Is that the fish you think it is?
By Nick Jones
Monday 19th October 2009
Monday 19th October 2009
It may not bother some of us but for the most part, it is nice to know what you are eating. In most cases it is easy to spot the difference between beefsteak or pork scallop. But eating fish can be more of a game of chance.
There is a huge variety of fish species, many of which have very similar characteristics. Most of us cannot tell the difference between cod and pollack – especially once it has been filleted and skinned. People have been taking advantage of this to slip all sorts of things onto your plate. In the United States, 80 per cent of the red snapper advertised on menus turns out to be something else on the plate. Mislabelling and renaming means customers get the dubious privilege of paying premium prices for substitute fish.
What is worse though, is that declines in fish populations are hidden in this practice. Hidden from the people who can actually help to curb the rapid decline in fish populations globally - people like you. Fish mislabelling and renaming masks the most obvious symptoms of decreasing numbers of fish. If the favoured species were as abundant there would be no need for these charades.
There is one other important reason for knowing what you are eating. Your health. Fish are a great source of protein and that all-important Omega-3. However, not all fish are equal as some are better sources of Omega 3 than others. Worse, some substitute fish are more likely to have, amongst other things, higher mercury levels than the fish they are forced to masquerade as. Farmed salmon, with lower values of omega and higher pollutants, are sold as wild salmon. According to a study published in “Marine Policy”, more than 200 000 tons of farmed salmon were sold worldwide as wild in 2006. Distributors and retailers happily reeled in an easy US 2 million illicit dollars. If fish sellers are willing to mislabel fish, what else are they hiding about their product?
So who can you trust? Where do you go to know? How can you help? The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is an international organisation based in London. They have an eco-labelling program, which tracks fish from source to retailer so you know what you are eating; this runs in conjunction with a fisheries certification scheme that ensures that the fisheries are managed sustainably. Simply by choosing MSC labelled fish you can help conservation efforts and avoid being had.
Sadly for us, finding MSC labels in St Andrews is not easy. Tesco does not stock many products which are MSC certified. Dolphin friendly tuna is available, yes, but more than dolphins are at risk in the oceans today. By-catch of turtles, sea birds, sharks and 'unwanted' fish are just as devastating as the dolphin, and some fishing methods, dredging and trawling destroy the very environment supporting their target species. Besides, saving the dolphin from the hook does nothing to save it from starving in an ocean empty of food.
If food is important to you, or the state of the global fisheries, you can do your part just by becoming a more critical fish consumer. If you are going to splash out on a tasty piece of fish take the time to find out a few details, become a connoisseur and get your money’s worth. Or, when you grab a tin off the shelf, at least take a second to check for certification.
Links: http://endoftheline.com/ The end of the line: An intelligent and interesting website to accompany the documentary 'The End Of the Line' on the state of the worlds fisheries.
http://www.msc.org/ The MSC website: They list the various fish that are good to eat and where to buy these fish, along with other important information.
There is a huge variety of fish species, many of which have very similar characteristics. Most of us cannot tell the difference between cod and pollack – especially once it has been filleted and skinned. People have been taking advantage of this to slip all sorts of things onto your plate. In the United States, 80 per cent of the red snapper advertised on menus turns out to be something else on the plate. Mislabelling and renaming means customers get the dubious privilege of paying premium prices for substitute fish.
What is worse though, is that declines in fish populations are hidden in this practice. Hidden from the people who can actually help to curb the rapid decline in fish populations globally - people like you. Fish mislabelling and renaming masks the most obvious symptoms of decreasing numbers of fish. If the favoured species were as abundant there would be no need for these charades.
There is one other important reason for knowing what you are eating. Your health. Fish are a great source of protein and that all-important Omega-3. However, not all fish are equal as some are better sources of Omega 3 than others. Worse, some substitute fish are more likely to have, amongst other things, higher mercury levels than the fish they are forced to masquerade as. Farmed salmon, with lower values of omega and higher pollutants, are sold as wild salmon. According to a study published in “Marine Policy”, more than 200 000 tons of farmed salmon were sold worldwide as wild in 2006. Distributors and retailers happily reeled in an easy US 2 million illicit dollars. If fish sellers are willing to mislabel fish, what else are they hiding about their product?
So who can you trust? Where do you go to know? How can you help? The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is an international organisation based in London. They have an eco-labelling program, which tracks fish from source to retailer so you know what you are eating; this runs in conjunction with a fisheries certification scheme that ensures that the fisheries are managed sustainably. Simply by choosing MSC labelled fish you can help conservation efforts and avoid being had.
Sadly for us, finding MSC labels in St Andrews is not easy. Tesco does not stock many products which are MSC certified. Dolphin friendly tuna is available, yes, but more than dolphins are at risk in the oceans today. By-catch of turtles, sea birds, sharks and 'unwanted' fish are just as devastating as the dolphin, and some fishing methods, dredging and trawling destroy the very environment supporting their target species. Besides, saving the dolphin from the hook does nothing to save it from starving in an ocean empty of food.
If food is important to you, or the state of the global fisheries, you can do your part just by becoming a more critical fish consumer. If you are going to splash out on a tasty piece of fish take the time to find out a few details, become a connoisseur and get your money’s worth. Or, when you grab a tin off the shelf, at least take a second to check for certification.
Links: http://endoftheline.com/ The end of the line: An intelligent and interesting website to accompany the documentary 'The End Of the Line' on the state of the worlds fisheries.
http://www.msc.org/ The MSC website: They list the various fish that are good to eat and where to buy these fish, along with other important information.