Five of the world's principal tuna suppliers were forced to stop doing business at the seafood industry's largest trade fair by almost 100 environmental campaigners this morning.
The Greenpeace volunteers entered the European Seafood Exposition in Brussels - where many UK supermarkets buy from the 1,600 exhibitors - at 10am. Using fishing nets and chains, they shut down the tuna traders' stands and used the public address system to urge industry buyers to purchase only sustainable seafood.
Posted by jossc — 3 April 2008 at 2:58pm
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Today sees the long overdue publication of the Draft Marine Bill. The Bill presents a key opportunity not just to improve the management of our national waters, but to begin the concerted action that is needed to protect marine biodiversity and reverse the decline in our fish stocks.
But the Marine Bill is only a tool, not the finished product.
Posted by jossc — 15 February 2008 at 4:20pm
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Do you like eating fish? Did you realise that around 75 per cent of the world's
fish stocks are now fished to their limit or over-fished? While you can still eat some species of fish with a clear
conscience, others are being rapidly fished close to extinction. Oxford-based band Stornoway has helpfully recorded a song
that tells you which are which. 'The Good Fish Guide' is based on the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) guidelines
to ethical fish consumption. It will shortly be released as a downloadable single via the Truck label, an environmentally
proactive record label, with all profits to the MCS.
Posted by jossc — 15 February 2008 at 3:14pm
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It's official; mankind is killing off our oceans far faster than previously thought. The first global-scale study of human impacts on marine ecosystems, published today in the flagship US journal Science, reveals a picture of widespread destruction with few if any areas remaining untouched.
Posted by jossc — 7 February 2008 at 12:16pm
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Yesterday the Food Standards Agency (FSA) finally announced that it's going to review its misguided policy advising us all to eat at least two portions of fish every week. The independent watchdog, which is charged with protecting the public interest on food safety and health issues, has been pushing the 'two a week' figure in recent years - conveniently overlooking the fact that our over-exploited fisheries can't possibly sustain the increases in fishing needed to meet this level of consumption.
Posted by jossc — 6 February 2008 at 5:26pm
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Yesterday at 3pm local time the Esperanza departed from Hobart in Tasmania,
Australia bringing to a close the 2007/2008 Southern Ocean Expedition. The ship had arrived on Sunday evening to a great welcome from the people of Hobart, including the mayor and a number of councillors.
After spending close to two months tracking the Japanese whaling fleet, Esperanza was forced to leave the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary last week when her fuel supply started to run out. The sanctuary had remained fatality free for the whales during the previous fortnight while the Espy chased the factory whaling ship, the Nisshin Maru, across 5,000 miles of the Southern Ocean.
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."
Top chefs Raymond Blanc and Tom Aikens will be joining forces with Greenpeace tomorrow (30 January) to urge other chefs to use only sustainable seafood on their menus.
They'll also be urging food writers to drop unsustainably caught fish from their recipes.
And the campaign has already attracted the backing of multiple Michelin-starred Heston Blumenthal and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.
A few days
ago, the Esperanza - which had been pursuing the Japanese whaling fleet for two
weeks - was forced to quit the chase and head back to port as the ship is
running low on fuel. But this year's Southern Ocean expedition has been a
resounding success.
