Welcome to Sustainable Fisheries UW.
Operating out of the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences at the University of Washington, we provide science-based insights on fisheries, seafood, and ocean conservation.
Whether you’re a researcher, policymaker, or seafood lover, you’re in the right place. This page is a quick reference library of some of our best coverage on specific topics in fisheries.
We have hundreds of articles addressing several topics—if you are looking for more resources beyond what is listed below, get in touch and we can put you on to more.
Various ways to use this website:
Want to keep up with new stories and analysis?
Subscribe to our newsletter. We post most things on our website, but some opinion pieces and more sensitive analysis only goes to our newsletter subscribers (it is free and infrequent).
Brand new to sustainable fisheries?
Start with Sustainable Seafood 101, a series of posts that explains the basics of fishery science. Written at a high school / undergraduate level.
Interested in seafood choices?
Read our guide to buying sustainable seafood at the grocery store. We have in-depth guides to shrimp and tuna as well.
Looking for the latest research?
Scroll through our main page, or search a topic in the search bar at the top of the page. Subscribe to our newsletter for updates and analysis you won’t find on our website.
Are you a scientist?
If you’d like to communicate your research or viewpoint to our audience, consider contacting us. We’d be happy to work with you on your own post or editorial.
Do you work for an NGO?
Use our stories and analysis to inform your advocacy work and keep up with the latest science. We encourage you to subscribe to our newsletter and send to your colleagues.
Feel free to contact us as well.
Are you in the seafood industry?
Use our website to educate employees, inform policy change, and keep up with the latest science. We encourage you to subscribe to our newsletter and send to your colleagues.
Feel free to contact us as well.
Are you a journalist?
Part of why we exist is to help journalists and other members of the media with their reporting. Do you need to speak to a fishery expert for a story? Need a comment or an interview? Get in touch with us here; we are happy to use our extensive network to put you in touch with the right person.
Want fishery scientists to fact-check a story or post? We’d be happy to! Reach out with any questions or requests.
Looking for information on specific topics?
Below is a breakdown of our top articles across several themes in seafood and fishery sustainability.
Fishery science
Seafood, like all food, has environmental costs and impacts. We often report on data and science that examines seafood impacts and compare it to the impacts of terrestrial food production.
The Environmental Impact of Food & Seafood
How does the environmental impact of seafood compare to terrestrial food production? In this post, we explain the impacts associated with both.
What is the Global Footprint of Fishing?
Scientists are getting closer to figuring out how much of the world’s ocean is fished, but discrepancies in the scale and interpretation of data are producing wildly different answers with contrasting conservation implications.
Eating Plants & Seafood
Conscious eating can and should include several different kinds of food. A plant-based diet has lower impact relative to a standard diet that includes lots of animal protein, but a diet that includes fish can have as low, or even lower impact.
A closer look at the environmental costs of food
A new paper compares and quantifies the environmental impacts of different foods, an important step for improving agricultural policy and empowering consumer choice.
Fishery management is implemented by a government or regulatory body. It dictates the rules and regulations that allow fishermen and women to harvest seafood. Effective fishery management is the most important pillar of sustainable seafood.
Fish populations around the world are improving
A cornerstone paper assembling data from around the world shows that fish populations, representing half of seafood, are improving. Fishery management works.
Ocean Optimism?
New research says we have the policy blueprints to rebuild marine life by 2050. Decarbonization needs to happen quickly, though.
Having our fish and eating it too: Maximizing food production and biodiversity using good management
A new paper describes how regulating specific kinds of fishing in particular areas is extremely effective at preserving biodiversity while also producing food.
Fishery management is composed of small, concrete actions—which ones are best?
New research suggests a swiss-cheese model for sustainable fishery management, along with rebuilding plans.
Fishery status, a snapshot look at if a fishery is sustainable or not, has been a common way to classify stocks. For example, “overfished” is a status with calculated thresholds. We cover all aspects of fishery status, including why status is no longer a good way to talk about fisheries–increasingly fisheries are classified as “overfished” due to environmental changes like climate change.
How many Fisheries are Overfished?
According to the U.N., 78.7% of fish come from a sustainable fishery. Of all monitored fisheries, 66% are sustainable, while 34% are overfished.
Overfished, overfishing, and rebuilding stocks
How does a fishery become unsustainable? How do we rebuild an overexploited fishery? In this post we explain overfished, overfishing, and rebuilding stocks.
What will Fisheries be like in 2048?
No scientist would support the assertion that all fish stocks will be collapsed by 2048. There are threats, however.
Hot topics in marine conservation
Marine protected areas (MPAs) are extremely popular with NGOs and politicians. Getting an MPA established looks good on a resume of accomplishments, but they don’t function quite like protected areas on land. Scientists are split on their efficacy. In coastal areas with sensitive habitat, they are effective, but MPAs to restrict fishing often just move fishing to other areas.
Do large MPAs benefit tuna and fishermen via spillover?
Medoff et al. 2022 claims that the largest MPA in the U.S. benefited both tuna populations and fishermen via spillover. However, the science does not stand up to careful scrutiny and we doubt their results.
Marine protected areas don’t help tuna, new paper shows
Researchers find that the Phoenix Islands Protected Area did not meaningfully boost tuna populations.
