Looking for and easy answer to Netflix’s Seaspiracy?

Simple. Only Eat American Harvested Seafood!

Since its launch on Netflix, Seaspiracy has quickly jumped to one of the most watched documentaries around the world. Most people who watch the movie are troubled how mankind is exploiting the oceans. While some, or depending on who you ask, even many, of the claims made in the movie have been debunked. There is no question, that abuses happen, and that we can and should do much better when it comes to managing our oceans, the abuses we impart and the seafood we get take from it.

 

The movie is good at pointing out many problems, and there are real concerns that need to be addressed, but when it comes to offering solutions, it utterly fails. Go vegan, eat plant based, lab grown seafood, and … just leave the oceans alone. Sorry to break it to you. This is simply not going to happen. The oceans are too large. There is too much money involved. There are too many countries involved. There are too many people employed and seafood is one of the main proteins consumed on our planet.

 

So, for the person who sees this documentary and wants to act, what can they do? It is quite simple. Buy American Harvested Seafood. When I say American Harvested Seafood, I mean American seafood that was caught or grown and harvested within American waters. Not “American Processed” seafood that was simply processed in the USA and came from who knows where.

So, why would that make a difference?

Well, it is quite simple, when you take a closer look at the documentary, you see that pretty much all the abuses take place in other parts of the world. Not in America. There is a very simple reason for this. America manages its fishing and its aquaculture industries. We have fishing seasons, we have restriction on net sizes, restrictions on what to catch, when to catch and how much to catch. We have restrictions on effluent releases, and destruction, on environmental abuses. Simply put, America’s fisherman is under very heavy scrutiny to make sure the fishing grounds are not abused or plundered. Aquaculturists operate under many rules that ensure their operations are safe, do not pollute and are managed prudently.

 

When is the last time you heard about US fishermen corralling a bunch of dolphins on the Florida coast and bring them in for slaughter? Yes, me neither... The fact is that many of the abuses reported in the movie, mangrove destruction, dumping, illegal fishing, slave labor, etc. simply do not happen in the US. Does this mean that America is perfect? No, but you can rest assured that if a turtle gets caught in a net, or fish are caught illegally, that this is the exception, not the rule in our country. It is likely against the law already, and subject to severe punishment. Does bad stuff happen in America? Undoubtedly, but when compared to what is going on in other parts of the world, our American harvested seafood supply is heads and shoulders above all others.

So, ok…great; America manages its seafood much better then other countries. But how can we stop these other countries from causing all this damage to the oceans around the world? Its simple. Do not buy foreign wild caught seafood.

Do you know that the US imports 90% of its seafood? That is correct. Ninety percent, and many of it comes from the problem areas identified in the documentary. If we stop buying this imported ocean caught seafood, these exporting countries will get the message quickly. America has some of the richest most well managed fishing grounds. We have lots of room for growing our seafood sustainably right here in the USA. Right now, there are many new landbased and some ocean based aquaculture and mariculture project that are offering wholesome and sustainable American seafood. Sun Shrimp is but one of many of these companies that grow real American seafood for America.

So, Support American harvested seafood. Insist that your local restaurant or store only buys real American harvested seafoods. Take a close look at the country-of-origin labeling, which requires that the original country of origin where the seafood was harvested is disclosed. Insist it is American. And do not fall for any seafood that is merely processed in the US. That could be anything. No, insist on only American Harvested seafood. Will this cost more? Yes. The fact is that imported seafood is usually cheap, very cheap, and it depresses the prices of American harvested seafood. But it is worth paying a little bit more, so you can continue to enjoy nutritious and delicious seafood and have real peace of mind knowing that you are not part of the problem.

 

Will this stop the abuses immediately? No. Will some countries continue abusing the oceans? Sure, they will. But in time, many countries need accesses to the American market. They will try to figure out how they can keep selling their seafood to American consumers. The onus will be on them to convince American consumers that their seafood is not raping the oceans. Some forward-looking countries are already doing this, and we should encourage all of them to follow our lead.

The documentary was tough to watch. As a lover of seafood, it is just sad to think that you are part of this problem. Even more frustrating is that you feel helpless. But you have more power than you may realize. Insist on eating only American Harvested seafood and you can keep enjoying your seafood and drive the change the world needs. #EATUSharvestedSeafood

Thank you,

Robin Pearl

Chief Shrimper

Sun Shrimp

America has plenty of amazing Seafood. No need to import anything. Enjoy American Harvested Seafood.