The devastation Man’s appetite for seafood is wreaking on the ocean environment has been thrown into sharp relief by a “red fish list” published by Greenpeace.

These are the fish which are most in peril from destructive, illegal or simple over fishing.  It lists 19 fish, two shellfish and one crustacean.

Cod we all know about and hopefully everybody avoids.  However the list also includes other common white fish, including hoki and pollock.

Then there are other common seafood: salmon, quahog, swordfish, red snapper, halibut and most types of tuna.

The list goes on and on and is truly astounding: you can read it all at the Greenpeace Red Fish List page.

Not Just Fish, Supermarkets As Well
However, the red list is really aimed at getting supermarkets to take responsibility for the seafood they sell, rather than being allowed to get away with shrugging their shoulders and blaming the consumer.

So, when you visit the red list page, take the time to select your state from the pull down list in the top right hand corner.  This will produce a list of supermarkets ranked according to six criteria.

For example, in California over 25 supermarkets are listed ranking, scoring between 2 and 8 out of 10.  Some are selling 19 of the 22 endangered species.

Not Just Fish, Climate Change As Well
Let us be clear.  The oceans cover over 70% of the planet’s surface and large, migratory fish populations such as cod and tuna are an integral part of these eco-systems.

If overfishing causes fish stocks to collapse the oceans’ food chain will be thrown into chaos: knock on effects include rampant starvation and climate change spiralling totally out of control.

So don’t just pick and choose your fish, pick and choose your supermarket as well, and let them know you’re doing it.

Source: GO Media - Written by Chris Milton - Picture Credit: Fish Market by Finizio from Flickr under Creative Commons Attribution No Derivative License.

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