President Obama recently announced an ocean conservation initiative to tackle seafood fraud and illegal fishing. The announcement was made at the global Our Ocean Conference hosted by Secretary of State John Kerry.

Seafood fraud has become a growing problem outlined in a recent nationwide study which found that 33 percent of 1,200 seafood samples were mislabeled, according to the FDA. Seafood fraud hinders ocean conservation and opens the door to overfishing.

“President Obama’s announcement is a historic step forward in the fight against seafood fraud and illegal fishing worldwide. This initiative is a practical solution to an ugly problem and will forever change the way we think about our seafood,” said Oceana campaign director Beth Lowell.

Our seafood travels along an increasing long, complex, and non-transparent supply chain. Tracing our fish from boat to plate will provide consumers with the necessary information to make good purchasing decisions. Last year Oceana launched a interactive map that shows the far reach of global seafood fraud.

Oceana’s seafood fraud investigation collected more than 1,200 seafood samples from 674 retail outlets in 21 states to determine if they were honestly labeled. The most common example of seafood fraud was red snapper–7 of 120 red snapper samples purchased nationwide were not actually red snapper. Another study found that 20-32 percent of seafood imports of wild caught seafood crossing our borders came from illegal fishing often called pirate fishing.

“Tracking where, when and how our seafood is caught, and ensuring that this basic information follows the product through each step in the supply chain, will help to eliminate seafood fraud and the illegal fishing it can disguise,” said Lowell.

Seafood fraud can impact human health because consumers may be allergic to the mislabeled fish or it may be filled with toxins. It’s also problematic for those trying to make sustainable seafood choices, purchasing fish that aren’t overfished and caught in a humane manner. Finally, it opens the door to the environmental repercussions of illegal fishing.

Additionally, President Obama proposed the world’s largest ocean sanctuary. Initially created by George W. Bush, the proposal would expand the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument from 87,000 square miles of protected ocean to 782,000 square miles of ocean surrounding seven U.S. controlled islands in the Pacific Ocean.

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The environmental organization OCEARCH is bringing attention to ocean conservation and saving sharks globally. In fact, there’s an app for that.

OCEARCH has developed a global shark tracker–an app and website that uses GPS to show shark movements worldwide. Researchers from OCEARCH have pulled great whites, tiger sharks, and other large species out of the water and attached GPS tags.

Every time the sharks surface they ping to satellites, which updates their location. Currently, about 100 species are known by name–like Oprah, a young great white found off the shore of South Africa and Katherine, a 14-foot long great white that weighs over a ton and has been patrolling the Straights of Florida. She was first tagged in Cape Cod last August. The app is shining a light on ocean conservation and saving sharks.

OCEARCH partners with world class fishermen and researchers to catch sharks, test them, tag them with GPS, and then release them back into the wild unharmed.

Great whites are “the lions of the ocean,” said founding chairman and expedition leader Chris Fischer, who founded the research institute in 2007, reported in the Tampa Bay Times. “They keep the balance in the oceans. Without them, there would be no fish.”

The ocean conservation organization has completed 19 expeditions, tagging 150 sharks, 50 of which are still pinging. They hope the interactive nature of the app will get people interested in what’s going in our world’s oceans, especially the plight of sharks.

“We need another global ocean movement,” he said. “It’s getting hammered.”

If you go to the website, you can get a global picture of where sharks are and even follow them on Twitter. Katherine currently has 7,500 followers.

“It’s all about the power of inclusion,” said Fischer, who grew up in Kentucky and loved fishing and the outdoors, reported in the Tampa Bay Times. “We’re transitioning a research program into a global ocean movement.”

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In an attempt to prevent shark attacks, the Australian government has proposed a plan that can only be described as horrific.

Shark attacks are scary. Despite what “Jaws” taught us, however, they’re also extremely rare. Global statistics show that wasps, toasters, chairs, domestic dogs and even falling coconuts kill far more people every year than sharks. But that didn’t stop Western Australia’s government from buying into the hysteria by proposing a plan that is both barbaric and ecologically devastating.

