The post Biggest Fish in the Sea pt. 1: “Complete Guide to Sustainable Fishing Techniques” appeared first on Get Cultured Kitchen.

Caption: Quote from Marine Photobank-

Credit: Marine Photobank from (c) 1990 Bob Talbot, LegaSea Project

Introduction:

Hello everyone! Sometimes making sustainable and ethical food choices can be really confusing. The fishing industry is so big and there are so many issues wrapped up in it. Over fishing, illegal fishing and accidental catching and killing of untargeted marine species (bycatch) in the process of fishing are just a few. So how do we navigate this sea (pun intended) of issues? It seems like the only way to ensure the fish we are eating are sustainable is to go out there and catch it ourselves! Now I know you don’t got time for that. Neither do I. So I’m writing a series of posts on fishing to make identifying sustainable fish crystal clear. The first post is about the different types of fishing and their impact on marine life. Most importantly we will be highlighting which methods are sustainable fishing techniques. It’s good to know what to avoid, but even better to know who to support and what is safe to buy!

In This Post You Will Learn:

• What is sustainable fishing?
• Which types of fishing are considered sustainable fishing methods?
• Why is it important to support sustainable fishing methods?
• Who is the MSC and what is MSC certified?
• Who is Seafood Watch?

Fish speak: (Definitions)

Just a few definitions to make reading this post seamless!

• Fisheries: An area in the water where fish are fished
• Bycatch: Species of marine life unintentionally caught by fishermen
• Juvenile: Young fish not of reproductive age yet
• Forage Fish: Fish reared or caught to be used as bait

What is Sustainable Fishing and Why is it Important?

Sustainable fishing practices guarantee they can be done indefinitely without reducing the targeted marine species ability to repopulating at a healthy, natural rate. And also without adversely effecting other species within the ecosystem by accidentally harming or killing them, removing their food source or hurting the environment in which they live in. This includes humans who rely on fish for a food source and the ocean for transportation of goods, oxygen and recreation. Oh wait… that’s everyone! When we do not use sustainable fishing practices we risk destroying ecosystems on which we depend on literally for survival, but we will cover more of that in subsequent posts! So why is sustainable fishing important? Because without it we will drive the species we have come to enjoy to extinction. And we are a lot closer with many popular species than you’d think! (More on that later too. I don’t want this post to turn into an insanely long essay!)

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC):

The Marine Stewardship Council is the largest international non-profit third party certifier of sustainable, wild fisheries. You can find MSC certified fish at many markets.

Just look for this label on the packaging:

Note: In reading MSC’s website I want to mention that I saw them often write that fishermen are “often” required to do certain things, or they “may” have adapted x,y,z precaution.

The process: MSC auditing parties look at 31 different questions when assessing a fishery. A fishery cannot score lower than 60 (out of 100) on any given requirement, and furthermore must average at least 80 to qualify. During certification fisheries have 5 years to achieve a score of 80 in all categories, and are audited yearly. MSC certifies fisheries who are not at perfect 100s across the board, because they want to encourage fisheries who are working towards change and reward them for that effort. Any fishery who is meeting the standards to become certified may not be perfect, but they are certainly making a significant impact on environment sustainability. Which means long term protection of fish supply, fishing jobs, and marine ecosystems.

Positives:

• Community is encouraged to partake in the approval of fisheries and are free to voice concerns.
• The MSC also seems concerned with constantly improving and narrowing/ specifying their certification requirements.
• They are a non-profit organization.

Possible concerns:

• They have certifications for almost all fish of any size and any fishing method. Some methods, although there are steps to make them less devastating to the environment are naturally more destructive. Even with precautions they still have greater damage than other methods. If everyone with fishing equipment was responsible, this might not be a big issue, but unfortunately illegal, unregulated fishing is a big problem in the ocean. In the wrong hands these inherently destructive methods can do severe damage to ocean ecosystems in a short amount of time. If instead it was illegal to possess something inherently destructive (like a bottom trawler) it might be easier to stop illegal fishing. Fishermen have to DOCK AT A PORT? at some point and wouldn’t want to be caught with illegal equipment, plus the equipment would be harder to get a hold of if illegal.
• The MSC allows for many entities to be stakeholders. “Fisheries Certification Requirements:… ‘To provide the transparency that is required of an international certification scheme for it to have credibility with potential stakeholders, including governments, international governmental bodies (e.g., regulatory bodies, fishery managers), CABs (conformity assessment bodies), suppliers of fish and fish products, non-governmental organisations and consumers’ “. It is a possibility that anyone who stands to make money off of lax certification requirements… governments, fishermen, suppliers of fish products… could have a conflict of interest.
• Through the MSC certification program fisheries get to pick and hire the auditing third party that evaluates them. Although the CAB (auditing third party) has guidelines they must follow this still seems to open up the possibility of more conflicts of interest.

Overall, I do not think the MSC is perfect, but if you do not have the opportunity to know your fisherman first hand than looking to buy MSC certified is a good place to be. They are a large, trusted, international body, and I think their heart is in the right place! They do incredible work to protect our oceans.

However, nothing beats going to the local fish market, wharf or farmers’ market to meet your fisherman. It’s much easier to ask questions that way. Non-commercial fisherman are also less likely to be using the large scale, particularly harmful fishing methods anyway. Yay for sustainable fishing!

Seafood Watch:

“The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program helps consumers and businesses choose seafood that’s fished or farmed in ways that protect sea life and habitats, now and for future generations. Their recommendations indicate which seafood items are “Best Choices” or “Good Alternatives,” and which ones you should “Avoid.” ” They are not a certification program, rather they direct people to fish that can be trusted and are certified by others. (Kind of like what I do!) They have a really handy app called Seafood Watch that helps with making sustainable choices while you are out and about. I highly recommend using it in tandem with the resources on Get Cultured Kitchen, which get a little more into the “behind the scenes” of what sustainability means.

Bottom Trawling- Verdict? BAD 

Definition: Bottom Trawlers are cone shaped nets with weights that are dragged by boats. The least discriminatory type of fishing, bottom trawlers scrape along the ocean floor sweeping up coral reefs and rock gardens where fish nest and hide from predators. Coral reefs take decades to rebuild themselves. (Margot L. Stiles, Julie Stockbridge, Michelle Lande, Michael F. Hirshfield May 2010)

Credit: Marine Stewardship Council

• They are often used to catch shrimp so the netting is tiny and leaves little chance of bycatch to escape. (Margot L. Stiles, Julie Stockbridge, Michelle Lande, Michael F. Hirshfield May 2010)
  • Bycatch is usually juveniles of species commonly fished along with seabirds, turtles, sharks, rays, marine mammals and many other aquatic species. Bottom trawling catches significantly more bycatch than intended catch. “In the Gulf of Mexico, scientists estimate that for every pound of shrimp caught, between four and ten pounds of marine resources are thrown away, although the World Wide Fund for Nature estimates in all bottom trawling about 40% is bycatch on average. (Harrington et al. 2005, Nance and Scott-Denton 1997, Alverson et al. 1994) (Margot L. Stiles, Julie Stockbridge, Michelle Lande, Michael F. Hirshfield May 2010)
• There are ways to bottom trawl fish that are a little less destructive. Keeping the net just above the ocean floor prevents some of the coral reef destruction. Gear such as “rock hoppers” (rubber discs on the bottom of the net) can reduce how much of the net comes into contact with the ocean floor. The ocean is mapped and monitored so sensitive areas with endangered species can be protected, and bottom trawling can be avoided during spawning season. However, it is still important to push for the illegalization of bottom trawling. Much of the ocean is not “owned” by any country and therefore it is difficult to police the deep sea. Even a few illegal fisherman can do massive damage if using a bottom trawling net, which is an inherently destructive form of fishing. It is much more difficult to make sure fisherman are staying out of marine protected areas, (or even what area needs to be protected) when you get out into the deep sea. Many deep sea fish are slow growing and late to mature/ reproduce so their populations can’t handle the pressures of fishing, let alone heavy fishing. Making the manufacturing of bottom trawls illegal would be a big step in fighting illegal fishing. (Margot L. Stiles, Julie Stockbridge, Michelle Lande, Michael F. Hirshfield May 2010)

• “Bans on Bottom Trawling: Bottom trawling has been banned in many different locations worldwide. Indonesia- The government of Indonesia banned bottom trawling to increase catches and income for local fishermen and to end conflicts with industrial trawlers. (JALA) Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina (US)- The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council banned bottom trawling in 23,000 square miles of rare deep-sea corals from North Carolina to Florida. This ban followed the destruction of more than 90% of a nearby bank of Oculina corals by trawling. California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska (US)- The Pacific and North Pacific Fishery Management Councils banned bottom trawling in more than 840,000 square miles of seafloor in the Pacific, Bering Sea, and the Arctic. The state of California banned bottom trawling for spot prawns to reduce discards and increase prawn catches for fishermen using more selective gear. Hawaii and Pacific Islands (US)- The Western Pacific Fishery Management council banned bottom trawling in 1.5 million square miles around Hawaii and other Pacific islands in US waters. Bottom trawling is also banned in more than 330,000 square miles of the Pacific islands from Samoa to the Mariana Trench which are protected as a National Monument. Azores, Madeira, and Canary Islands Bottom trawling is banned in more than 500,000 square miles of Atlantic waters surrounding the Canary Islands, Madeira, and the Azores. New Zealand The New Zealand government banned bottom trawling in large areas of seamounts and hydrothermal vents. Mediterranean (Europe and North Africa) The General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean banned bottom trawling in approximately 630,000 square miles of deep sea waters.” (Margot L. Stiles, Julie Stockbridge, Michelle Lande, Michael F. Hirshfield May 2010)

   

Credit: NOAA

Credit: Andreas Altenburger

Credit: Phillip Miller

• Fish often caught using bottom trawling: Shrimp *Please be wary when thinking of buying shrimp at the market or a restaurant*

Gillnets- Verdict? BAD

*This information was taken from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Marine Stewardship Council*

Definition: Gillnets are a wall of netting that hangs in the water and catches fish by getting them entangled in the holes. They are designed so that a fish can get it’s head, but not it’s whole body through the hole. When they try to back out their gills will get caught in the net.

Credit: Marine Stewardship Council

• There are two main types of gillnets. One, set gillnets, are set in place by poles and one, drift gillnets, are kept in place often by buoys. Both pose different problems to marine species.
• Gillnets have minimal seabed interaction, but are still a big source of bycatch. Depending on the type of fish caught the fishermen can use different mesh sizes, reducing the risk of catching juvenile (young) bycatch. However, even with using specifc mesh sizes and targeting specific areas in the ocean, bycatch is still an issue with gillnets.
• Turtles can easily get their head or flippers entangled in the nets. This is bad news for the innocent turtle, because if they get stuck and cannot come up for air they will drown. The mesh can also cut into their flesh causing bleeding, infections and sometimes loss of limbs, which will obviously effect their ability to feed, swim and live naturally.
• Marine mammals such as dolphins, sharks, porpoise, whales and sea lions also face getting entangled in the nets. If it is a stationary gillnet they will drown and if it is a drift gillnet the will drag it along with them for miles, entangled, fatigued and inhibited.

Credit: Alessio Viora/ Marine Photobank

• In order to be MSC certified, gillnet fisheries are often required to make improvements, which include increased monitoring and independent observer coverage.
• A few things are being done to reduce bycatch such as adding breakaway panels in the net, changing the net’s slack, mesh size and depth. Pingers, an alarm attached to the nets that warn marine mammals to stay away, are also required in California and Maine through New Jersey. Prohibition on large mesh gillnets helps reduce bycatch as well as closure of fisheries during spawning and other specified times and putting weak links into gillnets to allow marine mammals to break loose. However, even with these precautions gillnetting is not the most sustainable way to catch fish. Fish may be entangled and suffering for a very long time compared to hook and line fishing, and bycatch is still a big risk.

Longlines- Verdict? BAD

Definition: Longlines are made up of long fishing poles (main lines) with a second line beneath it. The second line is clipped onto the main line at intervals and has several baited hooks on it. Depending on the fishery the longline can have up to 3,000 hooks on it and be 150 km long.

