October is National Seafood Month, and across the country Americans are digging into fish tacos, grilling salmon and peeling shrimp. For many, shopping, cooking and eating blue foods—foods from our oceans, lakes and rivers—comes with some hesitation: Am I eating the “right” seafood? Fresh or frozen, wild or farmed … there is a lot to unpack.

The guilt comes from years of dire headlines: fishing boats hauling in too much, too quickly, fish populations unable to keep up; and fishing seasons so short that crews risked their lives just to bring in a paycheck. By the early 2000s, overfishing was rampant, fishing became the most dangerous job in America and our oceans were on the brink of collapse. Aquaculture, which is farming fish and aquatic plants, came with its own set of issues surroundin

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