There have been six fatal shark attacks in Australian waters over the past two years. In response, officials in Western Australia have proposed a highly controversial “shark management” plan that calls for the slaughter of any shark longer than 3 meters (9.8 feet) found swimming anywhere near popular beaches. According to the Guardian, sharks unlucky enough to get hooked on baited drum lines will be ‘humanely destroyed’ with a firearm. Them the shark corpses will be then tagged and taken further out to sea and dumped.

For just a moment, let’s set aside the glaring fact that sharks have called the ocean home for over 400 million years, and that Australians are encroaching on their habitat, and not the other way around. Instead, let’s focus on huge impact this plan will have on the ocean ecosystem, and the very slim chance it will actually reduce attacks.

“As predators, [sharks] shift their prey’s spatial habitat, which alters the feeding strategy and diets of other species,” explains Oceana. “Through the spatial controls and abundance, sharks indirectly maintain the seagrass  and corals reef habitats. The loss of sharks has led to the decline in coral reefs, seagrass beds and the loss of commercial fisheries.”

Around the global, growing awareness about the sharp decline of shark populations has led to a surge in conservation efforts. Shark finning, spurred by the demand for shark fin soup, has been banned in several significant regions, and there’s been a successful push to establish shark sanctuaries.

“While the rest of the world is turning to shark conservation, our government is sticking his head in the sand, ignoring all the experts and employing an archaic strategy,” Ross Weir, founder of Western Australians for Shark Conservation, told TIME magazine. “What they are doing is illegal and violates 15 different United Nations conventions and treaties.”

There’s also nothing to suggest that killing sharks will actually stop shark attacks. “…what will the killing of this one shark achieve? There is absolutely no evidence to support the “rogue shark” theory, sharks are no more or less likely to bite a human if they have bitten before. It will not act as a deterrent for other sharks,” blogged Dr. Rachel Robbins, chief scientist of the Fox Shark Research Foundation.

“The way to reduce attacks is not to kill anything that poses a threat to us. It is to educate people on how to minimize their risk, the times of day and conditions under which attacks are most likely to occur, put warnings at beaches that these areas are known to be frequented by white sharks.”

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Bad news for scampi lovers: meeting the world’s demand for shrimp is doing some serious damage to the ocean (and our health). Here are five little-known reasons to take shrimp recipes out of the dinner rotation.

In his new book, “The Perfect Protein”, Andy Sharpless makes some very compelling arguments for why we should all rethink our favorite shrimp recipes. Sharpless is CEO of Oceana, the world’s largest ocean conservation group, so he knows a thing or two about what our insatiable appetite for seafood is doing to the planet.

Americans eat more shrimp than any other type of seafood by weight. According to Sharpless, being very careful about how we source shrimp can go a long way toward protecting the oceans. The sad reality is neither fishing nor farming is a truly sustainable way to produce shrimp. Read on for some more compelling reasons to wean yourself off shrimp.

5 Reasons To Kick Your Shrimp Recipes To The Curb

1. Most shrimp consumed in the United States comes from farms in Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Thailand. These operations grow shrimp in shallow pools that form the perfect haven for bacteria and viruses. Even scarier? Only two percent of all imported seafood is tested by the Food and Drug Administration.

2. To combat the pathogens that see shrimp pools as breeding grounds, shrimp farmers often dump high levels of antibiotics and pesticides into the water–some of which are banned for use in the U.S. and other countries. You demand organic produce, but how often do you search for organic seafood? Kind of defeats the purpose, right?

3. In order to make room for shrimp operations, farmers often rip out mangrove forests, which is terrible for the environment. “Scientists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture have found that mangrove forests absorb and trap more climate-changing carbon dioxide than any other ecosystem on the planet, including rainforests. Mangroves also serve as nursery areas for other ocean creatures, and they help keep coasts secure by reducing flooding during storms,” reports Prevention.com.

4. Tearing up precious mangrove forests is bad enough, but that’s not the worst part: When shrimp farming pools become too old or contaminated for use, farmers just move on to a new area and repeat the process. The former mangrove forest is now a polluted wasteland, leaching dangerous chemicals into the water supply.

