Greenwash fishing
This advert currently resides at Wellington Airport.
Given the role Talley’s plays in the current state of our fisheries I imagine the advertising agency that designed this particular piece of greenwash would be washing their hands with bleach.
Talley’s is currently selling Monkfish on special:
As a sustainable resource, Monkfish allows our customers to benefit from an ongoing supply of this nutritious and delectable, high quality, seafood product.
Forest and Bird have a slightly different story to tell about the Monkfish. It rates Monkfish as one of the worst fish you can eat in terms of environmental impact. Currently we have no information available to let us know how many monkfish exist or where they are. Many Monkfish are caught by bottom trawling; a practice Talley’s boss, Andrew Talley has claimed is sustainable.
Talley’s doesn’t just catch monkfish. It is also the place to go if you want any of these fish listed as the worst choice of fish to catch in Forest and Bird’s Fish Guide for 2007-2008: Hoki, Ling, Alfonsino, Hake, Oreo Dory, Flounder, Squid, Southern Blue Whiting, Orange Roughy and Warehou.
March 26th, 2008 at 7:27 pm
This is a point I tried to make in the Earth Hour blog about how renewable is being mistaken for sustainable.
For the purposes of this discussion I think most people would agree with the definitions below:
Renewable means something that can be renewed over time.
Sustainable means someting that is renewed at the same or greater rate than it is consumed over time.
Thats why some fish are not sustainable (we eat them faster than they can replace themselves). But then the ones that are sustainable now, could become unsustainable if we eat more of them.
What some people don’t understand is that everything that we use on the planet is renewable (even oil), but at different rates (oil takes millions of years, a pine tree takes 25 years). As we run out of one thing, we need to consume more of something else.
Eventually what was sustainable today, becomes unsustainable tomorrow. Untill all we have left to consume is Billions of people.
March 27th, 2008 at 2:22 am
What do we do when we run out of them?
Silly question…we will never run out of people to consume. Essentially you end up reducing the size of the problem to sustainable proportions and maybe stabalise it at that point.
March 28th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
I think this greenwashing shows that there is a definite change taking place in attitudes towards the environment and sustainability.
The problem now is that big business has caught on to the trend, and they are cashing in on peoples desire to do the right thing.
I bet you will never see a Talley’s add saying “Slow down! Your eating too much fish!”
And while I’m on the subject.
I do think the add is correct in one respect. It points out that the sea is no longer seen as a wild life area.
It’s just another big farm.
March 29th, 2008 at 10:47 am
Nope, the sea is NOT a farm. As any farmer will tell you, a farm entails a huge investment, putting something back in to the area, to ensure that there’s enough to keep it going year after year. Talley’s are of course not known for their eco-image - this time last year, Peter Talley gave a talk to local students where he explained that NZ should be pro-whaling (despite what the rest of the country thinks!). and here was just ONE of the choice quotes from this top (!) NZ businessman.
“I don’t believe in animal rights. I want to kill and eat them.”
http://www.website.net.nz/wp-content/uploads/286883.jpg
Talley’s is a disgrace to this country.
March 29th, 2008 at 10:57 am
oh and here’s a couple more gems from this upstanding gentleman.
“Talley’s Fisheries managing director Peter Talley says he is pro-whaling, pro-genetic engineering, anti-animal rights, anti-MMP and sceptical about global warming.
Mr Talley made his controversial views known in a speech to more than 200 high school students at a leadership forum on Friday organised by Motueka High School and held at Seifried Estate.
Answering questions from the students, Mr Talley said the Japanese should be allowed to hunt whales because they were doing it sustainably.
He also said seals shouldn’t be protected because they catch more fish than inshore fishermen, in particular hoki and cod. Humans should have more rights than seals which were a “very destructive animal”.
When a student asked why humans had more rights to fish than seals, Mr Talley answered: “I don’t believe in animal rights. I want to kill and eat them.”
March 29th, 2008 at 11:53 am
Hmmm… Talley’s will get not a dime of my money from now on.
It isn’t much but I am better informed than I was….. thanks Pepeke
respectfully
BJ