With provenance determined, fish lovers could harness the power of the Internet. Does a restaurant or supermarket persist in selling “red card” fish? A comment in an online review might get results. Publicity and shame are powerful tools, not to be used lightly or without warning. But those who knowingly trade in fish that are demonstrably at risk lose their right to be ignored.

MORE TO EXPLORE
Impacts of Biodiversity Loss on Ocean Ecosystem Services. Boris Worm et al. in Science, Vol. 314, pages 787–790; November 3, 2006.

Deep Trouble. Richard L. Haedrich in Natural History, Vol. 116, No. 8, pages 28–33; October 2007.

Recommendations for fishes to buy or avoid can be found at www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/SeafoodWatch/web/sfw_factsheet.aspx?gid=60

 For a summary of the efforts aimed at fighting illegal fishing, go to www.panda.org/about_wwf/what_we_do/marine/our_solutions/sustainable_fishing/improving_management/illegal_fishing/index.cfm

This article was originally published with the title Fishing Blues.

4 Comments

1. 1. Hugh Jones 07:40 PM 2/24/08

   I just read Richard Ellis' excellent article in the March issue. Ivory poaching,Rhino horns,turtle soup,shark fin soup,and now this! A certain introspection I'll make the next time I order sushi. A bit of irony in the article however. To keep the salmon industry commercially viable is necessary because of Omega3 sources and so on. But to have such huge resources in Australia to prop up the Bluefin fishery on so big an animal with such an expansive habitat is like farming elephants for their tusks. This is after all a "delicacy" is it not?

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2. 2. AmiaCalva 04:03 PM 2/29/08

   It is clear that industrial fishing in international waters is out of control. US com. boats have severe controls but must compete with imports that fish without management measures. US recreational catch data is so "fatally flawed" (NRC Report) so US total landings are suspect and the recreational industry is opposed to many appropriate management measures. Even so, their are real success stories in US fishery management. We can legitimately point at the EC for failing in its domestic and international fishery management practices, especially so for bluefin. You are correct that the consumer MUST demand domestic fish in their retail market and dining. A revision of the regulation that permits imported fish and shrimp to not carry country of origin in supermarkets if it is "processed" in the US is a huge window of deceit opportunity for retailers. A dusting of flour or "cajun spices" lets them market shrimp and fish without telling us they are imported shrimp or farmed salmon.

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3. 3. sapereaude 01:12 AM 3/2/08

   Overfishing began with tub trawls in the mid-19h century. Each time the stocks seemed depleted, the technology "improved" with encouragement from the US Fish Commission. Stocks of most commercial fish in the western Gulf of Maine are now reduced to less than 2% of their biomass in 1898, largely due to the introduction of the otter trawl. We don't hunt deer with bombers, or harvest firewood by bulldozing the forest, but that sort of destructive technology is exactly how we harvest fish.

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4. 4. bwerith 04:37 PM 3/21/08

   What about fishing subsidies? I've read in several places now (wwf, oceana.org, UBC researcher Rashid Sumaila) that subsidies encourage overfishing by making it profitable to "scrape the bottom of the barrel" in ocean regions that would otherwise be left alone to recover. So, along with purchasing "safe" fish, shouldn't we be pressuring our governments for an end to subsidies, or at least a reduction?

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