5. I know what you’re thinking. “I only every buy wild-caught seafood, so my shrimp recipes are safe.” Think again. Wild shrimp are caught with fine-meshed trawl nets pulled through the water behind a boat. The only problem is that they nets catch a lot of other stuff besides shrimp. “Most fish are damaged from being in the net, and many are discarded—dead or dying—overboard,” Sharpless points out. “Nets routinely pull up 9,000 endangered or threatened sea turtles annually, in addition to sharks, red snappers, and other animals.”

Eco-Friendly Alternatives To Shrimp

Giving up shrimp won’t be easy, but there are some more responsible seafood choices that can help. According to Sharpless, sardines and anchovies, mussels, Alaskan salmon, domestic clams, and farmed oysters are more sustainable selections that are also safer for your health.

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Smarts and speed can’t protect a dolphin from pollution.

No doubt about it: The ocean isn’t always a friendly place. That’s why otters, dolphins and clownfish, among others, have developed defense mechanisms to protect themselves in their underwater homes. But conditions are changing, faster and beyond the animals’ ability to evolve. For example, spinner dolphins in Hawaii now endure daily harassment from tourists who want to see their aerial acrobatics. If this is how we treat a species that we love, how can we be expected to treat all the creatures that we’ve just forgotten about?

Ocean conservation nonprofit Surfrider, in conjunction with Los Angeles-based design and advertising firm Saatchi & Saatchi, aims to make sure that we don’t forget. Together with production designer Bruce McCloskey, special effects artist, puppeteer, model maker and production designer Greg Aronowitz, and production designer Paul Rice, the two organizations created the exhibit Ocean Armor, which will run at the Aquarium of the Pacific from September 15 to November 15.

The artists produced four life-sized sets of armor for four animals — the clownfish, the bottlenose dolphin, the Alaskan sea otter and the red-crowned crane. Each set of armor draws from a different set of influences; for example, the red-crowned crane’s eight-foot wingspan is (allegorically) protected by a suit inspired by 12th-century samurai, incorporating lacquered steel, leather and silk. In contrast, the clownfish’s normally playful visage is safeguarded under grim plates inspired by eighth-century Greek armor.

The striking, lovingly-wrought creations drive home a poignant point: These animals need protection from human depredation. In order to derive some solutions, the Aquarium of the Pacific will also debut Ocean in Motion on September 15. The exhibit aims to educate audiences about the links between human activity and ocean life by examining issues like overfishing and dead zones in the ocean.

Looked at from one perspective, the concept behind the exhibit could seem a little shrill: After all, if you covered an otter with plate armor, it would sink to the bottom of the sea. But oil runoff and competition for food and habitat are just as serious a threat to the species’ survival as burning arrows and swords used to be to the Greeks.

For more information, check out the exhibit’s website. To see what other projects Surfrider has on the table, check their website here.

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These 10 organizations work tirelessly to protect the world’s oceans and all of the life they contain from overfishing, global warming and other threats.

Global fisheries are on the verge of collapse, global warming is raising ocean temperatures, coral reefs are dying at an alarming rate and runoff from farms and neighborhoods is fouling the seas with fertilizers and other pollutants. For Ocean Week here at EcoSalon, we want to show our love of oceans and how we can’t live without them – we need serious action to protect them from these threats and many more, and we need it now. Thankfully, we have these 10 inspiring ocean conservation groups that are influencing public policy, drumming up public support, researching solutions, and even going out there and stopping illegal activities that harm wildlife.

Blue Ocean Institute

The Blue Ocean Institute doesn’t just work to preserve the world’s oceans and all of the biodiversity they contain, it also aims to inspire a love for the ocean in all of us. Engaging the public with science, art and literature to foster a deeper connection with nature, the Blue Ocean Institute provides an invaluable reminder of what we’re trying to save in the first place. Founder Dr. Carl Safina believes that focusing on the positives rather than the negatives is more likely to inspire change. “When people defend their fishing, their fishing gets worse; when they defend their fish, their fishing gets good.”