• Many longline fishing operations may transfer some of their catch to another boat while still out at sea, resulting in a lot of unreported, over-fishing and illegal fishing.
• Baiting the hooks and throwing them out can take up to 5 or 6 hours with no breaks for workers. Then the line will “soak” and wait for fish to bite for 3-4 hours and then it takes another 5 to 6 hours to bring the catch in. Not only are workers being treated in inhumane ways, but the fish may be stuck caught on the line for hours.
• Bycatch is still a big issue, particularly with catching seabirds, turtles and sharks. Weights that cause long lines to sink more quickly, and tori-lines- lines that drop from a higher point from the boat that scare away seabirds can be used. Special regulations with depth of the lines, time they are cast and areas in which they are cast also play a factor in protecting endangered, threatened and protected (ETP) species. Turtles and sharks are slow to mature and reproduce so becoming bycatch really puts their respective species at risk. Circle hooks protect these species from getting caught. When going out to buy fish it is unlikely that you will be able to gather much information about what precautions were made, unless your state law requires certain precautions and the fish is from your state. Overall if you see fish for sale and you are able to find out it was caught by longline, I would be wary.

Credit: Dr. Graham Robertson

• Below is an infographic highlighting the issues with tuna longline fishing.

Credit: GreenPeace (GPI-LonglineInfographic-RGB-DEF)

Blast Fishing- Verdict? BAD

Definition: “Blast fishing or dynamite fishing is the practice of using explosives to stun or kill schools of fish for easy collection. This often illegal practice can be extremely destructive to the surrounding ecosystem, as the explosion often destroys the underlying habitat (such as coral reefs) that supports the fish.” Find pictures in marine photobank

• Blast fishing is largely illegal worldwide, but is still practiced in some impoverished countries where regulating is difficult, explosives are available and people are desperate.
• Blast fishing kills many more fish than can be harvested. Fish litter the waves dead or struggling to stay alive. Many fish sink back to the bottom of the ocean floor, their air bladders, responsible for buoyancy, ruptured. Often times fish are obliterated by the dynamite, along with the coral reef.

Credit: (c) Wolcott Henry 2005/Marine Photobank

Credit: (c) Wolcott Henry 2005/Marine Photobank

Cyanide Fishing- Verdict? BAD

Definition: “Cyanide fishing, whereby divers crush cyanide tablets into plastic squirt bottles of sea water and puff the solution to stun and capture live coral reef fish, is widely practiced throughout Southeast Asia despite being illegal in most countries of the region. The practice began in the 1960s in the Philippines as a way to capture live reef fish for sale primarily to European and North American aquarium owners—a market now worth some $200 million a year.”

• Cyanide is used to target select fish for consumption in some Southeast Asian restaurants, but more often it is used to catch wild salt water fish for aquariums.
• There are complaints of fish being caught with cyanide developing cancer within a year.
• Despite being illegal in most countries, cyanide caught fish is a common occurrence.
• The cyanide left in the water destroys coral reefs and effects the fish that depend on those reefs for survival. It also stuns all fish in the surrounding areas when sprayed in the water.
• Look for tank-raised fish when purchasing fish for an aquarium. They will most likely be healthier and better suited for domesticated life.
• The jury is still out on how dangerous it is to eat cyanide caught fish. The amounts in the fish are usually trace, but someone who eats a lot of cyanide caught fish in their diet are at risk of getting sick. Pregnant women, the elderly and children should be especially wary of cyanide fishing.

Purse Seine- Verdict? OKAY

Definition: Purse seines are used to catch schools of single-species fish like tuna and mackerel. A vertical net is used to surround the fish and then the bottom is drawn together to form a net around the school.

Image from msc.org

• Purse seine fishing is in open water so it has no contact with the ocean floor. The main issue is catching too many juvenile fish of a species, but fisherman can specifically target schools of adult fish and make sure the mesh of the net is large enough for juveniles to escape. This is how fisherman ensure that there are enough fish left to reproduce.
• Purse seine fishing is very efficient as it can scoop up an entire school of fish. If there are no regulations on the amount of fish allowed to be caught in that fishery it is easy to over fish. It’s efficiency also make it dangerous in the hands of illegal fishers.
• Another form of purse seines is using them to catch fish congregating around a fish aggregating device. Over 300 species can be drawn in by FADs and so using them has high bycatch issues. *Be wary of this type of purse seine fishing*
• Overall purse seine can be a sustainable fishing method if regulated properly. Look for purse seine caught fish that is also third party certified.

Pole and Line/ Hook and Line- Verdict? GOOD

Definition: Pole and line fishing is the way you imagine it goes when people fish. Individual fisherman all have fishing poles and can catch one fish at a time. When a school of targeted fish is located a process called chumming will occur where water is sprayed from the back of the boat and several lines of bait fish will be cast out to mimic a school of prey fish.

• Pole and line fishing is one of the most sustainable types of fishing for several reasons. Bycatch can quickly be released from the boat and it is easy to target areas to significantly reduce bycatch. Also, the process is much slower with less fish caught so fish have time to reproduce. It is also more humane, because fish can swiftly be killed as soon as they get on the boat. If you can, look for fish caught this way!

Pots and Traps- Verdict? OKAY to GOOD

Definition: Pots and traps are cage like structures with concave cone like entrances that make it difficult for crustaceans to escape once they enter the cage. Bait is put in the cage to lure in prey. They rest on the bottom of the floor and a string of them are often connected by fishing line.

• Overall pots and traps have a lower impact on ocean ecosystems. Bycatch can often be released back into the ocean since they are only trapped.
• Since they are stationary they often do not interact with the ocean floor much, but in high sea storms they may cause damage to the ocean floor.
• Pots and traps may lure in bycatch, but measures can be taken to reduce this risk. Escape rings can be put in the cages and the mesh of the cage can be big enough to allow small bycatch to escape. Although it is uncommon there are also special openings that can be put on the entrances of traps to deter the wrong species from getting trapped in the first place. In Australia fisherman are encouraged to put a vertical bar across the entrance to stop sea turtles from trying to get in.
• Another issue is whales, turtles and sea lions getting caught in the line or on the lines connecting the pots. Marine mammals and turtles that get entangled will eventually drown if they cannot come up for air. Fisherman can attach weak links to the lines so that they will break away if the force of a large animal hits them. They can also make sure the lines connecting the pots sink to the bottom of the ocean so they are not floating and in the way.

