Eat less fish, urges WWF

Worldwide fish stocks are in severe danger, reports the Worldwide Fund for Nature. Overfishing means that “over the past 30 years global cod catches have decreased by over 70 per cent, with catches by the current EU countries now just 10 per cent of the 1970 level”. Indeed, the UK consumes a staggering one-third of the global cod catch (mostly as fish and chips).

Perhaps now would be a good time to start boycotting cod – I’ve a co-worker who already does. The WWF is asking consumers to consider alternatives such as pollock, hake, hoki, Pacific cod, sablefish and mackerel icefish, preferably with a “Marine Stewardship” label. “Products with this label have been independently assessed as meeting the rigorous MSC standard – the only internationally recognised set of environmental principles to assess whether a fishery is well managed and sustainable.”

(_Thanks to The Register for the tip._)

pax et bonum

Article posted at 11:34am on 27 September 2006
Category: Food, Politics, Science, General

This is excellent – and we shall no longer buy the fish mentioned. Now all I have to do is demand that our supermarkets stop supplying it:

“Dear Asda….”

(I’ll let you know if I get a response)

ruth () (URL)
11:31am on 28 September 2006

I’ve refused to buy cod for about three years now, ever since I first heard the words ‘endangered species’ used to describe them. It’s still okay to eat Pacific cod, but they generally don’t say whether cod is pacific or atlantic caught.

FYI, the Marine Conservation Society produces a handy pocket-sized checklist that you can use to see how ‘conservation-friendly’ certain species of fish are – if you see what I mean! :-)