To help inform consumers about better choices a number of seafood awareness campaigns have been instituted across the world. Perhaps the most established and widely known is the Seafood Watch campaign of the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California. These campaigns commonly use colour-coded seafood lists that classify different seafood types according to their sustainability. The lists are based on scientific information that incorporates statistics on life history,abundance, habitat and environmental impacts of fisheries as well as recommendations using other fisheries management tools.
There is currently a drive to try and standardise assessment criteria for wild-caught fish at an international level. This process is being driven by WWF and a number of other NGOs and trade organisations, such as the Seafood Choices Alliance.