By John Chappell •
October 29, 2009
Finding sustainable sources of seafood is becoming increasingly difficult. Should you buy farmed or wild caught? And what are the most sustainable choices? I’ve talked about sustainable seafood before, and since shrimp is the most commonly consumed seafood in the United States, you might want to have a bit more information about that shrimp cocktail you’re about to eat.
Did you know Americans ate 1.2 Billion pounds of shrimp in 2007, an average of 4.1 pounds of shrimp per person (figures here)? This figure is actually a decline from the previous year, in 2006, when the average American ate 4.4 pounds of shrimp. Now if you consider that 85% of shrimp consumed in the US is imported, and since wild caught shrimp are rarer than ever as fisheries are depleted, there’s a good chance that the shrimp you just ate were farmed and imported to the US.
By Nick Chambers •
July 29, 2009
In a study to be published in August, Chinese researchers have found that waste shrimp shells can be converted into a material that makes biodiesel production faster, cheaper and more environmentally-friendly.
By Lisa Wojnovich •
May 13, 2009
Scientists have been warning us that global warming may severely threaten the survival of marine populations for several years now. But in a new study, published in Science this past Friday, they may have just found the ocean’s equivalent of the canary in the coal mine when it comes to fluctuating ocean temperatures. There’s just one little problem. This canary is worth $500 million.
By Jake Richardson •
March 23, 2009
The Australian Marine Conservation Society is holding an Ebay auction to name a newly discovered species of deepwater shrimp.
Proceeds from the auction will go towards their marine conservation efforts. The auction will be open until March 31st.
By Kira Marchenese •
October 31, 2007
This post is by Leslie Valentine, Online Writer and Editor at Environmental Defense.
1
Rank of shrimp in popularity among all types of seafood Americans eat
4.4
Pounds of shrimp the average American consumed in 2006
10%
Share of shrimp sold in the U.S. that comes from the Southeast U.S. (Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean), where fisheries and farms are held to stricter standards
90%
Share of shrimp sold in the U.S. that comes largely from Southeast Asia
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In my first exploration of the issue of by-catch in commercial fishing, I looked at the devastating effects of fishing not simply for the "target" species, but on those animals who are unlucky enough to be caught in the lines, traps, hooks, and nets not meant for them. In this second part, I further explore this issue and take a look at how the dolphins, sea turtles, and seals - animals for whom
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According to the USDA's annual statistics survey, 10 billion animals are killed for human consumption every year in the United States. (Worldwide, I believe it’s 45 billion.) However, it is more accurate to say that “10 billion land animals are killed for human consumption every year"; otherwise, we’re disregarding the billions of aquatic animals killed for the same purpose – to satisfy human appetites. Although the number of aquatic animals killed for consumption in
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