Oceana

The largest international organization focused solely on ocean conservation, Oceana focuses on a limited number of highly specific campaigns that can achieve measurable outcomes, like reducing turtle death from scallop fisheries and petitioning retailers to stop selling unsustainable marine animal products. In addition to accepting donations that help them achieve these goals, Oceana enlists a vast team of “e-activists” referred to as “Wavemakers” who send out letters and petitions in support of conservation initiatives.

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society

Not one to shy away from controversy, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) takes bold action in its fight to protect oceans and marine life. Starring on Animal Planet’s reality TV series Whale Wars, Sea Shepherd uses direct and sometimes violent means to stop whaling vessels from engaging in species-endangering whaling and fishing practices. Their methods may be controversial, but they work: Sea Shepherd has helped to decrease the number of whales killed each year, and they get lots of attention for the plight of these beautiful creatures.

Greenpeace

Known for a wide range of environmental activism, Greenpeace is among the most successful organizations working in the area of oceans, whales and seafood. Greenpeace has set three goals for the next three years: continuing to change seafood choices made at a wholesale level by supermarket retailers, convincing governments and the United Nations that marine reserves are critical to our oceans’ future, and ensuring that the Obama administration uses their diplomatic leverage to close the loopholes that enable commercial whaling.

Ocean Conservancy

Educating the public and advocating for policy changes are the core of Ocean Conservancy’s work to prevent activities that threaten oceanic and, by extension, human life. In addition to organizing an annual international ocean clean-up, Ocean Conservancy has partnered with a popular multi-platform campaign called One World, One Ocean that aims to inspire millions of people worldwide to join the movement to restore and protect the world’s oceans. Its four top priorities include restoring sustainable American fisheries, protecting wildlife from human impacts, conserving the world’s most beautiful oceanic spots and reforming government for better ocean stewardship.

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

This non-profit research and higher education facility is dedicated to marine science, with five departments focusing on ocean life, coastal oceans, climate change and deep ocean exploration. Because it’s training and employing some of the world’s top marine researchers and scientists, Woods Hole is considered one of the most influential ocean conservation organizations in the world. These people are on the forefront of the battle to protect the oceans, with three large research vessels carrying scientists out into the field to study erosion, water circulation, pollution and other events that impact marine life.

Blue Frontier Campaign

Made up almost entirely of individual citizen activists, the Blue Frontier Campaign is all about grassroots (which it refers to, naturally, as “seaweed”) actions from a local level up to an international level. Bringing together a wide variety of voices, Blue Frontier organized a four-day Blue Vision summit in 2009, drawing hundreds of leaders in ocean conservation to Washington, D.C. to develop strategies for protecting oceans. It also organizes regional meetings, produces public education campaigns and has published books including 50 Ways to Save the Ocean and The Ocean and Coastal Conservation Guide.

Scripps Institute of Oceanography

UC San Diego’s Scripps Institute of Oceanography is one of the oldest, largest and most influential centers for oceanic research, education and public services in the world. Located in La Jolla, California, Scripps is another group on the front lines of the battle to protect the oceans, training and deploying highly educated scientists to study biological, physical, chemical, geological and geophysical aspects of the ocean. Scripps heads up the world’s largest privately-funded network for observing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and also runs the Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation (CMBC).

Marine Fish Conservation Network

The largest national organization dedicated to promoting the long-term sustainability of marine fish, this conservation network is a coalition of hundreds of individual local and national conservation, fishing and scientific organizations. Coming together to share in this common goal, the organizations work to advance national policies that promote marine biodiversity. By adding the voices of fisheries and fishermen across the United States to the sustainability discussion, the Marine Fish Conservation Network aims to come up with workable goals that can end overfishing and prevent the decimation of threatened species.

Deep Sea Conservation Coalition

The Deep Sea Conservation Coalition is not just one organization, but dozens. This alliance of over 70 smaller international organizations bands together to influence legislation that can protect and preserve the oceans, like calling on the United Nations General Assembly to place a moratorium on trawling the bottom of the high seas to protect vulnerable species and ecosystems. In just a short period of time, they have already convinced a number of nations to commit to protecting the deep seas from the harmful impact of fishing. The organizations that are a part of the coalition include Greenpeace, the Natural Resources Defense Council and Oceana.

