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The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program has given a big stamp of approval to steelhead trout, dubbing the fish as a green, “Best Choice” for consumers looking to eat and buy sustainably.

According to Seafood Watch analysis, steelhead trout — otherwise known as rainbow trout, golden trout or, simply, trout — that is raised in U.S. ponds, raceways, tanks and pens is farmed in ways that adhere to environmentally sound best practices. Farmers of such trout widely embrace methods to control pollution problems and fish escapes, explained the Seafood Watch overview.

The green label from Monterey Bay is welcome news to companies like the Pacific Seafood Group, which owns the Pacific Aquaculture Steelhead Farm, the first farm in Washington State to have earned a Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification from the Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) in 2013.

“Monterey Bay’s Steelhead Trout recommendation for Best Choice along with our farm’s BAP certification, demonstrates that we are living out our company vision of ‘providing the healthiest protein on the planet while promoting sustainable practices,’” said Pacific Seafood CEO and owner, Frank Dulcich.

Steelhead Farm, located on the Columbia River in Nespelem, Wash., on the Colville Nation, was purchased by the Pacific Seafood Group in 2008; many members of the Colville Nation work on the farm supporting and defining the sustainable fishing practices that have garnered the glowing Seafood Watch designation.

Indigenous to the Columbia River, steelhead (trout) — Oncorhynchus mykiss – is characterized by its red flesh tones derived from natural pigments, as well as its rich flavor and its high omega-3 fatty acid content.

Explore the Seafood Watch rating in full here: http://www.seafoodwatch.org/seafood-recommendations/detail/64/trout-rainbow-net-pens-ponds-raceways-us-oncorhynchus-mykiss