In the midst of prolific objections to shark finning, the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program has, after much careful investigation, raised their ranking of California Thresher Shark from “red” (avoid) to “yellow” (good alternative).

Since we carry (and promote) this locally caught, nutritious and carefully managed species, we are especially glad to be able to share this news with you!

According to the Seafood Watch website;

A small number of shark populations in North America are managed more responsibly and have healthier populations. These “Good Alternatives” are common thresher and shortfin mako sharks caught in California and Hawaii, and spiny dogfish from British Columbia. However, unless these shark species can be sourced from these specific regions, we recommend that consumers “Avoid” all other shark products.

We can’t say we’re surprised by this news; we’ve been championing CA Thresher Shark for a while now…

For the last 6 months or so, we’ve been battling the perception that all sharks are endangered because of finning and that all shark fisheries are destructive. This is just not the case with the California drift net thresher shark fishery. Despite healthy thresher shark populations, strong regulations, and little to no by-catch issues a high profile southern California retailer was pressured to stop selling the species. This unfairly devastated the California drift gillnet fishery with unintended impact to fishing communities up and down the coast. No one would buy the catch despite its affordability, great eating properties (especially in fish and chips) and its nutritional benefits.

NOAA’s FishWatch clearly states that the California common thresher shark is not overfished but because shark finning and by-catch are so contentious, we wanted to study the issues further before stocking it again. After attending a NOAA workshop at the Aquarium of the Pacific and a swordfish workshop in San Diego we concluded the population was healthy and the management plan effective. Between area and temporal closures and new gear designs, endangered species and marine mammal by-catch has all but been eliminated. By-catch of other species, including pregnant female and juvenile threshers themselves, has been greatly reduced. Shark finning is illegal in the United States and shark fin sales in many states are now illegal.

To further shore up our position, we also donated RSVP funds to a leatherback turtle restoration project in New Guinea where some of the endangered leatherbacks encountered in this fishery originate from.

It’s been a difficult position to maintain, and we’re glad to be joined by the team at Seafood Watch in our support of this local fishery. Check in with your Santa Monica Seafood Representative on availability of fresh (and frozen) California Thresher Shark and get it on the menu today!