 Image credit: NOAA

• “Forage fish” or the fish used for bait can be over fished and cause real damage to the ocean environments. If forage fish are depleted there are less available for predatory marine species. Fisherman should consider using smaller quantities of forage fish and instead resort to fish parts or artificial bait. To learn more about the issues surrounding forage fish read my interview with sustainable seafood advocate Lyfe Gildersleeve.
• Finally, pots and traps can be lost at sea and continue to unintentionally “ghost fish” trapping sea creatures until they break down. Fisherman can lose anywhere from 10-30% of their gear. To combat this they are now using biodegradable cages. Though an organized effort to retrieve lost traps would be best.

Credit: Nina Kristin Nilsen/Marine Photobank.

Pelagic or Midwater Trawl- Verdict? BAD

Definition: Midwater trawlers are “cone-shaped” nets with wide openings and tapered ends designed to catch midwater fish such as herring and mackerel.

Credit: Marine Stewardship Council

• They tend to be much larger than bottom trawlers and although they do not touch the ocean floor they are still associated with bycatch and catching juvenile fish. https://www.msc.org/healthy-oceans/sustainable-fishing/fishing-methods-and-gear-types/pelagic-midwater-trawls
• Using specific mesh sizes and exclusionary devices such as pingers (defined under gillnets) are used to reduce bycatch such as marine mammals and sea turtles. https://www.msc.org/healthy-oceans/sustainable-fishing/fishing-methods-and-gear-types/pelagic-midwater-trawls
• Sea turtles are at risk of being caught while they swim from the bottom of the ocean (where they feed) to the surface for air. They can drown this way, have their shells or limbs broken by the weight of the catch or suffer serious damage while being dumped onto the deck. Unfortunately, even if they survive the catch turtles are often near death when tossed back in the water. http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/interactions/gear/midwatertrawl.htmTED’s or Turtle Excluder Devices are used to help ideally any bycatch larger than 10cm to escape. The way a TED works is metal bars are placed midway through the net that turtles are too large to fit through. This way they are unable to swim to and get trapped in the back of the net. Then above or below the bars are openings for bycatch to swim out off, however the openings are often too small for large marine mammals and some larger turtle species. Seaweed and other debris can also block the openings, making it impossible for the turtles to escape. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turtle_excluder_device
• Many species of marine mammals, particularly species of sharks and dolphins, forage midwater, so they are at high risk of getting caught up in a midwater trawl. Unfortunately, I was unable to find information on what is done to reduce mammalian bycatch. http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/interactions/gear/midwatertrawl.htm
• Despite all this midwater trawls can actually be very effective. If they are managed carefully and target an adult school of fish they will have very low levels of bycatch. Although, not mentioned anywhere I read I would say one drawback might be just how efficient it can be. Midwater trawling can wipe out an entire school of fish easily, making it easy to over fish that species. Slower types of fishing such as hook and line give fish much more time to “recuperate” by reproducing, because significantly less fish are being removed from the sea at once.

Spear/ Speargun/ Harpoon- Verdict? GOOD

• Definition: You are probably familiar with spear fishing. It is exactly what it sounds like. A spear or harpoon is thrown in the water to spear one fish. A speargun is a mechanism that can propel a spear into the water quickly.
• Spear fishing is sustainable, because only one fish is caught at once and it is easy to target the one fish you intend to catch so bycatch is low.
• A harpoon is used to catch larger fish such as bluefin tuna. Bluefin tuna is a highly prized, highly overfished fish. In America fishermen are only allowed to catch them with a harpoon or hook and line method to allow the bluefin tuna to repopulate.

Dredge- Verdict? OKAY to BAD

Doesn’t it sounds dredge-ful?

Definition: A dredge is a rigid structure that is dragged along the ocean floor to pick up bivalves (oysters, clams, mussels, scallops, etc).

• The location being dredged greatly determines the practices impact on the environment. The dredge breaks up sediment on the seabed that may or may not be supporting a large habitat. If not careful they can have similar effects to bottom trawling on the ocean floor.
• Thankfully controlled mesh size and escape panels make sure bycatch and undersized bivalves will not get caught in the dredge.
• Restrictions on when and where dredging can take place and replacing traditional dredges with lighter ones with boulder exclusion devices have helped control and reduce their impact.
• This is not the only way bivalves can be harvest though! Often times they are farmed in controlled areas and less invasive fishing measures such as tonging (like using a large rake) can be used. Which is good news for us, because bivalves are extremely nutritious!
• FUN FACT: Some scientists do not consider bivalves sentient, because they do not have a brain or Central Nervous System! This means some vegans include them in their diet, particularly oysters which are an excellent source of vitamin B12.

TAKE AWAY:

*ANY FISHING METHOD CAN BE UNSUSTAINABLE IF NOT USED RESPONSIBLY*

There are a lot of questions one should ask before purchasing fish such as where is it from? Is it endangered? Is it wild or farmed? But today we learned about:

HOW WAS IT CAUGHT?

A quick overview:

METHODS TO AVOID: Bottom Trawling, Gillnets, Longlines, Pelagic (Midwater) Trawling, Blast Fishing, Cyanide Fishing

METHODS THAT CAN BE SUSTAINABLE IF USED PROPERLY: Dredge, Pots and Traps, Purse Seine

METHODS THAT ARE GENERALLY SUSTAINABLE: Hook and Line, Spear *Look for these methods first when buying fish!

SO HOW DO I FIND FISH CAUGHT BY HOOK AND LINE OR SPEAR?

KNOW YOUR FISHERMAN!!! If you have a local fish market or farmers’ market, chances are you have access to local fish or at least someone who is knowledgeable about whether sustainable fishing methods were used. Plus, a small vendor is much less likely to be using commercial scale fishing methods, which do the most damage in our oceans. Like everything else: Keep it small and keep it local.

WHAT IF I DON’T HAVE ACCESS TO A LOCAL FISHERMAN?

If you do not have a local fish provider the best option is to abstain from fish, but I know that most people aren’t willing to do that. (And I totally get it!) So the next best step is to

• • Buy wild caught, hook and line fish online. Unfortunately, your fish may have to travel farther to get to you, but so did the grocery store fish and at least you are voting with your dollar towards a place that is using sustainable practices. Here are a couple of exceptional online distributors
    • Vital Choice – Vital Choice is a sustainable seafood distributor who is committed to protecting and managing our oceans. They are very transparent about their products. They tell you were their fish came from, who certified it, how it was caught (usually hook and line), and how it maintains it’s freshness (usually flash frozen which is the freshest next to eating it right off the boat!) They can even ship live bivalves (oysters, clams, etc) right to your doorstep. You don’t have to live on the coast anymore to have access to extremely fresh fish in the United States!
    • Alaska Gold Seafood –Alaska Gold Seafood is a “seafood producers cooperative” meaning it is a collection of Alaskan fisherman that all meet the cooperatives strict sustainability requirements. All fish is hook and line caught and there are little bios about each seafood producer so you can really get to know your fisherman! Plus they have Loyalty Program to save you money. Pretty sweet deal.
      • • Alaska Gold Club Loyalty Program
        • Line-Caught, wild, sustainable Alaska Halibut
        • Get Wild, Line-Caught Alaskan Salmon

       

• Look for Marine Stewardship Council certified fish at the grocery store (look for a blue check on the package). Can be found all over… even at Target!
• Download the Seafood Watch App!

