Guest blogger Tina Perantonakis whets our appetite for seafood and sustainability.
Every time I visit my local grocery store, I’m tempted by the fish and shellfish on display in the seafood case—wild-caught salmon from Alaska, grouper from Florida, catfish from North Carolina, and my favorite, local crabs from the Chesapeake Bay, are just a few examples. As much as I enjoy most types of seafood, lately I’ve been purchasing fish and shellfish that originate from the safest and most sustainable habitats.
NOAA Fisheries and the National Fish Habitat Board recently published a book that undoubtedly will help me learn more about aquatic habitats, the environment, and fisheries. The book, Through a Fish’s Eye: The Status of Fish Habitats in the United States 2010, provides an environmental assessment of estuaries and rivers in the United States. The assessments are supplemented by beautiful color photographs and informative graphs and charts. The book also includes a helpful chapter, “How to Read and Understand This Report,” which describes the methodologies used for the assessment.
Since I live in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, I first read the Fish Habitat assessment for theMid-Atlantic States. Sadly, the report concludes the bay has “a very high risk of current habitat degradation…” and details the human activities that have an effect on fish habitats. The assessments for each region do end on a hopeful note by highlighting public and private conservation projects aimed at reversing damage already done. Since reading the report, I’ve become more conscious of how my daily activities affect the Bay. I was even inspired to tackle more Bay-friendly projects around my house, including installing an additional rain barrel to capture rain water and planting native trees in my yard.
If you’d like to learn which varieties of U.S. seafood are the most sustainable, visit NOAA’s wonderful Fish Watch webpage here. Through a Fish’s Eye: The Status of Fish Habitats in the United States 2010 can be purchased here or located in a library here.
govbooktalk
Trudy Hawkins
Government Book Talk 
Oh well, we should always know that human beings are always abusive.
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Great article – really makes you think. Same problems are happening out west with salmon and trout habitats. We all need to be aware of these facts and alter our food purchases accordingly.
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Hi! I currently live and work in southeast Asia, and how people treat the environment here is just horrible, especially the rivers and coast lines. I think it is great that we in the west are working on improving the environment but shouldn’t we put some pressure on all these other countries that are destroying the planet?
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THIS IS ANOTHER SPECIAL ARTICLE!THIS ARTICLE IS RELATED TO ENVIROMENT , AQUATIC HABITATS , AND FISHERIES.ACTUALLY , “THROUGH A FISH’S EYE” IS A VERY EXCELLENT WORK , WHICH INCLUDES A VARIOUS OF DETAILS ,WHICH ARE RELATED TO FISH HABITATS IN THE U.S.VIA A BOOK LIKE THIS EVERY CAN BE CONSIOUS OF HOW OUR DAILY ACTIVITIES , AFFECT A BAY OR A RIVER!MOREOVER , THIS BOOK GIVES ME SOME GOOD IDEAS TO MAKE PUBLIC OR PRIVATE CONSERVATION PROJECTS IN MY AREA , BECAUSE IN MY AREA , AND IN MY COUNTRY , THE PROTECTION OF AQUATIC LIFE JUST NOT EXIST!!!
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