You love seafood because its available in so many varieties and tastes. It’s not only ultra trendy but also the healthy choice. Low in the bad fats and high in good ones, it is seen as the ultimate natural option and an apparently guilt-free choice for the health conscious and discerning foody. Or is it?
Deep Deep Trouble
Have you ever wondered where you seafood comes from, and whether it is really such a good choice? Human activities have plunged our oceans into very deep trouble. Some fish have been caught faster than they can reproduce and 76% of the world’s fish stocks are now fished at or over their limits, including many of our own linefish. If we want to maintain the many choices of seafood that we love, keep the oceans healthy, and sustain the livelihoods that depend on this we need to make smarter seafood choices right now.
How to make a smarter seafood choice
When buying seafood there are a number things to consider:
Buy from the right people: make sure that you buy your seafood from reputable dealers who buy only from registered commercial fishers and importers. Remember that recreational fishers may never sell their catch.
Buy the right species: some species of fish may not be sold, as they cannot handle heavy fishing pressure. Others are in need of a break and we should go slow on them.
Consider how it was caught: some fishing methods have greater environmental impacts than others. Ask your supplier how the particular seafood was caught or produced, and find out more about the different fishing methods.
SASSI provides guidelines to help you make better choices
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) through the Southern African Sustainable Seafood Initiative (SASSI) is helping you to make better seafood choices. A consumer’s species list has been compiled that will inform you about the status of different types of seafood. Green species are the best choices as they can handle current fishing pressure better. Orange species should be consider with caution as they are either over-exploited, or from problematic fisheries. Red species are illegal to sell in South Africa, and some of them are specially protected.
The list is also available as a text message service called “FishMS”. Send the name of the fish to 0794998795 to check its status.
The newly formed SASSI Restaurant and Retailer Participation Scheme invites responsible dealers to subscribe to good seafood guidelines. Look out for the SASSI logo or visit our website for a list of Participants.
