Source: Nicholas School of the Environment

Source: Nicholas School of the Environment

On March 2, 2015, Paul Greenberg, New York Times best-selling author of American Catch and Four Fish, addressed the Nicholas School for the 2015 Ferguson Lecture, discussing “the fight to save our local seafood”. Mr. Greenberg is one of those rare public speakers that can engage his audience on a personal level, invoking a sense of urgency and passion. Even while discussing such a sobering issue, he did so with a wonderfully relatable sense of humor – his impressions and anecdotes were on-point!

As a Master of Environmental Management student, I already had some knowledge of the problems plaguing American fisheries. However, Mr. Greenberg began with a startling fact: the U.S. controls more ocean than any other country on earth (around 2.5 billion acres), and yet, more than 85% of the seafood we eat is imported. Why the disconnect? Simple: we export our wild-caught fish and import farmed-fish. While it seems counterintuitive, the reasoning behind this system comes down to economics: for a variety of unsettling reasons, importing fish-farming abroad is cheaper than buying wild-caught food here. Americans like a bargain, even if it’s comes at a tremendous cost to the environment.

To highlight these problems, Greenberg focused on three examples of staples American’s seafood diet: shrimp, oysters, and salmon.

Source: Penguin Random House Speaker's Bureau

Source: Penguin Random House Speaker’s Bureau

Currently, shrimp is the number one seafood that Americans consume. But 90% of the shrimp that we eat comes from farms in Southeast Asia, particularly Thailand. This is a problem for the environment, as these aquaculture facilities operate as monocultures. This increases disease within the shrimp and vastly depletes resources around the aquaculture farm, especially mangroves, which provide many vital ecosystem services. Making matters worse, the workers at these factories often essentially live as slaves.

Back home, the U.S. has lost 80% of its oyster reefs over the past century. While there have been many restoration efforts and success stories in recent decades, development and climate change continue to impede the recovery of the native species. Wild Alaskan salmon, one of the last remaining healthy and natural fish populations in our nation, has become an export industry. While this fishery can still provide healthy and sustainably sourced fish, most of it is being sent abroad. To make matters worse, the fishery is threatened by the proposed Pebble Mill mining project.

While this all may seem extremely depressing, there is hope! You can help change this unsustainable seafood model by consciously supporting local fishermen who are committed to following superior fishing practices. To learn more about sustainable seafood in your community, check out Local Catch, an online network that links consumers to community supported fisheries (CSFs). CSFs connect fishermen to the local market: customers pre-pay for seafood for the particular season, and in return they receive a weekly or bi-weekly share of fresh and local fish or shellfish.

Source: Walking Fish CSF

Source: Walking Fish CSF

In addition to supporting local business and ensuring that the seafood you are eating is sustainably-sourced, CSFs also allow you to try a great variety of fish! What is offered depends on your location and the time of year. For those living near Duke, the Walking-Fish CSF is a wonderful option, with different delivery options available in both Durham and Beaufort. Typical species offered include flounder, shrimp, triggerfish, spot, hard clams, and black drum.

CSFs are one way to reconnect coastal communities to seafood, encourage sustainable fishing practices, and strengthen relationships between fishermen and consumers. Bottom line: by becoming more conscious about the seafood we eat, we can help ensure the environmental health and economic success for our local fisheries.

written by Tricia Hooper, MEM ’16