Seafood certifications MSC, ASC, Seafood Watch

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certifies wild-capture fisheries, verifying both sustainable fishing practices (fishery impact) and a chain of custody that tracks seafood from a certified fishery through the supply chain to the final buyer. The Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) certifies farmed seafood, verifying responsible farm conditions (e.g., environmental and social standards) and also requires a chain of custody to ensure product integrity ^[2]. Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch is a consumer guide that rates seafood into three categories: “Best Choice” (well-managed, low environmental impact), “Good Alternative” (some concerns, but acceptable), and “Avoid” (highly unsustainable or harmful fishing/farming methods) ^[1].

Regarding Los Angeles restaurants that explicitly source MSC/ASC-certified seafood, the provided sources do not list any specific LA restaurants. The Seafood Watch PDF ^[1] is a general recommendation list for species, not a restaurant directory, and the MSC/ASC update ^[2] covers global certification statistics, not local sourcing. To answer this, a restaurant-specific source (e.g., MSC/ASC restaurant finders, local news, or restaurant menus) would be needed.

Seafood Watch’s ratings map to common restaurant species as follows (based on the February 2024 list ^[1]): - Best Choice examples: U.S. farmed clams, U.S. wild-caught Alaskan salmon (some gear types), U.S. farmed rainbow trout, Pacific sardines (U.S. wild-caught). - Good Alternative examples: U.S. wild-caught Gulf shrimp (some gear), U.S. farmed catfish, imported farmed salmon (some certifications), U.S. wild-caught Atlantic mackerel. - Avoid examples: Imported wild-caught shrimp (most sources), Atlantic cod (wild-caught, most gear), bluefin tuna (all sources), imported farmed salmon (non-certified, open-net pens), Chilean seabass (Patagonian toothfish, most sources).

Note: Ratings vary by species, origin, and fishing/farming method; the full list ^[1] provides detailed criteria for each entry.