The Least Sustainable Seafood in the World And Why You Should Avoid It

More and more people are getting out their handy pocket sustainable seafood guides and that's a great thing. For one reason or another these guys have been hit hard with overfishing or the methods in which they are fished have dire consequences for the planet. So if you see these fish on a menu skip them and if you see them at the fish market pass them by. Of course this list is subject to change over time, but for the time being, there are plenty of tasty, sustainable alternatives, so opt for those instead.

1. Blue Fin Tuna
The World Wildlife Fund recently warned that Atlantic bluefin tuna will be wiped out completely by 2012 if we don't halt the overfishing of it. According to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, bluefin's numbers have decreased an alarming 97 percent since 1960.

2. Swordfish
While this is number two on the list it is more commonly eaten than bluefin tuna in our country. The reason why these guys are in so much trouble is because swordfish, which can get up to a massive 2,000 pounds are often caught at a weight of 200 pounds.

3. Chilean Sea Bass
Chilean sea bass is caught with bottom longlines, which damage the seafloor and lead to high rates of bycatch, meaning the death of seabirds, turtles, and other nontarget species. The aquarium also points out that more than half of Chilean sea bass sold was caught illegally. They can live to be six feet long and more than 50 years old, but fishermen are reporting smaller and smaller weights and lower catches according to the Daily Green.

4. Shark/Shark Fin
Brian wrote about how everyday "fishermen" catch sharks, by pulling them out of the ocean, cutting off their fins, and throwing the still-living remains back into the ocean, where they slowly bleed to death. Forty million sharks are slaughtered in this barbaric manner for their fins every year, according to National Geographic. Shark populations are declining at a dramatic rate and without this natural predator the ocean's food chain will go completely out of whack.

For more information on how a red fish made a comeback please visit:
http://planetgreen.discovery.com/feature/blue-august/sustainable-seafood-red-snapper.html