Fish on Friday

From the Environmental Defense Fund comes this upbeat note about the state of U.S. fisheries:

Smarter management policies, more fishermen leading conservation efforts, and heightened consumer awareness add up to a fisheries landscape that’s healthier than at any point in recent history.

Not only does this benefit our 30,000-some fishermen and the communities where they live, but it’s also good news for those of us who like seafood....

Just a decade ago, many commercial fisheries were something of a free for all, with little incentive to do anything but fish first, fish fast, and fish until there was nothing left....

As recently as 2007, the red snapper fishery in the Gulf of Mexico was on the brink of collapse. “In the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s the fishery was ruled by derby seasons where fishermen raced to catch as much fish as possible a few days every month,” my colleague Tim Fitzgerald noted in a National Geographic article.

Thanks to significant advances in sustainable fishing practices that helped fishermen adapt, red snapper populations in the Gulf of Mexico today are three times the size compared to 2007. More fish in the water means more revenue for fishermen today, and tomorrow...

Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, now says that more than 90 percent of Walmart U.S., Sam’s Club and Asda’s (United Kingdom) seafood has earned Marine Stewardship Certification or Best Aquaculture Practices, or is engaged in a Fishery Improvement Project.”...

Currently more than two-thirds of the fish caught in U.S. federal waters are managed sustainably under catch shares. If we keep fishing and eating right, that number can and should go even higher.