To: National Desk

Contact: Ken Peterson of Monterey Bay Aquarium, 831-648-4922 or kpeterson@mbayaq.org

MONTEREY, Calif., Nov. 2 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Monterey Bay Aquarium seafood experts said today that consumers and businesses have a dramatic new reason to choose seafood that comes only from sustainable sources: a newly published study in the journal Science warning that the world's wild-caught seafood fisheries could collapse by 2050.

The alert from Seafood Watch comes in response to publication of the paper by an international group of ecologists and economists who forecast dire consequences if current commercial fishing patterns continue.

"Unless we fundamentally change the way we manage all the oceans species together, as working ecosystems, then this century is the last century of wild seafood," says Dr. Steven Palumbi of Stanford University, a co-author of the Science paper.

"These dramatic findings suggest we need to find new ways to restore healthy fisheries and safeguard our seafood supply," said Michael Sutton, vice president and director for the Center for the Future of the Oceans at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. "It's imperative that consumers and businesses alike use their buying power to expand the market for seafood from sustainable sources."

"Much of the seafood on the market today is caught or farmed in ways that are not sustainable over the long term," said Jennifer Dianto, senior manager of the aquarium's Seafood Watch program. "The only way we can keep seafood in our diet is by making choices that preserve the abundance of wild fish populations, protect the habitats that support productive fishing grounds, and encourage environmentally responsible fish farming."

Since 1999, the aquarium's Seafood Watch program has released consumer pocket guides that help consumers choose seafood that is caught or farmed in sustainable ways. It has distributed more than 8 million pocket guides nationwide, and collaborates with more than 100 partners to distribute pocket guides and promote sustainable seafood.

The aquarium also works with major seafood buyers to help shift their purchases to sustainable seafood items. In the last year, companies including retailing giant Wal-Mart and Compass Group North America, the largest contract food service company in the western hemisphere, have announced plans to buy only seafood from sustainable sources.

Seafood Watch fisheries researchers evaluate the most popular seafood items on the market and make consumer recommendations that each item is either a "Best Choice," "Good Alternative" or a species to "Avoid" based on whether it is caught or farmed in a sustainable manner.

More information about Seafood Watch, Seafood Watch partners and printable pocket guides are available at http://www.seafoodwatch.org. Information about the Science study can be found online at http://www.eurekalert.org/pubnews.php.

The mission of the Monterey Bay Aquarium is to inspire conservation of the oceans.

Note to editors: Michael Sutton is available for interviews on Thursday; 831-402-3650.

http://www.usnewswire.com/

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/© 2006 U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/

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