NEWS WATCH: SEAFOOD GROUPS PUBLISH POCKET GUIDE FOR CONSUMERS 2004-05-03 (2)

NEW YORK -- A group of three ocean conservation organizations has published "The Fish List," a pocket-size guide designed to help interested consumers choose sustainable seafood items. The trifold card alphabetically lists popular fish and shellfish under headlines reading "Enjoy!" (including farmed catfish, farmed oysters, bay scallops and U.S. farmed tilapia) and "Avoid!" (including Chilean sea bass, Atlantic cod, orange roughy, shark and imported, farmed and wild shrimp). Additionally, the lists are color-coded with those in red denoting the species possibly contains elevated levels of PCBs, dioxins and pesticides. In releasing the lists, representatives of the groups cited a survey indicating 67% of Americans are "interested in getting more information about the types of seafood that are overfished." The participating organizations include the Blue Ocean Institute, Environmental Defense and the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch program.