Tips for Buying Sustainable Seafood

While many of us have become more aware of the importance of supporting our local food system when buying produce and meats, we may not be as familiar with ways to create a resilient seafood industry. Ben Williams, former owner of Fisherman’s Dock, offers these tips for supporting our First Coast seafood economy:

• Prioritize local and domestic. Regulations ensure the species are harvested sustainably.

• Eat seasonal. Consume the species fresh while they are in season. “Enjoy the snow crabs when they’re available during winter, then move on,” said Williams.

• Trust your local fish markets. Owners have a stake in what you buy. They want to make sure their customers are satisfied.

• Eat the whole fish and extend the resource. For some reason, many consumers are resistant to eating whole fish. When you eat the whole fish, you waste less, and you get more for your money. “This approach puts you into the buying realm of fish that aren’t big enough to fillet, like grunt,” Williams said. “That little fish’s meat tastes identical to mangrove snapper. And a 1½-pound fish will feed two people.”