Making Better Choices

- Buy Now - Sample Content - Press Release - Fact Sheet - Poll

In 1998, a newly formed group called the Blue Ocean Institute developed its landmark color-coded “Guide to Ocean Friendly Seafood.” Using a rainbow of fish categories that faded from bright green (farmed shellfish, Alaska salmon, and other relatively abundant fish caught through safe methods) to red (Chilean sea bass, caviar, bottom-trawled cod, and other products that are endangered or harvested with destructive gear), it was the first in a series of easy-reference seafood guides for shoppers and diners. A long, narrow strip of paper designed to fold up and fit into a wallet, the list was one of the earliest efforts to position commercial fish, generally seen as commodities for eating, as important forms of biodiversity that play key roles in ocean stability. “Now, there are lots of folks doing it,” says Carl Safina, president of Blue Ocean...