The Safina Center

Combined Seafood Recommendations

Symbol	Seafood Rating	Seafood Rating Summary	The Safina Center Scoring Prior to 2014	Seafood Watch Scoring Starting in 2014
	GREEN*	Species are well managed and caught in ways that cause little harm to habitat or other wildlife.	Final Score: 2.4 - 4.0	Final score > 3.2 and no individual criterion scores of Red or Critical.
	YELLOW*	There are some concerns with how speices are caught or managed.	Final Score: 1.6 - 2.39	Final score > 2.2 and neither Management factor scores (3.1 & 3.2) are Red (<= 2.2) and no more than one criterion score of Red and no Critical scores, and doesn't meet criteria for "Green."
	RED	Species are overfished, poorliy managed, or caught in ways that cause harm to habitats or other wildlife.	Final Score: 0 - 1.59	Final Score <=2.2, or one/both Management factor scores (3.1 & 3.2) are Red (<= 2.2), or two or more criteria score Red, or one or more Critical criteria scores.

*Products posted on FishChoice primarily under The Safina Center's ratings must be either a "Green" or "Yellow."

Wild-Caught Seafood Methodology

The Safina Center analyzes five criteria for wild-caught seafood:

• Life History - species biology (growth rate, egg production, age to maturity)
• Abundance - stock size (compare current fish numbers to fishery management targets)
• Habitat Quality and Gear Impacts - fishing methods (damage caused by fishing gear)
• Management - regulations (fishery rules and their enforcement)
• Bycatch - non-target species (what is being caught accidentally)
   

These criteria are evaluated using a quantitative rating system to promote transparency for all seafood reports (and ratings). Each of the 5 criteria is given a low (1), medium (2) or high (3) score, which is adjusted up or down using additional questions, or “points of adjustment” (worth +0.25 or -0.25). These scores are averaged to generate a final score, ranging from 0-4, and color rating illustrated in the table above.