The ChoiceCatch Project

The ChoiceCatch project enables TOPS to work proactively with the seafood industry to promote best environmental practices. The New England Aquarium has scientific staff that works on ocean

conservation projects. These experts take a look at what we are buying, and then give us recommendations to purchase seafood from fisheries and farms that are the best available options for the environment. We then take these purchasing recommendations and work with suppliers that can provide us with seafood that was caught or farmed in an environmentally responsible way. The goal is to inspire other fisheries and farms to improve their practices so that they are more environmentally responsible by increasing demand for ocean-friendly seafood.

There are many factors that determine what kind of impact seafood harvest has on the environment. The seafood that you eat either comes from wild fisheries or is a product of aquaculture, which means it was grown on a farm. The criteria that are used to determine the environmental impact of a fishery or farm are different and in the end, the New England Aquarium provides us with recommendations on which wild-caught and farm-raised seafood sources are the best choices for the health of the oceans.