How Would You Like Your Guilt-Free Red Snapper?

Red snapper just got a little less red. and that's good news in a sea of not so much.

The delicious fish has moved from the Monterrey Bay Aquarium's red list of seafood to avoid where it sat for years because of unsustainable fishing practices.

Today it was placed on the seafood benchmark's good alternative list.  This is good news for everyone including fishermen and conscientious seafood lovers like myself.  

The bonus is that this fresh red snapper update proves that sound fishery management works.  As EDFish, the organization that helped make this happen, puts it:   

"Gulf of Mexico red snapper used to be a poster child for unsafe, wasteful fishing. In the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s the fishery was ruled by derby seasons where fishermen raced to catch as much fish as possible a few days every month. This had tremendous consequences for both fish and fishermen, as quality and profitability suffered and the red snapper population dwindled.

Fortunately, fishermen, managers and conservationists finally recognized the severity of the problem and decided to get the fishery back on track. In 2007, an Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) program, coupled with a scientifically set catch limit, was implemented that put Gulf red snapper on the road to recovery. Since then, rebuilding red snapper populations have supported a 70% increase in fishing quotas, waste of marketable fish has declined by about 50%, and fishermen earn 33% more per pound of fish landed."

So how would you like your red snapper?  Grilled?  Broiled?

Tasty Red Snapper Recipe.