Next in series: What fish species are safe to eat and which ones are better avoided?

*Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links for businesses I really admire and have thoroughly reviewed! If you chose to buy something from them through the link on my website it will not cost you any thing extra, but I will get a small commission on the sale… you’re helping me keep the dream alive! <3 If you at all value what I do here and are looking to buy these products anyway I would be eternally grateful for the help. Thank you thank you!*

The post Biggest Fish in the Sea pt. 1: “Complete Guide to Sustainable Fishing Techniques” appeared first on Get Cultured Kitchen.

The post Are New Year’s Resolutions a Waste of Time? 5 Reasons People Fail at New Year’s Resolutions appeared first on Get Cultured Kitchen.

So we are in week three of the New Year and according to Static Brain, New Year’s Resolutions usually start dropping off around this time. I’m hoping this post will give those of us that need it, a little boost of inspiration! I will be talking about the nature of New Year’s Resolutions and why I think most people (including myself) have failed at them. Plus, some tips for how to be successful in any goals we set, whether they are New Year’s Resolutions or not.

So are New’s Years Resolutions as waste of time? Yes and no. Taking a step back from our lives and reflecting on what we want to improve on is a beautiful thing. However, the expectation of a life overhaul #newyearnewme is a recipe for disaster. And you know I would never give you one of those!

I think there are a few reasons people have difficulty changing habits. I’m going to highlight them and then expand on each one.

Why People Don’t Succeed at New Year’s Resolutions:

1. We try to change habits without a plan.
2. We lack a deep motivation that inspires us.
3. We talk in absolutes. (We are either on a diet or off our diet. Sober or not sober. On the wagon or off and if we mess up once it’s a failure.)
4. We try to overhaul everything at once rather than taking baby steps.
5. We don’t live in the present.

We Try to Change Habits Without a Plan:

When I moved out of my parent’s place three and a half years ago I was determined to have better habits. I was moving to a new place and was relying on the “fresh start” to become a healthier version of myself. I think a lot of us view the New Year’s Resolutions as a fresh start, a renewal, a chance to finally kick those bad habits. But the thing is any big change in our lives, metaphorical or tangible, whether it is a New Year or a new job, is not going to change our habits for us. I figured because I was buying all my groceries for the first time and setting up my room for the first time all I had to do was maintain what I was creating. I had never maintained a clean room, but all I had to do now was keep my room clean. However, I did not bother to look into any cleaning schedules or organization tools. I figured all I have to do now is avoid buying junk food with no real plan of what to cook, how to manage the cost or when I would cook for myself. How was I going to avoid eating out when I was rushing between classes?

Lean on someone. Have a plan. There are lot’s of fitness websites out there, blogs with healthy quick recipes (hi!), places with resources to help you live greener and make better choices for you, the planet and its inhabitants (hello again!) There are free meal planning guides, free workout routines, free tips on decluttering and organization, on meditation and self-love. The internet is a pretty magical thing my friends. You don’t have to go it alone! I have listed some resources for you at the bottom of the page.

Find friends that inspire you to make good habits. Hold each other accountable for you New Year’s Resolutions. Work out together, share your successes and mistakes. It is a lot harder to cut back on drinking when all your friends go out to the bar every day of the weekend. If your goal is to drink less find a friend that will stay sober with you and hold you accountable. Look up flavorful, alcohol free drinks. Write things down, work new habits into your schedule and have others support you. Don’t just assume you’ll have the willpower and knowledge to wing it! If you are serious about create new habits you have to put in some work; which brings we to the next point.

We Lack a Deep Motivation That Inspires Us:

Okay, let’s real talk for a second. Changing habits is hard. There is a reason we do the detrimental things we do to ourselves and others, and we aren’t going to be able to change them without knowing what those reasons are. These are some of the questions I asked myself when I was trying to eliminate sugar sweetened foods from my diet. Why do I find myself drawn towards sugary foods? Does it comfort me emotionally? Do I really have a strong desire to eat sweets or do I just do it without thinking twice? When I am faced with eating something sweet and I think, “This isn’t the best choice for my health”, why do I do it anyway? Am I addicted? Can I handle eating sweets in moderation? What positive associations do I have with sugar? Do I think of it as a “treat” and is that tricking me into desiring it more? What connotations do I associate with eating sugary foods? When do I crave it? Is it a certain time of day? Is it when I am dehydrated? When do I find myself eating it most? When am I not craving something sweet? Does eating something sweet satiate that desire or am I left wanting more? Am I just replacing sugar sweetened foods with equal amounts of “natural sugar”? When I eat natural sugars like dates is that propelling my craving for sugar?

How can we address the root of a problem if we can’t identify what is causing it? And maybe even more important than identifying why we have an issue is identifying why we want to change it. Why did you pick these New Year’s Resolutions? I have to level with you, because your loved one wants you to change is probably not a strong enough reason to change a habit. You have to want to change that habit for yourself and your reason has to be a strong one. This is obviously going to be personal and also vary from goal to goal, but I will share with you all why I care about eating healthy.

I don’t eat healthy because I feel guilty when I don’t. I don’t eat healthy because I feel like I have to. I eat healthy because I have a spiritual connection with my body. I know I am a host to billions of living organisms and we keep each other alive. They work tirelessly in our symbiotic relationship, trying to keep themselves, and in turn me, healthy. Am I doing my part? It is important to me to show love and respect for my body. The other reason I eat healthy is because I don’t want to miss out on life. I don’t like feeling tired or foggy brained. I don’t like having abdominal issues or tooth aches. I don’t enjoy suffering from frequent illness and allergies. I want to feel strong, sharp and ready for the adventures life brings whether they are physical or mental. The beauties life has to offer are my favorite things about life and I try to tackle them full force.

