Guaranteeing a Future for the Finest Cold Water Seafood

The impact of selfish human actions on the environment continues to register any time you take a look at a newspaper. While the amount of objects and gadgets which are a part of everyday life multiplies, efforts to curb wasted energy remain futile. The prevalence of cell phones has led to an incredible amount of power consumption.

You can see it when you walk into a restaurant as well. Ask the maitre d' in your favorite restaurant what happened to your favorite fish, he may tell you it's no longer available or out of season. With some research, you can find out that its country of origin had no system in place for guaranteeing seafood species stocks and thus lost one of its national treasures.

Thankfully, one of the world's best sources of excellent seafood has very strict conservation laws in place: Alaska. For over fifty years, the methods used for sustainable fisheries has been guaranteeing seafood species stocks. That means a continuous supply of King Salmon, halibut, crab, scallops and shrimp have been reaching the consumer without fail and continue to delight the world.

The reason Alaska's conservation efforts have worked is because to their enforcement. Since conservation laws are in the state constitution, the government has the ability to track quotas and enforce a total amount of fish caught per species per season. While there may be loopholes in which commercial boats can operate, the government actually reserves the right to modify its number in the middle of the season. You won't see that kind of protection under any watchdog group -- even the United Nations' standards fall short of the Alaskan model.

In the height of fishing season, you'll see Alaskan state troopers patrolling the icy, seafood-abundant waters off the coast, looking for violators looking to manipulate quotas and exploit the season. While there is no way for the law enforcement agents to cover all the ground, scientists are actually roaming the sea as well and have the right to board commercial sea vessels to inspect cargo. If they see suspicious practices taking place, they can report to the Office for Law Enforcement for action. Without officials on the job, there is no way of guaranteeing seafood species stocks.

For great information on everything seafood, look to the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute. ASMI is the best resource on the web for tips on Alaska's ocean bounty.