Many of us love seafood, but between overfishing and news of slavery in the fishing industry, it’s important to be aware of what our purchases are supporting. Fortunately, there are things we can do to make wise choices in our seafood purchases.

Keep a Sustainable Seafood Guide: Handy Guides like Seafood Watch are available as cell phone apps or paper pocket guides which rate seafood by where and how it’s caught. The electronic version updates regularly and is customizable by region. The Sustainability Office has pocket guides available upon request.

Support Retailers Committed to Selling Sustainable Seafood: Many grocery stores and restaurants are committed to selling sustainable seafood. These types of business will even display ratings by species, tell who caught the fish, and how.

Try a Less Popular Species of Fish: Trout can replace salmon in many recipes. The same is true for other species of fish. Eating a less popular type of fish reduces pressure on species populations that are already overfished.

Buy Local or at Least American: Not only does local fish have a smaller carbon footprint, but eating local or US produced supports local fishermen and their communities. Also, the US has strong laws governing labor and fishing practices, so there’s less need to worry about supporting human rights abusers with US caught fish.

For more information on this topic, visit seafoodwatch.org or oceana.org.