You're at the restaurant, eyeing a fish dish on the menu. But...didn't you hear something about swordfish being overfished? Or cod, depleted? What's the deal on salmon, these days?

Well, Blue Ocean Institute's Guide to Ocean Friendly Fish will help you pick an entree that minimizes impact on the world's fisheries. Print out the online version, or order the Seafood Miniguide to green seafood gastronomy.

Blue Ocean provides "fresh inspiration for ocean conservation," including a Sea Ethic that extends Aldo Leopold's famous Land Ethic to the other two-thirds of the earth's surface.

It's deeply sad and troubling that it's come to this, and it isn't going to get any better any time soon.

Just thing morning, "The Oregonian's" had a story about a new dead zone off the coast.

I suspect that in 20 years Red Lobster will feature an all-you-can-eat guppy fry. (Or maybe they can call sustainably farmed catfish something exotic, with macho appeal, like "Delta Jaguar Fish.")

I'd really love to see a law requiring restaurants to put "unsustainably fished" label on dubious menu choices.

Posted by: Stefan Jones on August 11, 2004 10:28 AM

I agree with you, sadly.

While I really appreciate this resource, the most disturbing thing about it is that even the fish and crustaceans that get the most positive ratings (and the ratings are all pretty detailed) seem to not be completely "guilt-free" eating.

Posted by: Emily Gertz on August 11, 2004 8:17 PM