Profs & Pints DC: Buying Sustainable Seafood

Profs and Pints DC presents: “Buying Sustainable Seafood,” or how to shop like a marine biologist, with David Shiffman, marine conservation biologist and faculty research associate at Arizona State University's Washington Center.

Growing numbers of Americans are feeling concerned by the environmental impacts of their meals and looking to sustainable seafoods as healthy and eco-friendly choice for dinner. With so many environmental impacts associated with so many different kinds of fishing, it can be incredibly difficult, however, to figure out what fish options are actually sustainable.

Adding to the confusion, many of the leading figures and organizations offering advice disagree on what sustainable means and offering conflicting recommendations about the same species of fish. The Atlantic blacktip shark, for example, is listed as green/best choice by NOAA FishWatch and red/worst choice by the Environmental Defense Fund's Seafood Selector. Some influential activists argue that no seafood is sustainable, a claim popularized by…