BEST SEAFOOD CHOICES FOR 2004

Seafood Choices Alliance
1731 Connecticut Avenue NW
Suite 450
Washington, DC 20009
866/SEA MORE
202/483 3518 fax

For Immediate Release:
March 9, 2004

CONTACT: Stephanie Crane, Seafood Choices Alliance
914/793 9400 or scrane@seafoodchoices.com

’ÄúBest Seafood Choices for 2004’Äù Announced

Boston Celebrates Ocean-Friendly Seafood From ’ÄúChowdah’Äù to American Caviars

(Boston, Mass.) March 9 ’Äì For the first time, Seafood Choices Alliance ’Äì an association of over 1,800 food professionals ’Äì unveils the nation’Äôs very best seafood choices, in terms of both taste and environmental impacts. The nation’Äôs Ten Best Seafood Choices for 2004 are:

Wild Alaska and California Salmon,
American Caviars, farmed
Atlantic Mackerel
Catfish, U.S. farmed
Dungeness and Stone Crabs
Pacific Halibut
Rainbow Trout, farmed
Sablefish, aka Black Cod
Clams, Mussels and Oysters, farmed
And regionally, make a local best choice:
Nantucket Bay Scallops
California Abalone, farmed
Southern Crawfish
Florida Mahi-mahi, troll-caught
South Carolina Wreckfish

The Five Worst Choices for 2004 are:

Beluga Caviar ’Äì Better Choice: Farmed American Caviars
Chilean Sea Bass ’Äì Better Choice: Sablefish, aka Black Cod
Farmed Atlantic Salmon ’Äì Better Choice: Wild Alaska or California Salmon
Orange Roughy ’Äì Better Choice: Hoki
Imported Farmed Shrimp ’Äì Better Choice: Trap-Caught Spot Prawns or Northern Pink Shrimp

’ÄúWhen it comes to seafood, we have a choice, and when consumers choose ocean-friendly seafood, everybody wins,’Äù says Vikki Spruill, president of SeaWeb and founder of Seafood Choices Alliance. ¬Ý

’ÄúWith the Ten Best Seafood Choices for 2004, consumers can indulge guilt-free,’Äù adds Susan Boa, program manager of Seafood Choices Alliance. According to a recent poll by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, 60% of Americans say they would eat less of certain kinds of fish to help protect ocean and coastal resources. ’ÄúWe created Boston’Äôs Best Seafood Choices to draw attention to the positive ’Äì there are plenty of choices that are good for the ocean and taste great, too.’Äù ¬Ý

For the second straight year, members of the Seafood Choices Alliance bring ocean conservation to the city’Äôs tables with Boston’Äôs Best Seafood Choices (March 9-16). Conservation partners and over 40 restaurants ’Äì including ¬Ý

Icarus, Great Bay, Blackfin Chop House & Raw Bar, Legal Sea Foods, Oleana, Rialto, and Hamersley’Äôs Bistro ’Äì will tout ocean-friendly seafood choices throughout the week leading up to the annual Boston Seafood Show. ¬Ý

’ÄúChefs, seafood vendors, and consumers have an opportunity to help fix the damage we’Äôve inflicted upon our oceans,’Äù agrees Chef Brad Ozerdem, of Avenue One at the Hyatt Regency Boston and participant in Boston’Äôs Best Seafood Choices. ’ÄúBecause of the efforts of many, striped bass and haddock are making strong comebacks. If we continue to make the right choices, our oceans will be healthier, our fisheries will prosper, and we will ultimately have the finest of choices in seafood.’Äù ¬Ý

Boston’Äôs Best Seafood Choices is part of the City’Äôs Best Seafood Choices program, the first partnership between conservation organizations and restaurants promoting ocean-friendly seafood. Partners in Boston’Äôs Best Seafood Choices (March 9-16) include Seafood Choices Alliance, the New England Aquarium, Environmental Defense, Chefs Collaborative, National Environmental Trust, Conservation Law Foundation, Marine Stewardship Council, EcoFish Inc., and over 40 restaurants. Participants support ocean-friendly seafood year-round by subscribing to Seafood Choices Alliance. Successful City’Äôs Best events have been held in Boston, New York, and Los Angeles ’Äì look for additional cities to join in 2004.

To arrange for interviews, call Stephanie Crane at 914/793 9400. And visit Seafood Choices for more information.

Seafood Choices Alliance is a national association of conservation organizations and 1,800 professionals from the seafood sector, working to influence the seafood industry and government regulators in favor of better conservation of our ocean resources. Seafood Choices Alliance brings ocean conservation to the table by working with the seafood sector ’Äî chefs, purveyors, fishermen, distributors and others ’Äî to make the best informed decisions and provide the best options to their customers.