We Talk in Absolutes:

I could say this about all of these points, but I think this is a huge reason many of us fail at New Year’s Resolutions. People have a tendency to talk in absolutes. What I mean by this is we create false dilemmas by treating our habits and goals as black and white issues. We are either dieting or we are off our diet. We are either sober or on a substance again. And then when we “fail” we have to “get back on the wagon”. If you’ve gone a whole month eating healthy and you have one unhealthy meal, was all of the work you did that month a waste? Do you treat yourself as a failure now? Are you no longer on a diet now? Are you going to let yourself constantly slip up now, because you did it once? Rather than thinking, “I was off caffeine, but now I am on it again”, think, “I drank a cup of coffee, but I’m still limiting my caffeine. I am not going to make a habit of drinking it.”

It is unrealistic to think we are going to be perfect. That we are changing a habit permanently and will never slip up again. Even as I write about ethical consumerism and green living I know I still have a lot of room to grow. However, this doesn’t have to be upsetting! In fact, I find it exciting. Every time I make a less than ideal choice it is just a gentle reminder that I have more to work on. And this isn’t a bad thing! If you have read my post about 5 things you can do to become a more ethical consumer you know that being patient with yourself and others is on that list. I don’t think one is doing themselves a favor by punishing themselves for not being a better version of themselves. You are enough just the way you are, you are exactly who you should be, because this is who you are and it’s beautiful. Having compassion for ourselves, being gentle with ourselves will help us build the self esteem and confidence we need to change our habits. I promise you, negative self talk is not going to push you to be a better person, it is just going to weigh you down. Remember when I said guilting yourself is not a solid plan for changing habits? I really meant it!

We Try to Overhaul Everything at Once Rather than Taking Baby Steps:

This one may seem obvious, but I find myself doing this all the time! Once, I decided I want to start a work out routine so I started getting up 5 days a week at 5 am to go running and then watch an hours worth of work out videos. On top of that I was also trying to overhaul the way I ate and change my organizational skills and sleep habits. How silly! I just don’t have the willpower to do this on my own. I’m not even a morning person. I got sick for about a week and then I never picked it up again. It was too much too soon. There is no shame in working out three times a week for 15 minutes for a while, while I acclimate to something new. Plus, if you are trying to tackle a health issue how are you going to know what is working for you or not if you change everything at once? Think of yourself as a controlled experiment, you only want one independent variable (the thing you are changing and measuring the effects of). From that point it took me two years to feel comfortable enough in my nutritional knowledge to move onto something else.

Writing your plans out and breaking your New Year’s Resolutions down into tiny steps will make goals seem much more manageable. If you are trying to eat healthier you have to understand what that means in the first place. You have to learn how to cook. You have to figure out how you will satisfy craving in a healthy way and try to reduce them. You also have to figure out when you are going to shop and make your meals and have strategies for when you eat out. It is a lot to manage and I don’t recommend doing it all at once. As I was mentioning before, if you aren’t sure how to break down your goals into smaller steps there are a lot of resources online and I have listed a few at the bottom of this post. With that said, you know yourself better than anyone else. If you know you can’t handle moderation, maybe you should cut stuff out cold turkey, but still form a strategy for when things don’t workout according to plan.

We Don’t Live in the Present:

Every moment of every day we have an opportunity to be our best selves. Every moment you are in an argument you have an opportunity to exercise patience and compassion. Every moment you pass litter on the street you have a chance to pick it up. Every time you eat you get to decide what you are going to put in your body. Every time you make a purchase you get to decide where you are purchasing from or whether you are going to spend money at all. Every moment you drive you have the opportunity to be safe and courteous. Every time you are faced with a drink you have the choice to take it or not. If you simply ask yourself, “Am I being my best self in this moment? Am I doing the best I can for myself and the world I live in right now?” it becomes easy to make a decision you are proud of. And if you make a decision you are not proud of, that is fine to. At least you recognized you had a choice. As we have been discussing above, changing habits is not about overhauling our lives, it is about taking it one step at a time. And how are we going to be there for each step unless we are present in the moment?

Hopefully these tips inspired you a little to keep pushing forward on your New Year’s Resolutions or any goals you have set for yourself. Who cares if it is the New Year or not? Who cares if you have already given up on your New Year’s Resolutions or goals from any time? It is never to late to be the change you want to see.

If you have goals/ New Year’s Resolutions to eat healthier here are a few resources for you:

• http://www.getculturedkitchen.com/recipes/ <– Seasonal, healthy, wholefood recipes
• http://www.getculturedkitchen.com/culturing-and-fermentation/ <– Fermented food recipes
• http://nourishedkitchen.com/plan-meals/ <– Meal planner
• http://nourishedkitchen.com/recipe-index-2/#all <– Seasonal, healthy, wholefood recipes
• http://makeyourbodywork.com/best-healthy-food-blogs/ <– List of healthy food blogs for all types of diets

If you have goals/ New Year’s Resolutions to live more ethically and sustainably here are a few resources for you:

• http://www.getculturedkitchen.com/interviews/ <– Tips from sustainable businesses and me
• http://www.getculturedkitchen.com/sustainable-business-locator/ <– Find sustainable businesses based on location
• http://www.thegoodtrade.com/ <– More lists of ethical businesses

If you have exercise goals/ New Year’s Resolutions here is my favorite fitness youtuber:

• https://www.youtube.com/user/blogilates <– Free fitness videos and workout calendars, plus a lot of encouragement and positive energy

Please comment below if you have any other tips for achieving goals. Get Cultured Kitchen is a community resource and we are all supporting each other to become the best we can be for us and the world we live in. Love you fam!

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The post 5 Tips for Becoming an Ethical Consumer appeared first on Get Cultured Kitchen.

If you read my other blog post ethical consumerism and why it matters, then you may have clicked on the bottom of the page to get here. This post is sort of my sequel to that one, so if you haven’t read it yet I recommend you take a second to! This post is short and sweet. If you are trying to become an ethical consumer, these tips should lead you in the right direction. I personally try to be mindful of these everyday. If you stick to these tips and work on them a little by little, you will improve in no time!

