask how it was caught Not all fishing methods are equal in their impact on the environment. Some methods damage habitat, such as the practice of dredging for shellfish, and some destroy marine life not targeted by the fishermen. In order for a fishing method to be sustainable, it must not cause damage to habitat or to other species, and it must spare juvenile fish. At the marketplace or the restaurant, it is sometimes difficult to tell how the product being sold was harvested. ‘Ahi is commercially caught by longlining, a practice that has drawn strong criticism by environmental groups for causing the deaths of many endangered turtle and sea bird species. ‘Ahi also are often caught by trolling, a method that is safe for the environment. This simple difference can help save lives of endangered sea creatures. Asking how your ‘ahi was caught will prompt a restaurant or a market to find out and make the information more available. If the restaurant or market is also informed on why it matters, perhaps their buying methods will change to reflect the concerns of the public.

Ask if it was farmed At first glance, it appeared that aquaculture would answer a lot of problems: Fish and shellfish grown in a controlled environment should be cleaner and more wholesome than catching wild seafood, which swims just anywhere. But this isn’t always the case. Fish farms can create problems with water pollution and disease if an open-water system is used; and fish that escape will inevitably interbreed with the wild population. Some farms feed their "livestock" other wild fish — in the case of farmed Atlantic salmon, it takes 2.8 pounds of wild fish to yield one pound of the farmed salmon. However, there are many examples of farms that provide the consumer with alternatives to wild fish and ensure a safe and consistent product. The February 2001 issue of the Journal of Food Science gave results of a three-year study testing mercury and pesticide levels of U.S.-farmed catfish, trout and crawfish. The levels of mercury measured on average 40 to 100 times lower than the one-part-per-million standard set by the Food and Drug Administration. Tests for 34 pesticides also came back with very low levels. Virtually all catfish and trout in grocery stores are farmed, so they can be consumed without worry. The same species caught wild from lakes and rivers in many states have high levels of pollutants like mercury and PCB, proving wild isn’t necessarily better. The individual listings of fish and seafood at the end of this article will discuss each case in greater detail.

Ask where it came from The seafood in Hawai‘i’s grocery stores, even in Chinatown’s fish stands, comes from many places, not just from Hawaiian waters. Fisheries in the U.S. may have management issues, but they are generally not as unregulated as some in Asia and other countries. A species may be abundant in one area but overfished elsewhere. Pacific salmon from the U.S. West Coast are in deep trouble because the rivers and streams the fish use for spawning have been so severely degraded from dams and pollution. Atlantic salmon available in stores is 100-percent commercially farmed. The species in the wild is too scarce. On the other hand, Alaska salmon is abundant and enjoys a largely intact habitat. The management of Alaska’s salmon fisheries strictly limits the number of fish caught. Simply knowing where the fish comes from can make the difference between a bad choice and a responsible one. Armed with these criteria for selecting seafood, consumers can directly increase the awareness of seafood suppliers and restaurants, and perhaps start to make our oceans and rivers healthy again.

Favorite fish and shellfish: a shopping guide This guide is based largely on recommendations from Audubon’s Living Oceans program, whose excellent Web site provides a handy Seafood Wallet Card that lists seafood favorites according to their relative environmental fitness. Hawai‘i has its own card, which can be downloaded at www.audubon.org/campaign/lo/seafood/cards.html. Hawai‘i’s card is called the Pacific Whale Foundation/Audubon Seafood Wallet Card. It makes a lot of sense to take a look at the national card as well, as many commonly found items such as canned tuna and catfish are listed there but not on the Hawai‘i card. These cards can be carried in the wallet and serve as quick references while shopping or dining out. The following list uses this information as a base and expands it with notes on mercury content and other current research.

Aku (Skipjack Tuna, Katsuo) Safe (if Hawai‘i pole/troll caught) If caught on pole and troll gear, harvesting this fish presents very few problems to other marine life and the habitat. Aku reproduce rapidly and are very abundant.

