Sustainable Fishing
Sustainability:
Dictionary definitions: able to be maintained- maintaining ecological balance, exploiting natural resources without destroying the ecological balance of an area- Meeting todays needs while protecting tomorrow's.
WHATS THE PROBLEM?
You have heard about sustainable fishing, seen it mentioned on the news, but what is the problem?
Our seas are in crisis, with over one quarter of the worlds fisheries now over fished and another half being fished at levels they cant biologically sustain. Certain species of fish are now staring Extinction in the face.
Here in the water off the British mainland familiar species such as Cod are close to total collapse, skate is as good as gone and monkfish ‘s future hangs in the balance. As if this were not bad enough we are polluting our seas at an alarming rate, wiping out whole habitats with crude destructive fishing methods and killing countless other creatures as collateral damage that we don’t even eat such as dolphin, turtles, albatross to name a few.
WHY DO WE HAVE A PROBLEM?
With modern fishing techniques and equipment the amount of fish we can catch has started to outweigh the species ability to reproduce.
Once a species has been fished to below a biological limit, i.e. its ability to reproduce itself, its survival becomes hard if not impossible.
Its not only the amount of fish we catch to eat that’s the problem its also the way we fish. A large amount of other species and creatures are caught by indiscriminate fishing and end up being thrown away dead, “Trash Fish” is the industry term.
Beam trawling is an example of a type of fishing that causes immense damage to marine ecosystems as a Steel beam up to 10 metres long is dragged across the seabed with the aim of disturbing bottom dwelling fish such as Cod, Pollack or Haddock which are then caught in the trailing net.
As the beam is dragged across the seabed it destroys all manner of plant life, soft coral, anemone starfish and crustacean. It’s like driving a bulldozer through a rainforest while wearing a blindfold.
CFP GOOD IDEA GONE BAD
CFP - Common Fisheries Policy set up in 1983 was an agreement to try and protect stocks from over fishing. The CFP is an internationally agreed limit on the types of fish and the amounts that can be landed annually. Including issues such as how they can be landed.
This all sounds good and well, except that each country tied into this agreement has a clause to alter the amounts of fish it can land under the heading od “socio-economic concerns” and some of the countries have landed up to 30% more than their quota it has been revealed after analysis. It seems the CFP has no teeth.
“HIGH GRADING” WASTE
Another problem the CFP has brought about is the idea of grading the fish that you land as opposed to catch. Any fisherman will want to land the best possible specimens to guarantee the best possible price at market and this means a lot of the lower value fish are thrown back dead and fishing continues until his quota is full of the best specimens. This method of fishing has a very high percentage of “Trash Fish” which further deplete the existing stocks.
HOW CAN I HELP?
As a consumer you have a very loud voice. The more you learn and hear about the dwindling fish stocks and the damaged oceans the more likely you are to speak up. Look out for labels on fish that you buy telling you where and how the fish was caught.
Ask questions of your fishmonger, where was it caught? Where was it landed? How was it caught? Is it farmed or wild? If it is farmed is it organic?
Don’t interrogate him each time you visit but let him know he has a customer who cares about the fish they eat and wants to spend their money on fish that are sustainably caught or farmed.
If they cant offer you sustainably caught fish, don’t buy it. The real solution lies with the consumer, with you.
THE MSC-MCS
MSC-Marine Stewardship Council is a certification you should look for when purchasing fish. The MSC certification is a voluntary certification applied for by any fishery in the world. The MSC is an independently assessed environmental standard that measures stock levels, the fisheries impact on marine environment and its future management plans. Fisheries pursue this certification, as they believe it will help their future.
MCS- Marine Conservation Society is another non-government organisation leading the way for sustainable fishing. Although very similar in name, it will take a lot of practice to learn one from the other. The two have differing emphasis. MSC focuses on sustainable fishing whereas the MCS is more concerned with raising awareness of marine conservation issues.
The MCS has a very good online site www.fishonline.org, which is a fantastic resource for information on the fish you eat. It gives you clear information on the conservation status of over 150 fish and shellfish species with helpful “fish to eat” and “fish to avoid” lists.
FARMED FISH, PROS & CONS
Fish farming seems to be the perfect solution to dwindling fish stocks and species facing extinction. Unfortunately this is not the case as some farms cause more ecological problems than they solve.
Feeding the fish is a huge problem, nearly all fish food is made from wild fish, with up to three tons of this food being needed to produce one ton of farmed salmon the problem becomes obvious. Again the wild fish stocks are plundered.
Waste, with such high concentrations of fish on a farm they waste they excrete smothers local marine plant life and spread toxins to surrounding sea life. Without excellent stock management and proper siting, fish farms can effectively poison a large surrounding eco system indefinitely.
Disease can be a major problem for fish farms with such a high concentration of fish, strong chemicals are needed to treat the fish which can also affect local marine life, damaging if not killing it.
Lets give farming a break for a minute, its not all doom and gloom. There are some very good fish farms out there that manage their stocks well, fallowing cages frequently to allow nature to deal with fish excreta naturally.
Some have gained organic status due to their less intensive farming methods and feeding of the fish on pellets made from the fish industries waste so negating the need for wild fish being caught for feed.
Indeed some of the best farmed fish id excellent in quality and exists in complete harmony with nature, sometimes adding to the already diverse habitat.
So the problems can be overcome, the know how is there and the demand for farmed fish can be met without wreaking havoc on the environment.
Again if it is to grow and get better you need to want it to happen, and that means you must choose the right farmed fish, ask questions and be heard.
GOOD FISH BAD FISH
Ten fish to avoid due to their endangered status.
Whitebait
Cod from the UK unless MSC certified or organically farmed
Hake
Bluefin Tuna
Shark and Huss
Skate and Rays
Wild Halibut
Sea Bass unless line caught and tagged or organically farmed
Wild Salmon
Eel
Ten fish to enjoy
Sprat
Pollack
Pouting
Mackerel, ideally line caught
Megrim and Witch sole
Scad or Horse Mackerel
Black Bream, especially from Cornwall, Northwest and North wales
Grey Mullet
Red Gurnard
Garfish
Ten shellfish to seek out
Langoustines
Brown Crab
Blue velvet swimmer crab
Spider Crab
Whelks
Farmed Mussels
Dived Scallops
Cockles
Dived razor clams
Squid British
Good farmed fish
Organically farmed Salmon
Organically farmed Trout
Organically farmed Cod
Farmed Carp
Most farmed Bivalves (mussels)
Logos to look out for
MSC- Marine Stewardship Council
Soil association Organic certification for fish
Tagged line caught mackerel, sea bass, Pollack from the Handline Fishermans Asssociation