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Get Your Chopsticks Ready for Sustainable Sushi

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David from MA made many excellent points in response to Mr. McErlain's comments. I will add just a few extras.

1) Health information on the sushi guides is absolutely backed 100% by peer-reviewed science and government guidance. Omega-3 levels are from the USDA Nutrient Database, and mercury/PCB recommendations are based on EPA's National Guidance, which was reviewed by the National Academies of Science and found to be appropriate.

2) Nowhere do we say that salmon (wild or farmed) are high in mercury. However, there are numerous peer-reviewed studies showing that farmed salmon have significantly higher levels of PCBs (a probably human carcinogen) and other contaminants than wild salmon.

3) In an ideal world all fisheries would be well-managed, all fish farms would have minimal environmental impacts, and all seafood would be free of contaminants and high in omega-3s. Unfortunately this is not the case, so we actively encourage eco- and health-conscious consumers to pick fish that are good for them and the oceans.

4) Monterey Bay Aquarium, Blue Ocean Institute and EDF are environmental not-for-profit organizations, not lobbyists. In fact our tax status (501c3) places strict limitations on the lobbying we can do. And with respect to nutritional advice, EDF has an active environmental health program with medical expertise on staff.

And in the spirit of full disclosure, I am a marine scientist with Environmental Defense Fund, creator of one of the guides mentioned above.

Tim Fitzgerald of NY 10:25PM October 23, 2008

As the Senior Science Manager for the Monterey Bay Aquarium Sustainable Seafood Initiative (which released one of the three sushi pocket guides), I would like to respond to Mr. McErlain's comment.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium provides a peer-reviewed, independent source of fisheries information that does not have an inherent conflict of interest.

Our consumer pocket guides have, since 1999, become the most widely trusted source of information about seafood sustainability. Our state-of-the-art, science-based methodology -- which we continually update and refine -- provides a fair, proven way to compare seafood products along a variety of sustainability metrics.

Every seafood recommendation on our sushi card and other pocket guides is accompanied by an exhaustive 50- to 100-page scientific report, which undergoes peer review by leading experts, in a manner similar to the way that scientific journals conduct peer review. The contaminant data in each report is based on allowable levels for mercury and PCBs as specified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Geoff Shester, Ph.D. of CA 6:50PM October 23, 2008

I have a post card from the early 1900's. It shows dozens of pilot whales on a beach at Nantucket. Families of locals ( no they aren't trying to rescue them) are shown hacking at the whales with axes, saws and knives, while the, still living whales, watched with bulging eyes as they were cut up alive.

The caption beneath the picture reads, "NANTUCKET ISLANDERS REAP THE HARVEST OF THE SEA"

A couple of observations;

I note these whales had beached themselves before the advent of SONAR, and my, my, how our sensibilities have changed...Free Willy Sushi anyone?

R.L. Schaefer of CA 11:34PM October 22, 2008

Eric's comments are to be ignored as clearly partisan!

These guides, far from dissuading people from eating seafood, help them make delicious, healthy choices as well as environmentally sound choices.

I invite Eric, Hillbilly Bill and all your readers to join in our sustainable seafood blog event that includes the sushi advocate challenge. We share recipes, tips, resources and information with each other and learn how to eat well, in ways that are healthy for us and for the planet.

-Jacqueline Church

The Leather District Gourmet [at] wordpress [dot] com

Jacqueline Church of MA 5:25PM October 22, 2008

Here are some responses and additional questions...

- For those who are interested, there is ample evidence of the perils of methyl mercury and PCB's in fish. What is the role of seafood companies in suppressing the evidence and bullying the FDA? Take 10 minutes on google and then decide for yourself.

- With respect to contaminants, your question implies reference to farmed salmon. Why don't your friends in international fisheries and aquaculture discuss the elevated levels of PCBs in farmed salmon when compared to their wild fish? Probably because PCB levels are significantly higher. Farmed salmon are also documented to have adverse effects on wild populations because of forage depletion, elevated use of antibiotics, parasite outbreaks, etc.

- This is a pocket guide, not an alarm. Why the reactionary response from your friends in international fisheries and aquaculture? I think you doth protest too much.

- Given that US government and others have failed miserably to manage fish stocks or provide complete disclosure on the health hazards of seafood, somebody should speak up. If not "lobbying groups", then who?

With full disclosure, I am an avid recreational fisherman that occasionally derives income from commercial fishing. I also consume vast amounts of seafood- not all of which is eco-friendly or free of contaminants. Nobody is perfect, but the facts are the facts!

Finally, it is deplorable that anyone question the need for immediate and total moratorium on fishing for the endangered atlantic bluefin tuna. The world will be a sad place when they are gone- especially for communities that relied on the fishery for decades. (For those paying attention, that means no more toro. Make sure your rolls are made from shiro-maguro or yellowfin)

David of MA 5:05PM October 22, 2008

Some of my clients in the international fisheries and aquaculture business have a couple of questions for the authors of these guides

* Why is nutritional guidance being given to the public without any peer review or even the availability of the underlying medical assertions?

* Since the guides conflate “mercury and other contaminants” – even citing fish like salmon with scant trace amounts, how can consumers avoid confusion about the specific health threats being alleged?

* If these guides actually dissuade some consumers from eating seafood altogether, as the federal government has warned can occur from alarmist nutritional information, wouldn’t that deny Americans proven and vital health benefits of eating fish?

* Is it appropriate for environmental lobbying groups to be providing nutritional advice to the public in the first place?

Eric McErlain of DC 2:52PM October 22, 2008

But not raw.

HillbillyBill of TN 2:47PM October 22, 2008

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Fresh Greens

Maura Judkis is a producer at U.S. News. She writes about the green movement and looks for ways to be an ecofriendly consumer without breaking the bank. Send her your green tips.

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