2022 Seafood Watch Updates

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Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch uses science-based information to evaluate the most common items available in the North American seafood market against environmental sustainability criteria. Recommendations are updated at least once every three years or as soon as new information is made available, and recommendation updates are released once a month.

December

Species Name	Origin	Method	Old SFW Rating	New SFW Rating
Atlantic Salmon	Faroe Islands	Marine Net Pens
Rainbow Trout	Chile (Region X - Los Lagos)	Marine Net Pens
	Chile (Region XI - Aysén)	Marine Net Pens
	Chile (Region XII - Magallanes)	Marine Net Pens
Swordfish	USA - East Central Atlantic	Buoy Gear

November

Species Name	Origin	Method	Old SFW Rating	New SFW Rating
Big Blue Octopus	Indonesia - Indian Ocean	Hand Implements
		Harpoon
		Traps

October

Species Name	Origin	Method	Old SFW Rating	New SFW Rating
Scup	USA - Mid-Atlantic	Bottom Trawl
Scup	USA - New England	Bottom Trawl
Swordfish	USA - California	Buoy gear
Swordfish		Harpoons

September

Species Name	Origin	Method	Old SFW Rating	New SFW Rating
American Lobster	Canada - Bay of Fundy	Pots
	Canada - Atlantic (Lobster Fishing Area 33)	Pots
	Canada - Atlantic (Offshore Lobster Fishing Area 41)	Pots
	Canada - Atlantic (Lobster Fishing Areas 27-32)	Pots
	Canada - Newfoundland & Labrador	Pots
	Canada - Quebec North Shore and Anticosti Island	Pots
	Canada - Gulf of St. Lawrence (South)	Pots
	Canada - Nova Scotia (Southwest)	Pots
	Canada - Gaspe Peninsula	Pots
	Canada - Magdalen Islands	Pots
	USA - Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank	Pots
	USA - New England (South)	Pots
American Plaice	USA - New England	Bottom Trawl
Atlantic Cod	USA - Georges Bank	Bottom Trawl
		Handlines and hand-operated pole and lines
		Set Gillnet
		Set Longline
	USA - Gulf of Maine	Bottom Trawl
		Handlines and hand-operated pole and lines
		Set Gillnet
		Set Longline
Atlantic Croaker	USA - Northwest Atlantic	Bottom Trawl
	USA - Northwest Atlantic	Beach Seine
	USA - Northwest Atlantic (Coastal/Offshore Fishery)	Set Gillnet
	USA - Northwest Atlantic (Inshore/North of Cape Hatteras Fishery)	Set Gillnet
	USA - Northwest Atlantic (Inshore/South of Cape Hatteras Fishery)	Set Gillnet
	USA - Northwest Atlantic (North of Cape Hatteras Fishery)	Stationary Uncovered Pound Net
	USA - Northwest Atlantic (South of Cape Hatteras Fishery)	Stationary Uncovered Pound Net
Atlantic Halibut	USA - New England	Bottom Trawl
Atlantic Rock Crab	Canada - Quebec Gulf and Northern Gulf of St. Lawrence	Pots
	Canada - Gulf of St. Lawrence (South)	Pots
	USA - Connecticut	Pots
	USA - Maryland	Pots
	USA - New Jersey	Pots
	USA - Rhode Island	Pots
	USA - Massachusetts	Pots
	USA - Maine	Pots
	USA - New Hampshire	Pots
	USA - New York	Pots
	USA - Virginia	Pots
Black Sea Bass	USA - Florida (Gulf of Mexico)	Pots
	USA - Northwest Atlantic	Bottom Trawl
		Handline
		Pots
Blackback Flounder	USA - Georges Bank	Bottom Trawl
	USA - Gulf of Maine	Bottom Trawl
	USA - Gulf of Maine	Set Gillnet
	USA - Mid-Atlantic	Bottom Trawl
	USA - New England	Bottom Trawl
Bluefish	USA - Northwest Atlantic	Bottom Trawl
		Handlines and hand-operated pole and lines
		Set Gillnet
Goosefish	USA - Northwest Atlantic (MAFMC)	Set Gillnet
Goosefish	USA - Northwest Atlantic (NEFMC)	Bottom Trawl
Haddock	USA - Georges Bank	Bottom Trawl
		Handlines and hand-operated pole and lines
		Set Longline
	USA - Gulf of Maine	Bottom Trawl
		Handlines and hand-operated pole and lines
		Set Longline
Jonah Crab	Canada - Maritimes & Bay of Fundy	Pots
	Canada - Maritimes & Gulf of Maine	Pots
	USA - Connecticut	Pots
	USA - Maryland	Pots
	USA - New Jersey	Pots
	USA - Rhode Island	Pots
	USA - Maine	Pots
	USA - Massachusetts	Pots
	USA - New Hampshire	Pots
	USA - New York	Pots
	USA - Virginia	Pots
Pollock	USA - Georges Bank	Bottom Trawl
		Handlines and hand-operated pole and lines
		Set Gillnet
	USA - Gulf of Maine	Bottom Trawl
		Handlines and hand-operated pole and lines
		Set Gillnet
Snow Crab	Canada - Maritimes	Pots
	Canada - Gulf of St. Lawrence (South)	Pots
	Canada - Newfoundland & Labrador	Pots
	Canada - Gulf of St. Lawrence (North)	Pots
Summer Flounder	USA - Northwest Atlantic	Barriers, fences, weirs, corrals
		Handlines and hand-operated pole and lines
		Set Gillnet
	USA - Mid-Atlantic	Bottom Trawl
	USA - New England	Bottom Trawl
White Hake	USA - Northwest Atlantic	Large Mesh Bottom Trawl
		Set Gillnet
		Set Longline
Whiteleg Shrimp	USA	Ponds
Whiteleg Shrimp	USA	Indoor Flowthrough Raceway
Winter Skate	USA - Northwest Atlantic	Bottom Trawl
Winter Skate	USA - Northwest Atlantic	Set Gillnet
Witch Flounder	USA - Mid-Atlantic	Bottom Trawl
Witch Flounder	USA - New England	Bottom Trawl
Yellowtail Flounder	USA - Cape Cod & Gulf of Maine	Bottom Trawl
	USA - Georges Bank	Bottom Trawl
	USA - Mid-Atlantic	Bottom Trawl
	USA - New England	Bottom Trawl
	USA - New England	Set Gillnet

