There’s a lot to think about when considering which seafood to buy. At a minimum, we want to know when, where, how and even by whom our seafood was caught. Consider your next purchase at a store or a restaurant as you would buying produce or eggs or meat at a farmer’s market. You want to buy as directly from the producer … in this case, fishermen … as possible. Developed as a parting take-away message printed on the backs of menus for KNOW FISH dinners, these principles give you a framework to help you choose seafood that is local, abundant, harvested responsibly and that fairly compensates the fishermen.
- Curiosity: Ask where, when and how your fish was caught, and by whom.
- Community-Based: Choose local seafood harvested by community-based fishermen who care about the resource.
- Supply Chain: Patronize local seafood stores (or subscribe to Community Supported Fisheries) that ensure transparency back to the boat and pay a fair price to fishermen.
- Change It Up: Try underutilized species. (ex. pollock, hake, scup, cusk, Acadian redfish, etc.).
- Cycles: Eat within the ecosystem, (ie, local seafood available during different seasons).
- Cultivate an understanding of sustainable shellfish aquaculture practices and avoid industrial aquaculture products.
- Connect the Dots: Learn how our choices on land affect ocean health. Climate change, natural resource extraction and chemical run-off are just some manmade byproducts impacting overall marine ecosystem balance.
To dive deeper into each of these values visit the Local Catch Core Values.