1. SELF LOVE:  Being an ethical consumer starts with self love. When you love yourself you learn to love, have patience for and respect the things around you. The motivation behind ethical consumerism is a respect and therefore concern of the well being of all other entities.
2. CONSUME LESS: When you start taking the time to research what you buy it takes more time because you are being more intentional with your purchases. Being and ethical consumer takes work! It is difficult to “impulse buy” when you are cross checking where the product comes from. The things you will consume will also be a little more expensive. There are no ethically sourced pants where the material, labor and transportation are all under $10-20. The people who made those pants virtually did it for free and live in such desperate poverty they cannot deny exploitative work. So you may end up consuming less, but the things you purchase will last you a long time. Your possessions made with love and quality and will hopefully feel less disposable. Trust me, this is a liberating thing, not a debilitating thing.
3. CHANGE ONE HABIT AT A TIME: Hopefully you are feeling really inspired right now! You are ready to read all the expert interviews about organics, fair trade clothing and sustainable energy. My advice is familiarize yourself with one subject. So familiar that you can explain it’s importance to a friend if they ask you. Having a strong concept of why being an ethical consumer is important to you, motivates you to pursue it without giving up. And take action! Reading about buying fair trade is great, but what is even better is eating out one day less a week to save up the money to actually buy fair trade coffee. On a similar line of thinking, making changes in our lives is not about overhauling everything and making a big shift. Often times when we take on too much at once we overwhelm ourselves and set ourselves up for failure. How many New Year’s Resolutions get ruined this way? Maybe you started a rigorous workout routine, but as soon as you get sick one day the whole thing is out the window. My advice it to take it moment by moment. Every second of your life (that you remember) ask yourself, “Am I being my best self in this moment.” Ethical living is about learning to live every moment through love and respect of all things.
4. WRITE DOWN YOUR PLAN: Similar to the point above, taking action is really important. It is the thing that makes a tangible difference to others and really leads to forming new habits. Organizing a specific time to prep wholesome meals for the week makes that task much more likely to happen! Put it in your calendar. Make a list ahead of time of what you want to cook and what you need to buy at the farmer’s market to save time and money. Create an alarm on your phone to wake up 15 minutes earlier so you can start your day of with meditation. This is a piece of advice that I am still working on myself, but find so valuable. When you write something down it becomes tangible, and this can be a very powerful tool.
5. BE PATIENT WITH YOURSELF AND OTHERS: Changing your habits is about you and you alone. The purpose of this website is not to tell you how to live your life. It is a tool to help you inform yourself enough to make the choices you want to. You should not feel guilty if you don’t know it all or you aren’t perfect 100% of the time, but be open to learning and being wrong. Extend the same courtesy to your neighbor. Meet them with empathy and love. This way they feel inspired and not attacked for making the choices they make. Every life we individually chose to lead is a valid one. Just because we don’t see eye to eye with someone doesn’t mean they are a bad or ignorant person. If we meet each other from a place of love it we can live a life where other’s freedoms are not stepped on by the way we choice to live. Love the person in the sweatshop, love the plant or animal that nourishes you, love the light bulb that lets you see at night, and love the person who couldn’t care less about being an ethical consumer or whatever you are passionate about. This doesn’t mean you have to agree with them or not hold them accountable, it just means come from a place of love and compassion and exercise a willingness to listen.

You can find ethical businesses at the top of this page by clicking on the sustainable business locator button!

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The post What is Ethical Consumerism and Why Does it Matter? appeared first on Get Cultured Kitchen.

Hello friends! Thanks for taking the time to educate yourself about ethical consumerism. It’s a movement that is changing the way we treat the planet and each other, and I’m so excited for you to be a part of it! I hope this website will be a stepping stone for you and others to feel empowered. Empowered to live as your best selves and feel informed enough to make the choices you want to make. These are changes that are unique to every person, and ultimately up to you. However, I hope that by sharing why I care about ethical consumerism, it will inspire my readers. Perhaps after reading this you will have a clearer picture of the impact your choices have on Earth. But first a quick definition.

What is Ethical Consumerism?

To me, ethical consumerism means understanding where the things you buy (consume) come from and acting accordingly. How often do we think, “I wonder how these pants can only cost $10? They were shipped across the world from India”. Or, “I wonder if the meat in this burger came from a factory farm?”. In a capitalist society we prop up our economy through consumption, and therefore get to “vote with our dollar”.  For example, over the past few years more people have started buying organic. Businesses, well, businesses want our business so they started carrying more organic options. Go figure. It was the smart business move. The public told businesses what they wanted to see in the market place by being selective with their money, and it elicited change.

How I Came to Care about Ethical Consumerism:

There was a time when I thought having a partner and a comfortable amount of money would bring me happiness. Even though I knew intellectually that peace comes from within, I still found myself caught up in seeking external stimuli. I wanted people to like me, I felt like if I didn’t bring attention to my accomplishments no one would notice, I found myself seeking after the thrill of material things. Purchasing a new outfit, going out to eat… if I didn’t have a lot of activities going on I felt bored. I was living for sensation; a lot of times without even realizing it.

In the last three years I have moved seven times, taken classes at five different schools and had four very different jobs. Every time I moved I got rid of more possessions. I even got to a point where I could fit all of my belongs into a minivan and go. (Still can!) I had never felt so light and free. Living with as little as possible started to sound more appealing to me and I began to shift my priorities. I would go back to my home town and see the excess that I wasn’t even aware I was a part of. It is not a judgement on having nice things. I just noticed that I was just as comfortable and happy as I was before when I had more.

*Side note*:

The standard of living in America is very high compared to a lot of places and even aside from that I am privileged. I don’t want to diminish the struggle that others’ face to put food on the table, but I am always so inspired when I meet people with nothing handed to them, yet somehow the most humble and thankful in demeanor. I have also seen that attitude from people who are very privileged in their live. The point is that I began to learn more and more over time that happiness does not come from external conditions, but rather our inner state of mind.

The first steps:

And so I began to work on my inner state of mind. I recognized the compassion I wanted to see in the world and tried to become that change. It’s hard. It’s something I am still working on and will be working on for many years, but I’ve noticed the more compassion and patience I have towards myself, the more I have to give to others.

I think the hardest part of finding internal peace is knowing the steps to take. Knowing where to start can feel murky when it seems like much of the world is a wreck. However, there are a few concepts that made working on myself easier. It is hard to take the first step towards change when your focus is too large and on things you cannot control, i.e. other peoples’ actions. I’ve learned that I may be just one person, but my choices and actions do matter.  To make a difference you have to start with what you know. What I am familiar with and can control is myself, and that is the only thing under my control. In the famous words of MJ, “If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make a change”.

