Megan Westmeyer's posts

20 Mar 2010 2:04 AM

Why we shouldn’t bury bluefin tuna just yet

The mighty bluefin: Are rumors of its death at least slightly exaggerated? "Nations free to fish bluefin tuna to extinction," thundered Tom Laskawy's headline on Grist. On the Politics of the Plate blog, Barry Estabrook's title was more concise: "Bye-bye bluefin." They were reacting to the decision by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) not to ban trade in Atlantic bluefin tuna, a highly overfished species prized in Japan. Slow down, everyone: don't go into mourning for this iconic fish just yet. Even if the CITES ban had been approved, we can't be certain the situation was …

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Megan Westmeyer

Megan Westmeyer has led the South Carolina Aquariumâ€™s Sustainable Seafood Initiative since 2004. The Initiative helps ensure that consumers have fish for the future by teaching partner chefs about sustainable and local seafood, assessing their menus, and encouraging consumers to dine at partner restaurants. Westmeyer helps chefs learn about sustainable seafood by translating technical fishery information to a concise format usable by the culinary industry.

Westmeyer holds a M.S. in Oceanography and Coastal Sciences from Louisiana State University and a B.S. in Marine Science from the University of South Carolina. She currently serves on the Board of Overseers of Chefs Collaborative, the Board of Directors of the South Carolina Seafood Alliance, and is a member of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council Shrimp Advisory Panel.