Wednesday, February 24, 2021

Tilapia Tacos on the Menu Tonight



After 40 years of staying away from commercial fish for environmental reasons (we’re clear-cutting the oceans and decimating our global fisheries), I have decided to greenlight two species and sources:

  1. Tilapia that is farm-raised with a feed that is 100% fishmeal- and fishoil-free, sourced other than China, and;

  2. American-caught Alaska Pollock that, despite my decades of skepticism, appears to *actually* be a well-managed and sustainable fishery.


Some fisheries have no management programs. Wegmans has made a decision to not offer the following species for this reason:

  • Black Tip and Por Beagle Shark
  • All species of Marlin
  • Blue Fin Tuna (unless farm raised)
  • Orange Roughy (unless MSC-certified)
  • Wild Sturgeon
  • Domestic Atlantic Cod and Pacific Cod (bottom trawler caught)
Note:  Tilapia are a kind of warm water cichilid and there are over 100 different species.  They are voracious plant eaters (and can become invasive in some climates),  are are now raised all over the world from Africa, and the Middle East to China, Southeast Asia, Mexico, Central America, and South America.  



2 comments:

Jennifer said...

IMO the only problem with talapia is that they taste like river mud.

Stella B. said...

The Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch program also suggests farmed trout. It has a very low carbon footprint and is much better tasting than tilapia. Trout are obligate carnivores though and are fed fish meal.