Akule (Bigeye Scad) ‘Öpelu (Mackerel Scad) Safe Both akule and ‘öpelu mature and grow rapidly, and the fishing pressure on these species is relatively low. The fishing methods used (nets, hook and line, hand line and pole and line) cause little damage to habitat and have low bycatch. Chilean Sea Bass (Patagonian Toothfish) Very Unsafe This fish is seriously overfished to the point of population collapse and will have difficulty recovering, as individuals can take as long as eight years to reach sexual maturity. Despite international management efforts, strong demand prompts illegal fishing to supply this delicacy.

Farmed Catfish, Crawfish, Striped Bass and Tilapia Safe When enclosed water systems and wastewater controls are employed, fish farming can successfully and sustainably provide an alternative to wild fish and relieve fishing pressure.

Farmed Clams, Mussels and Scallops Safe Harvesting wild mollusks presents a problem, as it often involves habitat-harming methods such as bottom dredging. Growing shellfish using rope or suspension methods are sustainable techniques that do not damage the ocean bottom. As these species are filter feeders, they don’t require feed (unlike farmed fish and shrimp), and they help maintain water quality in areas where they are farmed.

Häpu‘upu‘u (Hawaiian Sea Bass) Unsafe These fish have the unusual characteristic of changing sex from female to male as they get older. The practice of targeting larger fish ends up depleting the number of males. This, combined with the fact that the species is territorial and sedentary, causes it to be very vulnerable to fishing and habitat destruction. Fortunately, the fishing methods used are habitat-friendly.

King Crab Marginal Though this fishery is tightly managed, and the traps used are habitat-friendly, the fishing is heavy. As king crabs brood their eggs for close to a year, mate in aggregations and live in protective pods, their behavior makes them sensitive to overfishing.

Maine Lobster Marginal Because they grow and mature slowly, Maine lobsters are vulnerable to heavy fishing pressure. Currently, the pressure is so high that nearly all lobsters are removed as soon as they mature, making populations easily weakened by one bad year of reproduction. Luckily, the traps used to catch lobsters have low bycatch and are harmless to the habitat.

Spiny Lobster, Slipper Lobster Unsafe Due to serious declines, Hawai‘i lobster fisheries are currently closed, so the spiny and slipper lobsters available are mostly imported. Many of these imported lobsters come from outside the U.S., where management is generally poor.

Mahimahi Safe (if Hawai‘i pole/troll caught) These fish have relatively short lives (four years) and are very fecund, so they are fairly resistant to fishing pressure. If caught by troll fisheries, the bycatch is low and the impact on the environment is minimal. However, most imported mahimahi are from Taiwan, where longline gear is used and bycatch is high.

Marlin: Striped (Nairagi) Blue (Kajiki) Unsafe Striped and blue marlins are caught locally in Hawai‘i and imported from other nations. The imported marlins are caught by longline gear, which snags endangered sea turtles and seabirds. Locally caught marlins are also caught by longline gear, and though bycatch has been greatly reduced by the efforts of Hawai‘i’s fishery management, some problems still exist. Marlins are predatory fish with a greater tendency to high mercury content, which makes them fish that pregnant and nursing women should avoid.

Monchong (Big Scale Pomfret) Opah (Moonfish) Marginal to Unsafe These fish are mostly caught by longliners targeting tuna. Though they are not the intended catch they have a market, as they have proven to be successful as alternative choices for chefs when popular fish like onaga and ‘öpakapaka aren’t available. Because little is known about these fish, there is little management specifically addressed to them.

Octopus (Tako) Marginal Though octopuses mature early and reproduce quickly, they attach their eggs to the coral reef substrate, a fragile ecosystem that is sensitive to habitat degradation. But because divers who fish with spears bring in almost all of the octopuses sold in Hawai‘i, the habitat suffers little damage from their harvest.

Onaga (Red Snapper) Marginal to Unsafe This highly popular fish matures later and is less abundant than its snapper cousins, ‘öpakapaka and uku. In Hawai‘i, these bottomfishes are caught using methods that cause minimal harm, but elsewhere bottom trawls and other destructive gear are used.

