One of the ugly secrets of modern eating that few people want to talk about is the simple fact that humanity, all seven billion plus of us, is steadily inching towards serious ecological devastation just to stay fed. Whether it’s introducing invasive species that become pests or over taxing soil over the course of several harvests. humans do have a tendency to get food quickly with little thought to how to get more. While this is practically a survival trait in our instinctual thought processes, our higher thought processes are steadily realizing that if our species is to survive and thrive further, we will need to be more careful with our natural resources.

One particular problem of modern sustainable food creation is the problem of sustainable fishing. Because the global market for fish is as large as it is, many species of fish currently considered staples of human cuisine across the world are now being overfished, leading to serious problems in the ocean ecologies where vast numbers of fish are now gone, caught for human consumption. Salmon, cod, and tuna harvests are particularly damaging to aquatic environments as these species are important elements of the ecologies they live in, yet are disappearing faster than they can be replenished.

However, with the rise of aquaculture in the past fifty years, there is some genuine hope that humanity will not have to bleed the oceans dry to feed ourselves. The rise of farm-raised species grown in fisheries and carefully cultivated using advanced techniques has created a new type of fishing, sustainable fishing, intended to allow humanity to still enjoy the protein rich bounty of the sea without destroying the ecologies of these environments in the process. Among others, there are 5 sustainable fish to eat that are widely considered the most sustainable of their kind.

Tilapia

This subtropic fish is among the most widely cultivated fish in the field of aquaculture. With a global production of over 1.5 million tons of fish, many consider it to be the future of aquaculture. The value of these fish is right up there with salmon and trout, meaning that it can be profitable in addition to sustainable. These fish eat plants and algae and thus do not put pressure on other species of fish and do not concentrate toxins like predatory species.

Rainbow Trout

Another species of fish considered important to the future of aquaculture, the rainbow trout can be harvested in an ecologically responsible way. However, while the United States rainbow trout industry is considered sustainable, other countries do not far these fish in the same way. Though the rainbow trout holds a great deal of promise for a more sustainable future of fishing, it is not without its complications.

Arctic Char

This cold water fish is something of a newcomer to the commercial fishing scene, but in recent years their ability to withstand cold water temperatures and low use of marine resources has caused many fisheries to experiment with farming them. The programs were a success and many people, particularly in the colder reaches of the planet, are consuming more arctic char as a matter of improving sustainability.

Catfish

Though a diverse category of fish, farm-raised catfish are another staple of modern aquatic farming and scientists have deemed most of the farming methods for these fish ecologically sustainable for the long term. Additionally, the species has been part of human eating for centuries and there are hundreds of ways to serve it.

Squid

Though not technically a fish, the squid is an amazingly healthy source of protein. It is also quite easy to farm in an environmentally responsible way.