Sustainability

Sustainability is the capacity to endure.  In ecology, the word describes how biological systems remain diverse and productive over time.  Sustainability in fisheries combines theoretical disciplines, such as the population dynamics of fisheries with practical strategies such as avoiding overfishing through techniques such as individual fishing quotas, curtailing destructive and illegal fishing practices by lobbying for appropriate law and policy, setting up protected areas, restoring collapsed fisheries, incorporating all externalities involved in harvesting marine ecosystems into fishery economics, educating stakeholders and the wider public and developing independent certification programs.

The primary concern around sustainability is that heavy fishing pressures such as over exploitation and growth will result in the loss of significant yield; that stock structure will erode to the point where it loses diversity and resilience to environmental fluctuations; that ecosystems and their economic infrastructures will cycle between collapse and recovery with each cycle less productive than its predecessor and that changes will occur in the trophic balance.

What is sustainable seafood?  Sustainable seafood refers to fish that are caught or farmed with consideration for the long-term viability of individual marine species and for the oceans’ ecological balance as a whole.  In other words, sustainable seafood is fish for the future.  Awareness of oceans and their importance to humans is increasing.  As chefs and consumers, we can choose seafood from better managed fisheries to minimize our impact on the environment.

So how can you help??

BUY LOCAL
When you buy local seafood that is caught responsibly, you are supporting the local economy and sustainable seafood. At present, local fishers face competition from imported seafood that may not have been caught according to our local regulations.  South Carolina’s shrimpers, for example, have worked hard to reduce by-catch (fish and other things caught unintentionally) and to shrimp where trawling is less damaging to ocean floor habitat.  Not to mention, when you buy locally, you are also ensured the freshest seafood!