Ian Short

Before eating fish, check out the guidelines laid out by the Marine Conservation Society. Only buy and eat fish that are MCS approved. (That includes cat and dog food. I was annoyed to notice the other day that I had been buying cat food containing fish. They’ll be getting rabbit and chicken from now on, plus all the other crap – mostly not meat – that goes into cat food.)

I only learnt about the grim future of fish last night when Ellie and I attended a screening of the film The End of the Line in Chester Zoo. The film’s director Rupert Murray was present to discuss the film and answer questions. The film’s message is that the massive fishing industry is anihilating the world’s fish population, beyond repair. At current rates of fishing there will essentially be no edible sea creatures by half way through this century. I say edible, because there will probably be loads of jellyfish, algae, etc, to take the place of the fish.

Much I learnt of fish consumption surprised me. For example, in many ways eating farmed fish is worse than eating fish from the sea. The farmed fish are fed on sea fish, and significantly more fish (in weight) are needed to feed the farmed fish than the farmed fish themselves. Of course, how bad this situation is depends on the particular fish in question.

The film also described the massively endangered bluefin tuna, and the Japanese company, Mitsubishi, who are behind most of the catching of this fish. Don’t eat it. It will soon be exctinct. Would you eat a panda?

There was discussion of existing fishing quotas that remind me of carbon dioxide emissions quotas. Rich European countries are bound by regulations, albeit weak regulations (which they ignore anyway), to limit the number of fish they catch. They are allowed to buy rights to fish from other (poorer) countries. The film showed massive European trawlers clearing out all the fish from a local fishing village in Senegal, after a rich European country (I don’t know which) had bought some of Senegal’s fishing quota. The local Senegalese people couldn’t make any money, so they had to leave. They will come to England and we will complain that they are taking our jobs!

What can you do? First, only buy MSC approved fish. Second, check out this booklet for information on less endangered fish. Third, use this guide to learn of fish friendly restaurants. The website is run by Charles Clover, the author of the book The End of the Line on which the film is based. Fourth, watch the film. Fifth, read the book.