Photo: josh-n

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The Plankton Series by Maria Moyer – a collection of matte white ocean-inspired porcelain vessels benefiting Oceana – are introduced at West Elm.

NYC-based artist Maria Moyer is obsessed with plankton. Combine that with a deeply rooted love of white, organic shapes and the ocean and you have all the ingredients for her recently launched collection for West Elm. The Plankton Series is a collection of matte white porcelain vessels and highlights the intricate structures of the foundation of the Earth’s food chain, and 5% of the purchase price goes toward helping non-profit Oceana protect the world’s oceans.

Artist Maria Moyer at the launch party for her collaboration with West Elm and Oceana

In-store display of the Plankton Series at West Elm in West Hollywood

West Elm threw a pre-Earth Day party at their West Hollywood outpost on Thursday in celebration of the collaboration and I got to chat with some of the people involved in making it all happen.

I always wonder how these collaborations come about, so I asked Maria Moyer how it all started: “Most of my work is in one-of-a-kind sculptural pieces that I build one at a time. I started a body of work over a year ago that was ocean inspired. It included several references in texture and form to plankton – a lifetime love. Around the same time, West Elm asked me design a collection for them. While I don’t usually make things that are functional, I saw the opportunity as a great learning experience in a new role as a designer and I was moved by the idea that the West Elm audience could reach a significantly larger population than my one-piece-at-a-time creative process.”

The scene at West Elm in West Hollywood

“We look for artists we like and respect, who are creating interesting designs that we think our customers will respond to,” said Abigail Jacobs, Vice President, Public Relations & Brand Marketing at West Elm. “Collaborations add to the diversity of our product mix and make our product offering richer. They allow us to bring in new and unique points of view, and experts in techniques that we might not be able to produce with our in-house design team. Nature, and the sea, is such a meaningful and constant place of inspiration for us, and yet we’d never seen a collection inspired by plankton,” says Jacobs. “Maria’s work is first of all stunning, but the collaboration also gave us the opportunity to educate our customer through the story of her process and inspiration. The partnership with Oceana made that connection even more real.”

Moyer with her cousin

“The great part about partnering with Maria and West Elm,” says Jessica Champness, Manager, Major Gifts at Oceana, “is that the inspiration – plankton – are such a fundamental component of healthy oceans and are inherently connected to Oceana’s overarching campaigns, which include mitigating impacts from climate change, promoting responsible fishing and protecting habitat. West Elm has a compelling and authentic design story to showcase and, in doing so, they not only raise funds but help promote Oceana’s work to a new group of potential activists and donors who can start creating conversations about important ocean conservation issues within their own unique communities and encourage people to get involved with Oceana. Any new supporters gained from these efforts translate into a stronger base of support for Oceana to engage in grassroots advocacy, recruit volunteers and raise critical funds,” says Champness.

The visual inspiration is apparent – the amazingly intricate structure of plankton

“I’m grateful to West Elm for giving me what I have been calling a Plankton Pulpit, as I hope to spread the news about the little guys,” says Moyer. “If it doesn’t grab you that these microscopic plants and animals give us half the world’s oxygen (which, by some accounts, is more than our forests), you might also like to know they feed most of Earth’s creatures: from shrimp to whales and the 3 billion humans who depend on fish and seafood. Add to that, the startling and exquisite beauty of plankton – from diatoms to algae to microscopic animals. I’ve found a universe of aesthetic rapture that I want people to know about.”

It’s a beautiful, synergistic collaboration that lures you in with pure aesthetics but forces you to look deeper at the inspiration behind it. Plankton are the trees of the ocean and without them we would not be where we are today. Every time I place a candle in one of my gorgeous new tealights, I will thank them for all the great work they do while I watch the small rays of light dance across the table.

Photos courtesy of Maria Moyer and West Elm

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Keeping those New Year’s resolutions can be made easier by incorporating stylish reminders into your wardrobe.

Here we are, a few days into the new year and hopefully still on track with our resolutions. Whatever your resolution may be — eating more veggies, practicing more gratitude, helping rebuild disaster areas, giving up bottled water or supporting sustainable seafood —  you can probably find an item of clothing that will help serve as a reminder.

