Adding Sustainable Seafood to Your Menu

Sustainable seafood is a hot topic around the food industry, and with Whole Foods recently adopting sustainability ratings for the fish it sells, more of your customers are going to be asking for sustainable fish choices at their events.  An important thing to remember is that local isn't necessarily sustainable.  Sustainable seafood is seafood that is either fished or farmed with consideration to increasing population and not jeopardizing the ecosystems from which it is acquired.  Some seafood that is local to your area may also be sustainable, but not all will be.  This is an important distinction to make with your guests who may not realize this.

Here are some of the Best and Worst fish options to consider for your menu:

Best:

Wild Alaskan Salmon

U.S. Farmed Catfish

Wild caught pink shrimp or U.S. Farmed shrimp

Pacific Cod

Pacific Halibut

Worst:
Farmed Salmon

Orange Roughy

Wild Caught or Farmed Imported Shrimp

Atlantic Cod

Atlantic Flatfish - including flounder and sole

Chilean Seabass

For more on sustainable seafood and which fish to include or avoid on your menu, check out resources from the Monterey Bay Aquarium and New England Aquarium, who have both done extensive work with the foodservice industry in this area.