Image via Smart Catch
Image via Smart Catch

With ocean fish populations on the serious decline, it’s tough to figure out if you are eating responsibly or are basically the enemy of the sea.

Now, seafood lovers have another tool to help them make better choices — thanks in part to Paul Allen.

A lover of the ocean and marine life — just today Allen announced another program to track and study sharks — the Smart Catch system will assess restaurant’s menus and allow them to post the Smart Catch logo if they are working toward serving at least “90 percent volume compliance with no unacceptable items.” Restaurants are reassessed about every six months.

According to Smart Catch’s site, the program was created with chefs for chefs so they can better identify where their fish comes from and share that info with patrons. Smart Catch uses info from the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch or the NOAA Fisheries Fish Stock Sustainability Index (FSSI) to make its recommendations. Fish are ranked on a scale of 0-4, 4 being the most recommended or considered a “green” fish. Bad fish are considered gray (not enough is known to determine a rating) or red (avoid).

Smart Catch’s goal is to work with restaurants to “reduce all red-listed items and species with an FSSI score of less than 20 percent,” reduce all gray, and offer at least one green item at all times.

Already, several Seattle-area restaurants are signed up, including Brave Horse Tavern, Chandler’s Crabhouse, Ray’s Boathouse, Seattle Aquarium Cafe and the Walrus and the Carpenter. They will be rolling out a special event at the Olympic Sculpture Park that will be announced soon, so stay tuned.

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