Eat Your Veggies Mushroom U-line Tank
Resolution: I will eat more veggies. Besides being one of my favorite veggies, mushrooms provide a wealth of protein, fiber and vitamin C, and have also been shown to boost heart health, lower risk of cancer; promote immune function; ward off viruses and help balance blood sugar levels. Designed and made in the USA, this tank top is made from 100% Siro Micro Modal (derived from sustainable beechwood) and printed with water based inks.
On sale for $20, Revenge Is

Practice Gratitude Bamboo Wear with Organic Cotton
Resolution: I will practice gratitude. This soft tee is made in a Fair Trade facility that guarantees a fair wage and safe working conditions, from a silky blend of 70% bamboo and 30% organic cotton. As a bonus karmic reward, a tree will also be planted for every tee you buy. Now there’s something to be grateful for.
$34, Tees For Change

United by Blue 167 Tee
Resolution: I will give up bottled water. 167 is the average number of water bottles disposed of in the ocean per person. If we all pledge to give up bottled water in favor of reusable bottles, we’d do a lot to help prevent the oceans from being clogged with plastic debris. When you buy this 100% Organic cotton tee, United by Blue does their part by helping remove one pound of trash from our waterways.
On sale for $26, Mission Savvy

PACT for Japan Light Boy Short
Resolution: I will help those less fortunate. PACT and Architecture for Humanity have teamed up to create this collection of organic undies, which supports the design and construction of a work-house for a cooperative of 15 fishermen in Shizugawa, a town where 70% of the structures were destroyed by the earthquake and tsunami in March. The cute pattern featuring Japanese lanterns is one of three designed by Yves Behar especially for the collection.
$22, PACT

United by Blue Sustainable Seafood Tee
Resolution: I will only consume seafood that is sustainable. When you purchase this 100% Organic cotton T-shirt, you help United by Blue remove a pound of trash from oceans and waterways around the world. When you check out, you can even choose — from one of three cleanup sites — where you want this pound of trash to be removed from. We should all aim to make sure that all the seafood we consume comes from a sustainable source. Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch guide is a great resource that will help you move toward that goal.
$34, United by Blue

peaceBOMB Resolution Wrap
Resolution: I will work toward a more peaceful world. This wrap bracelet is made from vintage silk string from France and a hand cast tag and comes wrapped around a resolution card for you to write down your goal. For each bracelet sold, Project peaceBOMB is able to clear one meter of bomb littered land in areas of Laos previously ravaged by war. Wear it around your wrist as a constant reminder of your resolution (and our collective desire for a more peaceful world).
$16, Project peaceBOMB

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While we become sick to our stomachs watching the spreading plumes of oil in the gulf, viewing photos of oil slicked birds, and footage of oil covered beaches in Florida and Alabama, let’s take a step back and think about the cycle of life. The reason disasters like this happen is due to a lack of understanding that, though we may be at the top of the food chain, we are not separate from it. Even though this is a lesson we were supposed to have learned in the first grade, we have separated ourselves from nature in an attempt to manage it and use its resources without a thought for how this impacts the entire system. The oil spill is a 12,000 mile wide, 50-million gallon proof point that we have been wrong.

The oceans are engines of life for the entire planet. Scientists believe that all life on earth began in the sea about four billion years ago. Our ancestors were the first tiny creatures that crawled onto the land. Today life depends on the ocean. Oceans are where life originated and hold the keys to our survival.

Half of the world’s oxygen is produced in the ocean. The BP oil spill is the largest in history. How far will it go? How much of the world’s oceans will it affect? All of this remains to be seen, but we do know that each tier of the marine food chain is affected by the oil spill. The only thing we don’t know yet is how widespread it will be.

Oiled birds and the closure of the fishery are dramatic and immediate effects of the spill, while vulnerable marshlands and the tiny creatures we cannot see are the engines of the entire ecosystem. According to this article in Nola.com – the online version of The Times Picayune – the thin layer of marsh mud is home to an entire valuable community of nutrients that feed the whole system. If the marsh is covered in oil, it will suffocate, and every creature that depends on it will suffer. According to the article, “half of the all the life created takes place in this slimy zone just seven-hundredths of an inch thick. It’s a world too small for the human eye to detect and involves creatures few people have ever heard of, but one that looms huge for the larger critters in the system.”

