by frog
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Forest and Bird has issued an update of its popular, and very useful, Best Fish Guide. The guide
takes into account the state of fish stocks, the amount of seabird, marine mammal and non-target fish bycatch, the damage done to marine habitats and other ecological effects caused by the fishing to decide on its rating.
It’s a tool that empowers the consumer to make an informed choice about their seafood. Just as we might give it a sniff to judge freshness or compare prices, the Best Fish Guide is a sniff-test of each fish species’ sustainability. Forest and Bird say:
Making the best seafood choice is not easy. All fishing has an impact. We urge you to use this guide to help make more informed choices when buying seafood… Our combined buying power can help take pressure off the most over-exploited species and alleviate the harm caused by the most damaging fisheries. Our choices can also influence government policies, change fishing practices and help ensure that fisheries are managed sustainably.
The wallet-card guide can be obtained from Forest and Bird, and the ratings are all online here. The full assessment and methodology are also downloadable:
- The Best Fish Guide: Ecological Assessment (PDF, 2028 kb)
- The Best Fish Guide : Assessment Methodology (PDF, 705 kb)
Our ocean is not “out of sight, out of mind”; it is the backyard, the pantry and a source of pride for all New Zealanders. It is not too late to reverse the decline, and it makes economic sense to do so now. We can commit to strong action on climate change, a good Oceans Policy, and making the Fisheries Act sustainable.
Consumer tools like the Best Fish Guide help us as individuals vote with our wallets for a sustainable and healthy ocean.
To end, here’s something a Kiwi band could copy: the Oxford band Stornoway make a political point in their ‘Good Fish Guide’ song:
Published in Environment & Resource Management by frog on Tue, November 3rd, 2009
Tags: best fish guide, climate change, conservation, environment, fisheries, fishing, forest and bird, hoki, Metiria Turei, oceans, water
on the trolls and those who are unable to keep on topic
Seems to slightly contradict itself when the pocket guide has for example anchovy and pilchard in the green, but the website link has them in orange:
http://www.forestandbird.org.nz/saving-our-environment/fish-species-ra tings
Is the pocket guide then just what’s ‘relatively’ good (‘best’) than simply good/bad?
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The guide is a relative scale; and assessments of each species are against set criteria. So no fish species currently has “green” status, but some are “greener” than the others.
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I emailed FIsh & Game to get a copy. They’ll send out extra copies as well for people who are keen to help out and pass them onto friends, local chefs etc.
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(i wrote this in 2006..)
science magazine has published startling/disturbing research results that clearly show…that continuing to fish the seas at the rate we do…
means most species now harvested/eaten will be gone by the middle of this century..
(now..!..that ain’t far away folks…!)
and as for our futures if we don’t stop doing this..and much more…?
think ‘easter island’…
it’s as simple as that..eh..?
(now..i don’t wanna ‘nag’ here or anything….but can i once again exhort you to consider the diet of the future..(if we have one)…
namely..go vegan..eh..?)
(and sorry..going vegetarian..and still eating dairy..is nearly there…but y’know…!
animal pain/shit run-off etc etc…still means being part of the problem..eh..?)
just meditate for a while on what you eat..and what each item you eat ‘does’ to the planet..
it ain’t rocket science..eh..?
and (like many other things/advances)…when you are there…you find it hard to understand why others can’t see what for you is the ‘bleedin’ obvious’..eh..?
so i guess i’ll just have to continue ‘nagging’…(but only when appropriate..eh..?)
cos’..if you don’t listen to/heed the naggers…our future looks decidedly grim..eh..?
http://whoar.co.nz/2006/still-eating-fishyour-grandchildren-wont-be/
phil(whoar.co.nz)
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There are so many fish species that should be left in the water (that’s the place for plaice).
If you must fish, catch and release (you too whitebaiters!)
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Phil – are you saying we should go vegan so our grandchildren won’t have to?
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It’s a curious thing that we describe the condition of the fish populations in our oceans by whether or not there’ll be enough of them for us to eat. Is that the extent of our relationship with them – whether we can get them in our mouths?
I’m reminded of a toddler with a slobbered-on block.
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here is a call/plan for an 80% reduction by 2020..
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I just wanted to say great job and I have bookmarked this site. Thanks for the resources!
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