NMFS announced over the holidays that all fishing in the west coast groundfish Limited Entry (LE) fishery was prohibited starting January 1, 2011. It was expected that the new Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) groundfish fishery would begin on January 1, but a delay in sending out quotas to the shareholders (that are now in the mail) has postponed the opening of the fishery until January 11, 2011. 

What does this mean for your local seafood case?

From January 1-11 there won't be any offshore trawling allowed off the west coast of the U.S. so you there might be a few weeks where groundfish (e.g. rockfish, sole) are unavailable.
 

We recommend that you take this opportunity to try a new type of seafood for dinner. See information about green ranked "best choice" sardines and arctic char below.
 

Although we hear it often, children are indeed our future, and this is particularly true when considering the protection of our oceans and all that they offer. Sustainable seafood issues are becoming firmly established within the global community but how do we pass this information on to the next generation?

One young lady attempting to answer this question, is Katharine Leigh - a 17 year old high school student from California who has developed a sustainable seafood education program tailored to middle school children called "Green Catch". We recently interviewed Katharine to find out more.

How did you first become interested in sustainable seafood and why is it of particular interest to you?

I was first made aware of sustainable seafood while visiting Monterey Bay Aquarium when I was very young - picking up multiple copies of the Seafood Watch pocket guide to give to my parents. As a family, we tried to use the cards at restaurants but found information about the seafood hard to come by. Even worse, the waiters, managers and chefs couldn't answer our questions.

A lack of education seemed obvious to me, and this was a problem, but I felt this problem was easier to grasp on an individual level than something like climate change. You don't have to stop using your car, use special light bulbs, check product labels for "environmentally-friendly", and stop using your fireplace; you just have to "eat this, not that".

I realized I first had to inform people about why it is such a big deal in the first place. Sustainable seafood is much more than a "save the fish" concept. We are not just talking about environmental impacts but economic and social ones too.

How did the idea of Green Catch come about and what do you see as its main objectives?

I was trying to come up with a topic for my Girl Scout Gold Award, and since I have always been really into the ocean, the choice was easy. Green Catch aims to educate the younger generation about sustainable seafood, extends this to their friends and families through after school presentations, and aims to encourage restaurants to provide seafood origin information. 

Green Catch is rather unique, because parts of it really focus on the economic and vocational impacts of the seafood industry, but Green Catch's main objective is education, and then action. What I really hope is that kids will start talking about sustainability and questioning their food and where it comes from, in turn encouraging businesses to make the right choices when buying and selling seafood.

Green Catch encourages discussion in the classroom, while also helping kids get involved in their communities in simple ways like helping their parents make choices at a grocery store or restaurant.

What are the major components of your program?

The program is based upon Seafood Watch materials, mainly the Can the Oceans Keep Up With the Hunt? video and the pocket guides. From these materials I created a variety of worksheets and a quiz that teachers can give to students which stimulates discussion outside of the classroom with family and friends.
 

I also developed a presentation on the economic and vocational aspects of seafood and accompanying potential legislation petition that encourages restaurants to display various information about the seafood they serve, helping consumers eat according to their own personal preferences.

What challenges have you faced when implementing the program - how have you overcome them?

Aside from initial research and putting together the materials within the program, the hardest thing is simple getting the word out. In an attempt to remedy this I am reaching out to my peers and organizations like FishWise. I have also created a Facebook page and a website which are constantly updated.

At what point will you feel that your program has been a success?

Closely related to both salmon and trout, and possessing a similar flavor profile,

arctic char is a more sustainable alternative to net-pen farmed salmon. Arctic char has a high oil content making it very suitable for grilling and broiling without fear of losing moisture.

Pacific sardines are found in the cold Pacific water of both hemispheres, from Alaska to Baja California and Peru to Chile. They form large schools of up to 10 million individuals and are most commonly caught using a purse seine net, which has minimal bycatch and habitat impacts.

High oil content gives pacific sardines a very strong flavor. These fish are often found salted, smoked or canned; however, fresh sardines are also excellent when grilled or fried. Sardines are an excellent source of Omega-3 fatty acids.

Both of these fish also appear on the FishWise Low Mercury List.