Green Options » catfish

Save the Catfish: A Good Reason Not to Litter

Allison Boyer — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 23:52:58 +0000

Need a reason not to litter? How about this: just one piece of trash can create a life-threatening problem for wildlife. From JeffBridges.com:

Bill Driver, who lives in Wichita, KS, saw a ball bouncing around kind of strange in the lake and went to investigate.

It turned out to be a flathead catfish who had obviously tried to swallow a basketball which became stuck in its mouth!!

The fish was totally exhausted from trying to dive, but unable to because the ball would always bring him back up to the surface.

You can read more of the story, as well as see pictures of the poor critter, here.

Eventually, the catfish was saved, but it never would have happened had their not been junk in its lake in the first place. So remember - don’t litter! Oh, and keep your eyes out for mysterious bouncing balls found in lakes. You may be able to save a fish too.

Picture via Flickr.

Ultrasound Cleans Polluted Water, Makes Catfish Tastier

Tina Casey — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 11:25:35 +0000

One solution to the world’s water pollution problems could be something you can’t taste, touch, see, smell, or hear. Especially hear. Ultrasound, the range of frequencies beyond the limits of human hearing, is starting to emerge as an effective water treatment that is more sustainable than chemical dosing. Researchers are discovering that ultrasound performs well on algae, and that’s only the beginning. Ultrasound can remove a variety of pollutants in water, including those that affect the taste of America’s favorite fish, the catfish.

How to Find the Most Sustainable and Environmentally Friendly Fish for Your Dinner Table

John Chappell — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 23:17:09 +0000

Concerned about how sustainable the fish is that you’re eating for dinner? Do you think that the farm raised option is always the best choice for seafood?

There are varieties of fish that have fewer chemicals or are from highly managed wild populations that are more sustainable than others. To make the selection of fish easier, the Monterrey Bay Aquarium (ironically an organization dedicated to protecting the same creatures it’s helping you decide to eat) has developed a website that details dozens of different varieties of fish, mussels, and shrimp and states which is the best environmental choice, which is the best alternative, and which ones to avoid.

Environmental Defense Fund: Fish Fraud - How to Spot It at a Restaurant or Market

edfblog — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 21:59:53 +0000

This post is by Environmental Defense Fund scientist Tim Fitzgerald.

The recent The New York Times story about two high school students who did DNA testing on fish shines a light once again on one of the seafood industry’s dirty little secrets — fish fraud. They found that one fourth of 60 samples of seafood taken in New York City restaurants and seafood markets were mislabeled.

But with lax FDA regulations and virtually no enforcement, the practice is more common than one would hope. In recent years, there have been numerous reports of fraud occurring around the country. Three years ago, a Times investigation also found that fish sold as wild Alaskan salmon by high-end New York City markets was mostly cheaper farm-raised salmon, selling for as much as $29 a pound. (See my previous post Plenty of Safe, Eco-Friendly Fish in the Sea.)

The U.S. Food Drug and Drug Administration, which oversees the safety of our seafood supply, defines fraud as the substitution of a less expensive fish for a more expensive kind, for example, tilapia for red snapper, farmed salmon for wild from Alaska, or basa or tra (Vietnamese catfish) for grouper.

Checklist: How to spot fish fraud

Being informed and knowing your seafood is the best way to arm yourself against fraud. Some things that should raise red flags are: