What seafood are we eating and is it “sustainable”?

So what does sustainable actually mean and why is it important?

There are many available definitions for that word and what it means and there are almost as many disagreements about the whole thing.

All would agree that to be sustainable something has to be able to last into the future and be viable, efficient and economic.

When it comes to food another factor to consider is whether a sustainable food is also good for us, in other words how is it’s nutritional content.

Apparently more than 85 percent of the seafood caught in Australia can be considered to be sustainable but it may not all be the most nutritious.

A recent study in the journal, Frontiers in Nutrition has looked at the relationship between, socio-economic groups and their consumption of seafood in terms of sustainability and nutrition.

The findings are very interesting. The data used in the study was based on the latest Australian Health Survey.

In summary the study found that those in lower socio economic groups consume seafood which is both lower in nutrition and is less sustainable.

The reverse seems to apply to those in the higher socio economic groups with higher nutrition seafood consumed and these are also more sustainable.

The nutrition was measured by the estimated contribution of 100g of a given seafood to the average requirement of protein, omega 3, calcium, iodine, selenium and zinc.

Sustainability was measured based on stock status, resource use, habitat and ecosystem impacts, and health and disease management.