Fresh take on fish

Monterey Bay Aquarium has made purchasing sustainable seafood a lot easier. The Seafood Watch program lists the best species to purchase and which ones to avoid altogether. You, the consumer, can make a difference by only purchasing seafood on its “best choices” category.

Regional pocket-sized guides that contain the latest information can be downloaded at www.montereybayaquarium.org from the Seafood Watch link. Here are just a few of the best and worst choices listed on the West Coast guide:

Buy it:
Black rockfish (from California, Oregon and Washington)
Dungeness crab
Pacific cod (Alaska longline)
Pacific halibut
Salmon (wild-caught Alaska)
Spiny lobster (U.S. trap-caught)
Spot prawn (British Columbia)
Striped bass (farmed)
White seabass

Avoid it:
Atlantic cod
Bluefin tuna
Caviar (from wild-caught fish)
Chilean seabass
Halibut (California set gillnet)
Mahi mahi (imported longline)
Monkfish
Orange roughy
Shark