Ono (Wahoo) Safe (if Hawai‘i troll caught) Like the akule and mahimahi, ono mature and reproduce rapidly. If they are caught by trolling, then the bycatch is minimal.

‘Öpakapaka (Pink Snapper) Uku (Grey Snapper) Marginal Though these fish enjoy quicker maturation and greater numbers than the onaga — the systems for assessing population and levels of catch are inadequate.

Oysters, Pacific Safe (if not dredged) Oysters are cultivated in the Pacific Northwest, seeded along the bottom of estuaries and on raised structures suspended above the bottom. The estuarine ecosystem isn’t harmed if the oysters are taken using methods other than dredging. There isn’t a need for wastewater treatment or feed as oysters are filter feeders.

Alaska Wild Salmon Safe The king, sockeye, pink, chum and coho Pacific salmon species travel to Alaska each year to spawn in the streams where they were born. The habitat remains intact in Alaska, and the management of the salmon fisheries maintains strict limits on when and how many fish can be caught. Bycatch is minimal.

Farmed Salmon Unsafe Though there have been a number of farming success stories with other species, salmon farming presents a number of problems including competition of escaped farmed fish with wild fish, overuse of antibiotics and parasiticides, and water pollution. Unfortunately, farmed salmon accounts for over 50 percent of the world’s salmon supply, so unless it’s labeled as wild, it’s likely to be farmed. All salmon labeled Atlantic is farmed, as commercially selling wild Atlantic salmon is illegal.

Sharks Unsafe Besides being on the FDA’s list of mercury-tainted fish, shark species such as mako and thresher sharks are in danger from fishing pressure because of their low rate of reproduction: just two to four pups every two to three years in the case of the mako shark. In their own ecosystem, sharks have little risk of predation, but with the strong demand for shark fins and the problem of getting snagged on longlines intended for tuna, sharks face unprecedented threats.

Shrimp Unsafe America’s favorite seafood is perhaps the saddest story of all. Even though tons of shrimps are consumed internationally, the problem isn’t with abundance: shrimps breed prolifically. The problems are that the methods of both farming and harvesting shrimp worldwide are harmful to the environment and other marine life. Though U.S. wild shrimp fisheries have changed their methods to reduce bycatch, other countries have not. On the positive side, there are cases of sustainable shrimp harvest: California spot prawn and Atlantic northern pink shrimp are both caught with low bycatch. Here in Hawai‘i, research is underway by Oceanic Institute, PIC USA, Zeigler Bros. Inc. and Kahuku Shrimp Company to create a closed-environment aquaculture system that will have zero exchange of water. If the research succeeds, we’ll have an eco-friendly source of fresh shrimp.

Squid (Calamari) Marginal Though squid mature early and reproduce quickly, the majority of squid comes from countries that have no controls on catch limits and the current status of the elusive species is little known. Squid are mostly caught with bottom trawls (harmful) and jigs (not harmful).

Swordfish (Shutome) Very Unsafe Swordfish contain some of the highest levels of mercury found in fish. Currently, due to high bycatch, swordfish longliners are closed out of fishing in Hawaiian waters. Other swordfish fisheries still have bycatch problems.

Tuna There is some dispute between various groups as to whether tuna has high enough levels of mercury to warrant restricting it as a regular part of the diet. The FDA did not include tuna in its advisory. The Environmental Working Group strongly disagrees with this assessment and believes that tuna, both fresh and canned, should be added to the list.

Albacore, Bigeye (Mebachi) and Yellowfin Tuna (‘Ahi) Unsafe (if longline caught) These fish are resilient to fishing pressures and are fairly abundant. But there are problems of bycatch with longlining, and the mercury levels are high.

Yellowfin Tuna (‘Ahi) Marginal (if troll caught) Though this fish is listed as "green" or safe by the Audubon program, the mercury levels are of concern, and ‘ahi should be avoided by women who plan to get pregnant, women who are pregnant and women who are nursing.