A Step Towards Ethical Consumerism:

To me, giving is closely related to compassion. I take so much in my life from my apartment, to my clothing, to my food or my laptop; it is all stuff. Some of it is stuff I need to survive and some of it is a luxury, but they are all things I consume in one way or another. In order to live I must consume life and materials, but I don’t necessarily have to give much back for basic survival. Sometimes we give without even noticing, but for the most part I think it takes a conscious effort to give. To put a person, place or thing above convenience or my own desires takes intention. My goal for myself is actually quite straightforward. I want to give more during my life than I take. It’s a straight forward idea, but perhaps not as simple in practice.

How can we give?

So what are ways we can give? By extending patience and acceptance to ourselves and others, by donating our time or resources for the benefit of others, by sharing the things we have, by making sure no suffering was involved in the things we consume, by living in shelters that use clean energy, by growing our own food, by minimizing our consumption and waste. These (and many more) are things we can do to make a difference. This blog discusses all these things, but for now let’s focus on making sure there isn’t any suffering involved in the things we consume.

Finding Ethical Businesses:

The concept is simple, but finding a company you can trust is tricky. Businesses that have unethical, inhumane or environmentally damaging practices don’t want you to know. They say they use the finest artisanal ingredients and would never cut corners, but those words are just marketing schemes and the proof is in the pudding. All you have to do is look a little bit into most of those companies and what you find is… nothing. There is a lack of substantial information to back up their claims. And trust me, if a business has truly gone out of their way to be ethical they’ll want you to know!  But be warned. Pseudo-ethical companies are smart marketers and take advantage of the fact that we are busy and may not take the time to really check to see if the claims they advertise are honorable.

This is why there are organizations out there that have created certification programs that have merit. For example, if a product has a “certified humane” sticker on the package you can go onto the certified humane website and find out exactly the criteria that business had to meet to become “certified humane”. It has a legal definition. Healthy? Natural? Those words do not. But have no fear! Get Cultured Kitchen is dedicated to helping you weave through pseudo-ethical businesses.

Where Get Cultured Kitchen Comes in:

Actually, the whole point of Get Cultured Kitchen is to help take the guess work out of “doing the right thing”. Finding the healthiest choices, for you, your family and the world you live does not have to be a daunting task. On this website you will find countless interviews discussing different ethical issues and how to guide yourself through them. What is sustainable agriculture? How can I reduce my impact on the environment? What are conditions like in sweatshops?  You can find answers to all those questions here and much much more. There is also a map on this website where you can find ethical businesses by category near you. How convenient is that?

Below I have explained five basic ideas for you to start practicing ethical consumerism. I use the word “practice” with intention. There is probably not going to be a specific point in which you can consider yourself an official ethical consumer. It is a process. The change will be slow. We can read all we want about ethical consumerism, but it doesn’t really make a difference until we act on it. I believe it is greater of someone to truly change one unhealthy habit in their life than read a dozen articles about healthy habits.  Even if just one product you buy changes you are already making a difference in your life and in the lives of others. Please, vote with your dollar or the absence of your dollar!

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For more information read my 5 Tips to Becoming an Ethical Consumer.

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The post Living in balance with Mother Earth appeared first on Get Cultured Kitchen.

Get Cultured Ktchn
The other day I was reading a book by Tom Robbins called Skinny Legs and All. Albeit biased in some ways, it’s a really great book with a lot of lessons to teach about spirituality, femininity, sexuality and the blindness in which we can go about our lives. At the climax of the book Tom stated something that really resonated with me about our relationship with Earth. “Humanity was a function of nature. It could not, therefore, live separately from nature except in a self-deceiving masquerade. It could not live in opposition to nature except in schizophrenic crime. And it could not blind itself to the wonders of nature without mutating into something too monstrous to love.”

So often we refer to nature as a place to go to, separate from our world. We do not consider that the chair we sit on, the air we breathe, the fabric woven into our clothing is nature. Where do we think these things come from? Even objects synthesized by man are some combination of the Elements that make up all things living or not. And yet, I still find myself stuck in a mindset that I am separate from nature. That I am a foreign invader and that all I do is take from Mother Earth and harm her. I squish her with my foot prints, I eat her, I pollute her with my waste, but there is no way she benefits from my existence. Right?

Symbiosis:

I’d like to think that’s wrong. I am in a symbiotic relationship with Mother Earth. She takes as much from me as I do from her, spiritually and in a very physical sense. I breathe in and kill many microbes swept into my lungs, Mother Earth breathes in and a tornado devastates humanity. I nurture her plants with love to someday nourish my body, which in turn feeds the bacteria and microscopic fungi that live within me and make up my body. The magnitude of my size to those microflora is analogous to Mother Earth’s size to me or her size compared to our galaxy and so forth. And just like how I am not really a single entity, but rather an ecosystem of microorganisms, Mother Earth is not a single entity, but rather made up of all of her inhabitants.

So in that sense, I am Mother Earth, and just like my body has a remarkable ability to take care of itself and stay in natural balance, so does Mother Earth. Long after humans have managed to go extinct, Mother Earth will most likely live on and the matter that makes up our bodies will recycle back into new life. I think one of the coolest theories we prescribe to as humans is the conservation of mass law. That mass cannot be destroyed or created; it is simply recycled. We are always in harmony and always in balance.

Taking Action:

So what is the take away of all this? Firstly, that I should not feel guilty for being a consumer. Like all other things, I must consume to survive. Such is life. Secondly, if I care about my own well being even a little (which I encourage you to do!) I surely must care for Mother Earth and her inhabitants, because we are all brothers and sisters under the large nurturing globe that provides us with the sustenance of life. It’s hard not to feel full of love and belonging when your family is as big as ours! Caring for Mother Earth is caring for yourself. For example: reducing your consumption of factory farmed meat reduces green house gases, which reduces global warming, which reduces droughts and other catastrophes. Buy things that are not a product of illegal deforestation.

Check out the Resource pages or Ethical Consumer Map! Even educating yourself about where the items you consume come from and truly giving thanks is a beautiful place to start!

Out of a little self love grows compassion. <3

Thank you,

Kelsey

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