Here’s how it works: At the bottom of the chain are the phytoplankton. They live in the vulnerable marshes and near the surface of the water, obtaining their nutrients from organic matter in the marshes, sunlight, and water. In return they convert carbon dioxide to oxygen – oxygen that all of the rest of the food chain needs. In addition, phytoplankton provide direct nourishment to many sea creatures higher on the food chain. And some of those animals actually begin life in the marshlands, too. Shrimp mature in the marshlands, and then migrate to the ocean where they become food for fish. These fish provide nourishment to birds and animals, like us. It’s not hard to see what happens if the base of our food chain collapses. Where will the food for the other fish come from and how will we replace that oxygen?

According to this article in The Palm Beach Post, instead of the oil rising to the top where it can be easily tracked, the use of dispersants caused the oil to mix with the water and there are now giant plumes of oil traveling through the ocean. Nobody knows where they will end up or how much damage they will do to wildlife, but many scientists think that the oil is now more dangerous to filter feeders and larvae than if dispersants weren’t used. As one official with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service was quoted as saying in the article, “This is just a giant experiment going on and we’re trying to understand scientifically what this means.”

Scientists are currently studying three different types of mollusks from the Gulf Coast to try to determine how long it takes for the toxic compounds in the water to work their way through the food chain. Because mollusks are constantly building their shells, they incorporate heavy metals and other toxins from the environment into their shells. An article from Science Daily details how scientists study growth rings in the shells of oysters, tellinid clams, and periwinkles. Each one of these mollusks feeds on different organisms at different levels in the sea, so scientists will be able to determine if the mollusks are acquiring contaminants from their food sources or the water directly by measuring the rate at which toxins accumulate in the shells.

As we all learned as children, the food chain begins with plants that get their energy through photosynthesis, which are then eaten by herbivores, and later consumed by carnivores. We eat and we are animals. Therefore, we are part of the food chain too. Just because we can drill wells, drive, and cook our food on a stove does not mean we are outside of this circle of life. We are as vulnerable as those oily birds. We just don’t feel it yet.

This is the latest installment in Vanessa Barrington’s weekly column, The Green Plate, on the environmental, social, and political issues related to what and how we eat.

Image: Kissyface

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The problem with writing about sustainable seafood is that it makes you really hungry for seafood, which can be a challenge if you’re trying to limit your consumption. I figure reading about sustainable seafood must make all of you hungry, so after last week’s post on what to eat and why, I went out to the fish market and decided to whip up an ocean-friendly ceviché.

Ceviché is traditionally made with raw fish. The lime juice bathes the fish in flavor and “cooks” it, in a manner. During the process you will notice that the fish turns from translucent to opaque and develops a toothsome quality, as if it were cooked. If you would prefer to cook the fish, you may cut it into cubes, poach it quickly (for 30 seconds or so), drain immediately and then toss with the other ingredients.

For the Ceviché:

3/4 pound halibut (you could use farmed striped bass or other sustainable, firm-fleshed white fish), cut into cubes
Juice of 3 limes
Chopped cilantro to taste
One-half of an avocado, cut into bite-sized pieces
10 cherry tomatoes, halved (I actually used a firm plum instead of tomato. Try it if you still have plums in your market)
One-half of a large jalapeno (or a whole small one) quartered, seeded, and diced
1 small shallot, sliced thinly
Salt
Pepper
Aleppo pepper to taste (you can substitute cayenne if Aleppo is unavailable)
Freshly fried corn tortillas or store-bought chips for serving

Combine all the ingredients and refrigerate for 45 minutes to 2 hours before serving. Serve atop freshly fried corn tortillas like a tostada, or in a stemmed glass with chips on the side.

Image: cyclonebill

Recipe Copyright 2009 Vanessa Barrington

Note: please use organic, local ingredients whenever possible.

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