August

Species Name	Origin	Method	Old SFW Rating	New SFW Rating
Abalone spp.	Worldwide	Enclosed Bottom Closure
		Indoor Flowthrough Tank
		Off-Bottom Culture
		Outdoor Flowthrough Tank
		Open Bottom Culture
Antarctic Butterfish	New Zealand (BNS1)	Bottom Trawl
		Midwater Trawl
		Set Longline
	New Zealand (BNS2)	Bottom Trawl
		Midwater Trawl
		Set Longline
Atlantic Seabob Shrimp	USA - Florida (Western Central Atlantic)	Skimmer Trawl
	USA - Gulf of Mexico	Bottom Trawl
	USA - Gulf of Mexico	Skimmer Trawl
Big Blue Octopus	USA - Hawaii (Eastern Central Pacific)	Hand Implements
Big Blue Octopus	USA - Hawaii (Eastern Central Pacific)	Handlines and hand-operated pole and lines
Bigeye Scad	USA - Hawaii (Eastern Central Pacific)	Handlines and hand-operated pole and lines
Bigeye Scad	USA - Hawaii (Eastern Central Pacific)	Surrounding Nets
Blue Swimming Crab	India - Arabian Sea (Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, and Maharashtra)	Bottom Trawl
		Gillnets and entangling nets
	India - Bay of Bengal (Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and West Bengal)	Bottom Trawl
		Gillnets and entangling nets
	India - Palk Strait and Palk Bay (Tamil Nadu)	Bottom Trawl
	India - Palk Strait and Palk Bay (Tamil Nadu)	Gillnets and entangling nets
Brown Rock Shrimp	USA - Gulf of Mexico and West Central Atlantic	Bottom Trawl
Brown Shrimp	USA - Florida (Gulf of Mexico)	Skimmer Trawl
	USA - Gulf of Mexico	Skimmer Trawl (Vessels > 40 ft)
	USA - Gulf of Mexico	Skimmer Trawl (Vessels < 40 ft)
	USA - Gulf of Mexico and West Central Atlantic	Bottom Trawl
Caribbean Red Snapper	Brazil - North (Amapá and Pará)	Traps
	Brazil - North (Amapá and Pará)	Vertical Lines
	Brazil - Southeast (Espírito Santo, Rio de Janeiro, São Paolo, Distrito Federal)	Vertical Lines
Dog Snapper	Brazil - Northeast (Maranhão, Piauí, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Sergipe, Bahia)	Handlines
Dog Snapper	Brazil - Southeast (Espírito Santo, Rio de Janeiro, São Paolo, Distrito Federal)	Vertical Lines
Green Sea Urchin	Canada - British Columbia	Diving
	Canada - New Brunswick	Diving
	Canada - New Brunswick	Towed Dredges
	Canada - Newfoundland and Labrador	Diving
	Canada - Nova Scotia	Diving
	Canada - Quebec	Diving
	USA - Maine	Diving
		Hand Implements
		Towed Dredges
Lane Snapper	Brazil - Northeast (Maranhão, Piauí, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Sergipe, Bahia)	Handlines
		Traps
	Brazil - Southeast (Espírito Santo, Rio de Janeiro, São Paolo, Distrito Federal)	Vertical Lines
Leaf Barnacle	Canada - British Columbia	Hand Implements
Mackerel Scad	USA - Hawaii (Eastern Central Pacific)	Handlines and hand-operated pole and lines
Mackerel Scad	USA - Hawaii (Eastern Central Pacific)	Portable Lift Nets
Mutton Snapper	Brazil - Northeast (Maranhão, Piauí, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Sergipe, Bahia)	Handlines
Mutton Snapper		Traps
Northern Shrimp	Canada - Nova Scotia	Traps
Pacific Herring	USA - California	Set Gillnet
Pink Shrimp	USA - Florida (Gulf of Mexico)	Skimmer Trawl
	USA - Gulf of Mexico	Skimmer Trawl (Vessels > 40 ft)
	USA - Gulf of Mexico	Skimmer Trawl (Vessels < 40 ft)
	USA - Gulf of Mexico and Western Central Atlantic	Bottom Trawl
Red Sea Urchin	Canada - British Columbia	Diving
	USA - Alaska	Diving
	USA - California	Diving
	USA - Oregon	Diving
	USA - Washington	Diving
Royal Red Shrimp	USA - Gulf of Mexico and Western Central Atlantic	Bottom Trawl
Vermilion Snapper	Brazil - Northeast (Maranhão, Piauí, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Sergipe, Bahia)	Handlines
Vermilion Snapper	Brazil - Southeast (Espírito Santo, Rio de Janeiro, São Paolo, Distrito Federal)	Vertical Lines
White Hake	Canada - New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island	Bottom Trawl
		Set Gillnet
		Set Longline
	Canada - Newfoundland and Labrador	Bottom Trawl
		Set Gillnet
		Set Longline
White Shrimp	USA - Florida (Gulf of Mexico)	Skimmer Trawl
	USA - Gulf of Mexico	Skimmer Trawl (Vessels > 40 ft)
	USA - Gulf of Mexico	Skimmer Trawl (Vessels < 40 ft)
	USA - Gulf of Mexico and Western Central Atlantic	Bottom Trawl
White-Striped Octopus	USA - Hawaii (Eastern Central Pacific)	Hand Implements
White-Striped Octopus	USA - Hawaii (Eastern Central Pacific)	Handlines and hand-operated pole and lines
Yellow Perch	USA - Maryland (Chesapeake Bay)	Fyke Nets
Yellowtail Snapper	Brazil - Southeast (Espírito Santo, Rio de Janeiro, São Paolo, Distrito Federal)	Vertical Lines
	Brazil - Northeast (Maranhão, Piauí, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Sergipe, Bahia)	Handlines
		Traps

