At the seafood counter, we are confronted with lots of choices. Although the fresh salmon may be tempting, opting instead for frozen will have a much lower carbon footprint. Chances are that all the fresh fish in your store was flown there, unlike the frozen fish that was probably carried on a ship using far less energy. Also, a lot of fresh fish is flown in from Asia and South America where environmental standards are lax and the FDA is currently only inspecting 2% of imported seafood.

To make the choices easier, you can use this seafood-shopping app produced by the Monterey Bay Aquarium, look for a fisherperson at your local farmers’ market or support a local Community Supported Fishery (CSF).

And when in doubt, choose seafood that is small, local and frozen and say no to “flying” fish!

image courtesy of The Muskegon Chronicle