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Publisher's Note

Welcome to The Seafood Monitor, an online newsletter offering independent analysis and commentary on seafood, with emphasis on issues of supply, sustainability, and safety. Think of The Seafood Monitor as your own seafood consultant, out there researching seafood issues for you and making regular reports and recommendations. It's an information tool you can use to

make better choices in the products you sell and serve;
educate your staff, to help them understand and stand behind your choices; and
articulate those choices to an increasingly concerned public.

What does "independent analysis and commentary" mean?

"Independent" means the publication is without advertising and without affiliation. Basically, it means we are working for you, the reader, not for any commercial interest or advocacy organization.

"Analysis" means looking deeper into the evidence behind published positions on the issues, including examining the original sources quoted (and often re-quoted again and again). Who did the studies, and when? Have they undergone professional scrutiny or peer review? Are they supported by more recent studies? Have conflicting studies been considered?

"Commentary" can take many forms. When the evidence clearly supports one position or another, that’s what we will recommend. When the issues are less cut and dried, and your choice depends on the weight you give different factors, we lay out the arguments for you to decide. When we think someone is using false or misleading arguments, we say so. Where more research is needed, we say so.

We-hold-these-Truths-to-be-self-evident department:

As long as we are asking you to read this publication, we might as well lay out the personal beliefs that guide our own decisions about food, and that form the basis of the inquiries reflected in the newsletter.

We believe:

that we are all in this business because we get a deep personal satisfaction from the pleasure inherent in the daily act of feeding ourselves and one another;
that we want to serve the best possible meals we can, featuring the best ingredients we can obtain;
that we share an obligation to the future, not to consume more of the Earth's resources than it can regenerate;
that there are rarely perfect choices, but there are almost always better choices to be made.

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This is not intended to be a one-way flow of information and opinions. We welcome responses from readers, industry, and other stakeholders, as well as suggestions for future article topics. Click here to send your thoughts, or see the Contacts link above.