From albacore tuna to porgy, finding sustainable fish : Short Wave Roughly 196 million tons of fish were harvested in 2020, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The organization also notes that the number of overfished stocks worldwide has tripled in the last century. All of this overfishing has led to the decline of entire species, like Atlantic cod.

Enter the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch. It and other free guides give consumers an overview of the world of fish and seafood, helping people to figure out the most sustainable fish available to them. With the help of Life Kit's Clare Marie Schneider, we figure out how to make informed decisions about what we eating – whether that's at a restaurant or the local supermarket.

Check out more from Life Kit on sustainable seafood.

Have questions or comments for us to consider for a future episode? Email us at [email protected] — we'd love to hear from you!

A previous version of this episode incorrectly stated that there are native wild salmon in Chile. Salmon are not native to Chile.

This Earth Day, how to know if the seafood you're eating is sustainable

This Earth Day, how to know if the seafood you're eating is sustainable

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Catherine Falls Commercial/Getty Images
Top down image of four salmon darns on a white long oval serving ceramic plate on a wooden table. It rests on a bed of samphire. Lemon slices garnish the fish.
Catherine Falls Commercial/Getty Images

Roughly 196 million tons of fish were harvested in 2020, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The organization also notes that the number of overfished stocks worldwide has tripled in the last century. All of this overfishing has led to the decline of entire species, like Atlantic cod.

Enter the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch.

Seafood Watch and other initiatives offer free guides that give consumers an overview of the world of fish and seafood, helping people to figure out the most sustainable fish available to them. With the help of Life Kit's Clare Marie Schneider, we figure out how to make informed decisions about what we eating – whether that's at a restaurant or the local supermarket.

Have questions or comments for us to consider for a future episode? Email us at [email protected] — we'd love to hear from you!

Listen to Short Wave on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.

Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.

This episode was produced by Clare Marie Schneider. It was edited by Rebecca Ramirez. Rebecca and Clare Marie checked the facts. The audio engineers were Becky Brown and Maggie Luthar.

Correction April 29, 2024

A previous version of this episode incorrectly stated that there are native wild salmon in Chile. Salmon are not native to Chile.