Commenting on today's Food Standards Agency announcement that it is to review its advice on weekly fish consumption and take environmental and sustainability concerns into account, Andy Tait, head of Greenpeace's biodiversity campaign, said:
"Fish stocks are in crisis across the globe and any advice related to fish consumption needs to face up to that reality.
"The current advice has a real impact on already over-exploited global fisheries so we welcome that it is now to be reviewed."
Currently, the FSA advises that people should eat at least two portions of fish a week, one of which should be from an oily fish. In UK, the average adult fish consumption rate is about 1.55 portions per week, one-third of which is oily fish - but this varies markedly.
If we were to meet the FSA's suggested intake levels, the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution estimates the present total level of fish consumption in the UK would need to increase by over 40%, with oily fish consumption increasing by over 200%. (1)
ENDS
Greenpeace press office: 020 7865 8255
Notes:
(1) Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution (2004). Turning the tide: Addressing the impact of fisheries on the marine environment. Twenty-fifth report. London, UK: The Stationery Office. P45. Accessed Sept 2005 at: www.rcep.org.uk/fishreport.htm