July

Species Name	Origin	Method	Old SFW Rating	New SFW Rating
Green Jobfish Snapper	USA - Hawaii (Eastern Central Pacific)	Handlines and hand-operated pole-and-lines
Green Jobfish Snapper	USA - Hawaii (Eastern Central Pacific)	Trolling Lines
Red Swamp Crayfish	USA	Ponds

April

Species Name	Origin	Method	Old SFW Rating	New SFW Rating
Atlantic Sturgeon	Canada - St. Lawrence River Estuary	Set Gillnet
Dolphinfish	Indonesia - Indian Ocean	Drifting Longline
	Indonesia - West Central Pacific	Drifting Longline
	Taiwan - Western Central Pacific	Drifting Longline
Lake Sturgeon	Canada - St. Lawrence River	Set Gillnet
Lake Whitefish	Canada - Lake Winnipegosis	Set Gillnet
Lake Whitefish	Canada - Lake Winnipeg	Set Gillnet
Northern Pike	Canada - Lake Manitoba	Set Gillnet
	Canada - Lake Winnipeg	Set Gillnet
	Canada - Lake Winnipegosis	Set Gillnet
Walleye	Canada - Lake Manitoba	Set Gillnet
	Canada - Lake Winnipeg	Set Gillnet
	Canada - Lake Winnipegosis	Set Gillnet
Yellow Perch	Canada - Lake Manitoba	Set Gillnet

March

Species Name	Origin	Method	Old SFW Rating	New SFW Rating
Channel Catfish	USA	Ponds
Cobia	Panama	Marine Net Pen

February

Species Name	Origin	Method	Old SFW Rating	New SFW Rating
Deepsea Red Crab	USA - Northwest Atlantic	Traps

January

Species Name	Origin	Method	Old SFW Rating	New SFW Rating
Blue Tilefish	USA - Gulf of Mexico	Set Longline
	USA - Mid-Atlantic	Set Longline
	USA - South Atlantic	Handlines and hand-operated pole-and-lines
	USA - South Atlantic	Set Longline
Blueline Tilefish	USA - Gulf of Mexico	Handlines and hand-operated pole-and-lines
	USA - Gulf of Mexico	Set Longline
	USA - South Atlantic	Handlines and hand-operated pole-and-lines
	USA - South Atlantic	Set Longline
Giant Pacific Octopus	Canada - British Columbia (Dungeness Crab Fishery)	Pots
	Canada - British Columbia (Spot Prawn Fishery)	Pots
	USA - Alaska - Bering Sea (Pacific Cod Pot Fishery)	Pots
	USA - Alaska - Gulf of Alaska (Pacific Cod Pot Fishery)	Pots