Swordfish with Avocado Salsa
July 14th, 2010 · No Comments · Posted in dinner, Sustainability
Some swordfish is certified "sustainable"
We love to eat certain finfish and the oily ones are particularly good for you. The problem is that so few of them are left in the wild because of overfishing. But in June of this year, the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified as “sustainable” the harpoon fishery for swordfish in Canadian waters of the Atlantic.
In granting its certification, the MSC, based in England, stated:
“Fisheries targeting swordfish in the Atlantic Ocean are managed by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), which establishes an annual catch quota for all member countries involved in the Atlantic-wide fishery. Nationally, the Canadian quota of swordfish is managed by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and involves consultation with the fishing industry and stakeholders. The Canadian swordfish harpoon fishery occurs both within domestic waters and in international waters beyond the Canadian Extended Economic Zone.
“In Canada, the swordfish harpoon fleet receives 10 percent of the annual quota, which averaged approximately 130 metric tonnes in recent years; in addition, over the past few years the ITQ fleet has averaged 125 metric tonnes of swordfish landings from its longline quota that was caught using harpoons. More than 90 percent of the swordfish landed in this fishery is exported to U.S. fresh markets.”
Because of elevated levels of mercury, however, the Environmental Defense Fund recommends that men should only eat swordfish once a month, and that women and children should not eat it at all.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program lists swordfish caught with harpoon and/or handline in Canadian and U.S. waters, as well as in the waters off Hawaii, as an “excellent choice.” But Seafood Watch says consumers should avoid imported swordfish caught on longlines, which are notorious for killing a bycatch of other wildlife.
When I saw MSC-certified swordfish steaks at the fish counter at Whole Foods I grabbed some. I marinated the thick steaks in soy sauce and ginger and cooked them over coals on the grill. I tossed together some avocado, cherry tomatoes onion and a squirt of lime for a quick salsa. It was shockingly good, certainly a rare treat in our house.
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