Enviros are launching campaigns to help seafood eaters know which species they ought to avoid and which they can devour without too much guilt. The Natural Resources Defense Council and SeaWeb mounted a successful push last year against the consumption of swordfish because of its declining populations; many restaurants responded by dropping swordfish from their menus, and market prices for the fish fell. The Monterey Bay Aquarium last month released a seafood guide that advises against eating 15 species, including cod, American lobster, shark, and prawns, and lists 11 species that it calls best choices. The National Audubon Society has launched a similar campaign, and the Environmental Defense Fund is planning one of its own. By some estimates, more than two-thirds of all commercially important fish populations are now classified as “fully fished” or “overexploited.”
