One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish

Some of my family came up from Laguna Beach recently to visit me here in the Bay Area and we decided to meet at one of my favorite childhood stomping grounds for the day. I grew up just a short drive away from the Monterey Bay Aquarium on the other side of the Bay in a sleepy little college town by the name of Santa Cruz and was introduced to the wonders of this amazing place at a very young age, not much has changed over the years...except for maybe the Seafood Watch Guide.

Which brings me to an import point I would like to make. Who has ever even heard of the Seafood Watch Guide? Well if you haven't let me tell you a little about it, I keep the current copy in my wallet so when ever I'm out having sushi, or I'm at the market choosing what type of fish to purchase I can whip out my handy West Coast Seafood Watch Guide 2008 and know exactly what my safe and sustainable choices are when it comes to the region I live in.

Each guide is tailored to specific geographic regions, mine being for the West Coast, others include Hawaii, Southwest, Southeast, Central, and Northeast. Inside the guide they break down the seafood into 3 categories, Best Choices, Good Alternatives, and Avoid. Within each category are selections of fish and shellfish alike and these are broken down further to include place and method of catch, farmed or wild-caught, as well as including any concerns due to over fishing or chemical contaminants.

To learn more about Seafood Watch and to download a free copy for yourself visit them on the web at http://www.seafoodwatch.org/

The Marine Stewardship Council is another great resource for learning more about sustainable fishing practices and you can visit them at http://www.msc.org/

Here are some photos from my trip that day...enjoy!

Shoreline bird exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

This exhibit had a wave machine that would lap against the beach where shoreline birds such as this sandpiper and others species would come to feed.

From an architectural standpoint alone this place is a feast for your eyes, not to mention all of the wonderful fishy exhibits too!

The aquarium is built right into a living reef and is surrounded by an enormously diverse ecosystem. Kelp forests abound and sea otters are easily spotted here.