The United States Department of Agriculture says twice a week, make seafood the protein on your plate. Increase the amount and variety of seafood consumed by choosing seafood in place of some meat and poultry.
A topic floating around in the news today is sustainability. Sustainability – striking the balance between taking enough of something to meet needs now, while leaving plenty for the future – is an increasingly important consideration for many families. As a result, it is becoming increasingly expected for registered dietitians to understand the sustainability of foods they recommend.
I can’t pretend to know all there is to know about seafood sustainability. Each individual fishery has a different sustainability story. And the statuses of fish stocks are in constant flux. That’s exactly why those “best” and “worst” or “green” and “red” wallet cards out there make me uneasy. They are oversimplified. And worse, sustainability ratings often end up turning into stand-alone nutrition advice. I hate to sound like a broken record, but nutrition advice needs to come from doctors and dietitians.
As an RD who clings to science, my go-to source for the latest and most accurate sustainability facts is the seafood science team of experts over at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). I love their easy-to-use website, FishWatch. It’s like an (abridged and interesting) encyclopedia of fish and shellfish. Click on any fish to learn about its sustainability status, habitat, role in the ecosystem, and nutrition facts. NOAA does a great job of sharing up-to-date, science-based facts without telling people what to eat.
I am a registered dietitian with the National Fisheries Institute, so fish is my nutrition forte. I earned my BA in Communication from Southwestern University, just outside of Austin, TX. During college, one of my very favorite evening outings was a leisurely trip to the grocery market. My passion for food was undeniable, so I combined both of my interests by earning my MS in Nutrition Communication from Tufts University in Boston, MA. As well as my Registered Dietitian (RD) credential through the University of Delaware.
Beyond reading scientific studies about docosahexaenoic acid and selenium, I love to entertain, travel, watch reality TV, grill outdoors, and go to spin class. I live in Kailua, HI on the island of Oahu where my husband serves as a US Marine Corps JAG.
People in Hawaii eat more fish and shellfish than average, but over 80 percent of typical Americans don't eat seafood at least twice per week. Doctors and dietitians like me say that's the goal, so BlogAboutSeafood is here to show you just what plenty of seafood looks like in an RD's real-life diet.
Photo by Marco Garcia