Retraction of flawed MPA study implicates larger problems in MPA science
A recent retraction in a high-profile journal raises questions about predicting the impacts of marine protected areas.
MPAs will suffer, along with the rest of the ocean, as the planet warms
A new paper mapped the effects of future emissions on marine protected areas (MPAs) around the world. The results were unsurprising—climate change threatens every MPA (and indeed every part of the ocean), with a range of impacts.
Bottom trawling is the most controversial type of fishing. It provides 26% of wild-caught seafood, but, when not managed well, has the potential to be destructive. Bottom Trawling Sustainability 101 gives a great overview.
Bottom Trawling Sustainability 101
Everything you need to know about the science of bottom trawling and its impacts.
New review shows bottom trawling is sustainable (when well-managed)
Seafood from bottom trawling can have a lower impact than other types of animal protein–especially when it comes from a well-managed fishery.
The global impact of bottom trawling visualized with data
A new paper with a cool map shows the impact of bottom trawling around the world.
How are benthic invertebrates impacted by bottom trawling?
Bottom trawling has destructive potential, but new research shows impacts can be limited with sound science and management.
Fishing has several relationships to carbon emissions. On one hand, seafood varies greatly in its carbon impacts. Some species are some of the most carbon-friendly foods to eat on the planet, others compare to beef! On the other hand, an emerging issue in fisheries and conservation is how bottom trawling impacts the carbon cycle on the seafloor. A big paper, Sala et al. 2021, made some bold claims that have mostly been disproven. We’ve covered the science of bottom trawling and carbon extensively.
Third critique of Sala et al. 2021 published by Nature
Yet another critique of the poor science in Sala et al. 2021 – the most covered fisheries research of the last decade.
Officially bogus: Bottom trawling does not release as much carbon as airline travel
Remember the headlines claiming fishing released as much carbon as airline travel? Those claims are Officially Bogus with the release of a new paper.
The climate change impacts of nutrition
How does climate change impact and nutrition factor into your daily food choices? A new study from Sweden will help you make better choices.
Climate change is the largest threat to ocean life
New research shows that local populations of ocean animals are more vulnerable to global warming-induced extinction than terrestrial animals.
Despite significant improvements, bycatch, or unwanted catch, remains an issue in many fisheries. Improving fishing gear to be more selective is one solution, so is creating new markets to turn “unwanted” fish into food and profits.
What kind of MPAs are most effective to reduce bycatch?
A new paper compares bycatch outcomes under contrasting protected area management. How does 30×30 stack up?
Sea turtle bycatch will be worse due to lawsuit in California swordfish fishery
Fears of sea turtle bycatch off California prompted a lawsuit to shut down the swordfish fishery. However, the fishery may actually prevent bycatch.
Wasted Fish – What to Make of Recent Data Showing 10% of Fish are Discarded at Sea?
A paper published last week titled, Global marine fisheries discards: A synthesis of reconstructed data, concludes that commercial fishermen have thrown away (discarded) about 10%
Issues in seafood consumption
Seafood is a crucial part of the global food system. These topics explore seafood’s current and future role in healthy diets for a growing world population.
The future of food from the sea, explained
In 2050, Earth will need a lot more food to feed 2 billion more people. A landmark study calculates how much the ocean can supply sustainably.
Seafood consumption statistics in the U.S. (pre-pandemic)
A new paper reports the most accurate statistics on seafood consumption in the U.S. The pandemic has changed things, however.
Pregnant mothers and children should eat seafood
New research shows strong evidence that eating seafood boosts IQ by an average of 7.7 points in children whose mothers ate seafood during pregnancy.
How much U.S. Seafood is Imported?
Misleading seafood deficit statistics have played a central role in Trump’s trade war. 35-38% of seafood consumed in the U.S. is produced domestically.
Every few months some local news channel puts out a fear-mongering story about how “the fish you’re eating isn’t whats on the label!” or something like that. Seafood fraud is a serious concern, but the way the issue is portrayed in the media is problematic.
The Irony of Oceana’s Seafood Fraud Campaign
Oceana’s seafood fraud campaign is based on poor science that misleads the public, stokes consumer fear, and hurts fishermen, mongers, and chefs.
8% of seafood is mislabeled
The latest science estimates 8% of seafood is mislabeled around the world. Read about the study that led to the updated figure here.
The sustainability implications of mislabeled fish in the U.S.
New research connects sustainability implications to seafood fraud. This the first empirical study of its kind.
Legacy media and social media have not been kind to seafood. Punching down and fear-mongering drives clicks and engagement, but is fundamentally dishonest. Here are some of out responses to poor media coverage of fisheries and seafood.
Fact-checking George Monbiot’s ‘Stop eating fish’ opinion in The Guardian
George Monbiot’s latest opinion piece in The Guardian is full of inaccuracies. We decided to fact check the piece to clear up any misinformation.
From fishery science to fake news: how ocean misinformation evolves
How does fishery science go from hard data to misconstrued, clickbait headlines? The spread of misinformation is troubling.
Ethics, impact, and nutrition: A critical review of plant-based meat
Plant-based meat is all the rage, but it needs a critical review if it is going to realize the benefits touted by its brands.
