The Falkland Island Toothfish fishery is one of the three toothfish fisheries around the world awarded a category of “Best Choice” by the Monterrey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Program. Seafood Watch is the most well-known and trusted source in North America for consumers and businesses seeking information about environmentally responsible seafood choices.
“Assessment of the suite of toothfish fisheries took almost a year” said Dr. Tom Pickerell, Senior Science Manager at Seafood Watch. “In order to be confident in our results, we have a rigorous process that ensures that all the relevant data are analysed and our findings peer reviewed. While some may consider a recommendation to buy toothfish somewhat controversial, we are confident in our analyses and the industry has demonstrated that it is possible to harvest this species in a responsible manner.”
As a result of this investigation, 60% of the global allowable catches is now rated by Seafood Watch as either “Best Choice” or “Good Alternative”. Of the 10 toothfish fisheries around the world, 17.7% have been rated as “Best Choice”, 43.4% as “Good Alternative” (including the South Georgia and Ross Sea Fisheries), 21.4% are rated as “Avoid” and 17.5% is not rated (principally the Argentine Fishery). The Falklands, Heard & McDonald Islands and Macquarie Island (Australia EEZ) were all determined to be the best choice for consumers.
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