WWF-UK: WWF launches sustainable seafood website
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WWF launches sustainable seafood website
Thursday 17 January 2008
Finding sustainably sourced fish may sound like yet another challenge when doing the weekly shop. But it's vital that we pay attention to the kind of fish that ends up on our plate. According to recent reports three quarters of the world's fish stocks are either fished to their limit or overfished.
To encourage more shoppers to make the right choices when it comes to fish, WWF has launched a new website Stinky Fish. It has information on which species to avoid and a simple guide to buying sustainable seafood.
"Overfishing is the single biggest threat to our oceans," said Giles Bartlett, Fisheries Policy Officer at WWF-UK. "It is vital that consumers have much better information to help them choose which fish to buy.
"WWF's new Stinky Fish website will provide exactly that. We hope that consumer demand for sustainable seafood and better regulation will transform the most damaging fisheries into ones that we can all buy from with a clear conscience."
Buying seafood with the Marine Stewardship Council's (MSC) blue eco-label is the simplest and most reliable way consumers can take action to be ocean friendly. Fisheries that want to be certified to the MSC standard must be managed in an environmentally responsible manner.
If more people buy their seafood from a sustainable source, it will inspire the rest of the fishing industry to follow suit, and improve their fishing methods.
Another vital move is to choose fish other than cod. There are fish out there that are just as tasty and are more sustainably sourced. Sign up and we'll e-mail recipe ideas to you.
We're also launching a sustainable seafood shopping survey. If you print off a scorecard [PDF] and take it along when you go shopping for fish, you can help WWF find out which retailers are doing most to promote sustainable seafood, and which need to do more. We'll post the results on the website, as a useful guide to where to buy fish around the UK.
"Overfishing is the single biggest threat to our oceans," said Giles Bartlett, Fisheries Policy Officer at WWF-UK. "It is vital that consumers have much better information to help them choose which fish to buy.
"WWF's new Stinky Fish website will provide exactly that. We hope that consumer demand for sustainable seafood and better regulation will transform the most damaging fisheries into ones that we can all buy from with a clear conscience."
Buying seafood with the Marine Stewardship Council's (MSC) blue eco-label is the simplest and most reliable way consumers can take action to be ocean friendly. Fisheries that want to be certified to the MSC standard must be managed in an environmentally responsible manner.
If more people buy their seafood from a sustainable source, it will inspire the rest of the fishing industry to follow suit, and improve their fishing methods.
Another vital move is to choose fish other than cod. There are fish out there that are just as tasty and are more sustainably sourced. Sign up and we'll e-mail recipe ideas to you.
We're also launching a sustainable seafood shopping survey. If you print off a scorecard [PDF] and take it along when you go shopping for fish, you can help WWF find out which retailers are doing most to promote sustainable seafood, and which need to do more. We'll post the results on the website, as a useful guide to where to buy fish around the UK.
"Overfishing is the single biggest threat to our oceans."
Giles Bartlett, Fisheries Policy Officer, WWF
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