.org Sustainable Seafood An Educator’s Guide for Grades k-6 Written and Produced by Natascia Tamburello1 © SeaChoice SeaChoice 2011. All Rights2011. Reserved. All Rights Reserved. .org Foreword The oceans have a profound effect on all of us. We also have a profound effect on the health of our oceans and, unfortunately, it is often not positive. As our understanding of the complex systems that support ocean life has improved, we are realizing just how much of an impact we are having on the world beneath the water’s surface. Despite these increasing challenges, our oceans are an amazing treasure of biodiversity, healthy food, and awe! Given the right tools and education, everyone has an opportunity to engage in marine conservation and help protect the global treasures of the sea. By learning (and teach- ing) about the issues affecting the health of our oceans, and by making informed choices, you become part of a larger community of ocean and sustainable seafood ambassadors leading by example: together we can maintain healthy and abundant oceans for future generations. With appreciation, The SeaChoice Team 2 © SeaChoice 2011. All Rights Reserved. Table of Contents About This Guide.........................................................................................4 Setting The Scene For Sustainable Seafood How To Use This Educators’ Guide Our Big, Beautiful Ocean............................................................................8 Our Blue Planet Why Is The Ocean Important? Our Oceans are in Deep Trouble..............................................................16 The Vast, Yet Vulnerable Sea Pollution Climate Change Unsustainable Fishing Practices Seafood: The Good, The Bad, and the Unsustainable............................22 Where Does Our Seafood Come From? Unsustainable Fishing Practices How You Can Help Sustainable Seafood................................................................................32 What Is Sustainable Seafood? What Makes Wild Seafood Sustainable? What Makes Farmed Seafood Sustainable? Choosing Sustainable Seafood at the Market.......................................40 How Does It Make a Difference? How Do you Know What’s Sustainable? Sustainable Seafood Guides Get to Know Your Seafood!......................................................................44 What You’ve Learned................................................................................50 Top 10 Tips To Protect Our Oceans..........................................................51 Test Your Sustainable Seafood Smarts..................................................53 Activity Answer Key..................................................................................54 Seafood Vocabulary.................................................................................56 References................................................................................................57 3 © SeaChoice 2011. All Rights Reserved. About this Guide Setting the Scene for Sustainable Seafood Fish comprise the world’s largest wild food harvest appears to be maintained at a high level, this and provide a vital source of protein as well as does not mean that catches are sustainable. High livelihoods for many families. Globally, more than levels of catch have been maintained as commer- 120 million people are dependent on fish for all cial fleets move to new, previously unexploited or part of their income, particularly in developing species or areas, once their original target stock countries. Animals such as whales, dolphins and is depleted. This “sequential depletion” of marine seabirds also rely on fish for their food. Fish are organisms has been masked until recently a vital part of marine ecosystems and are key to by improved technology, expansion to different the essential services that these environments or deeper parts of the ocean, and over-reporting provide (e.g., global nutrient cycling). of fish catches for political reasons. All the while, previously undesirable species, often lower on Over the last century, commercial fisheries have food chains, are marketed to consumers. drastically reduced fish populations and altered the world’s marine ecosystems. On a global level, The movement towards sustainable seafood is most fisheries are poorly managed and fish stocks about solutions for our oceans. The ultimate have been fully exploited (52%), over-exploited resolution will require governments, industry, (16%), or depleted (7%). The world’s capture retailers and individuals to take responsibility for fisheries peaked in the late 1980s and, despite changing our approach to seafood. Your personal increased fishing efforts, catch rates have seafood choices are also a big part of the solution. dropped. More hours on the water for fishermen have yielded fewer and fewer fish. Choosing sustainable seafood is a simple and ef- fective action that you can take every time you eat Put simply, what we take out of the ocean as at a restaurant or buy seafood at your local grocer. seafood or by-catch is greater than what the Voting with your wallet also sends a strong signal ocean can sustainably provide. We are not only to government and industry telling them that you facing a decline in the capacity of our oceans support responsible stewardship of our natural to provide a sustainable food source but we are marine resources. This, in turn, strengthens the destroying the basic ecological processes and voice of conservation organizations when they food chains that we and marine life depend on. advocate for changes to fisheries management to While the overall catch from the world’s oceans government and industry. (1) 4 Photo © Danilo Cedrone, NOAA / FAO © SeaChoice 2011. All Rights Reserved. How to Use this Educators’ Guide This teaching kit is designed to help teachers educate their students about the value of the oceans and marine conservation issues, with a focus on the global fisheries crisis. The teaching kit is appropriate for various age groups; however, activity levels vary. This guide is broken into five major sections: additional discussion topics, class activities, and project ideas that will provide additional op- Section 1: Student Introduction portunities for learning. They also help to drive This section provides a broad overview of home the point that many types of seafood are the material within this guide. rapidly disappearing, and that making sustainable choices can help to reverse this trend from the Section 2: Our Big, Beautiful Oceans This section provides an introduction to the bottom up – by affecting demand. physical environment of the oceans and the services that it provides to humans. The various teaching resources you will encounter throughout this guide are outlined below: Section 3: Oceans in Deep Trouble This section describes the threats facing Learning Objectives: Precede each major our oceans. section and frame the key points that students will learn. Section 4: Seafood: The Good, The Bad, and the Unsustainable Did You Know?: Vignettes giving additional This section provides an overview of unsus- information on selected subjects. tainable fishing practices. Discussion Points: Questions for stimulat- Section 5: Sustainable Seafood ing thought and discussion. This section defines sustainable seafood and provides an overview of the criteria used to Teaching Tips: Pointers or advice on how to determine the sustainability of any given present lesson information. species of seafood. Additional Resources: Web sites, books, Section 6: Choosing Sustainable Seafood and other educational resources where both at the Market educators and students can learn more This section offers helpful suggestions to about the subject. students and parents on how to use their power as consumers to reduce the Activities: Classroom activities and projects impact of the seafood industry on the marine tailored for both younger and older learn- environment. It also provides tips for selecting ers that help reinforce concepts covered in sustainable seafood when shopping. each section. Handouts: Featuring paper-based activi- Each section is thoroughly researched and ties such as quizzes, crosswords, puzzles, referenced, and the reference numbers you will and crafts, handouts are designed for easy find throughout the text correspond to primary printing and distribution. sources in the bibliography at the end of this guide. By incorporating more activities and projects In order to facilitate teaching, each section also teachers can tailor the scope of this learning provides a number of teaching resources. These program to suit their needs – be it a one-day teaching resources include suggestions for lesson or a one-week module. 5 © SeaChoice 2011. All Rights Reserved. Student Introduction Teaching Tip: Use this narrative to introduce the lesson to students. The last time you ate salmon for dinner or had fish then the day will soon come when fish sticks are sticks in the school cafeteria, did you stop to think no longer on your lunch menu! One important about where that fish came from? The fish and way that people like you can help the oceans is other seafood we eat were once wild animals by making sure the seafood you buy and eat is living in the world’s oceans, and they are some of sustainable. This means making sure the kinds of the last wild animals that people still hunt for food. seafood you eat aren’t in danger of disappearing and Many people think there are plenty of fish in the that the way they’re caught doesn’t damage the ocean sea, and