Survival of fish stocks depend upon the consumer, say experts

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Whether we will be able to enjoy the simple pleasure of tucking into a meal of fish and chips in the future will depend largely on the choices we make as consumers today. This is a message the Two Oceans Aquarium and WWF-SA’s Southern African Sustainable Seafood Initiative (SASSI) will be pushing out during the month of October which is dedicated to marine awareness. “Whether we live on the coast or in Gauteng, as consumers we have the power to drive change by choosing only sustainable seafood when shopping for our home or frequenting our favourite seafood restaurant,” said the bodies in a joint statement. They said making the right choices around sustainable seafood was made easier with SASSI’s colour-coded seafood guide . “This traffic light system tells you whether you can eat something with a clear conscience (green), should think twice (orange) or avoid altogether (red).”

SASSI manager Pavitray Pillay said: “Consumers have the power to make a real difference by consciously making greener choices when it comes to the fish they eat. These decisions may seem small in isolation, but collectively they will make the difference as to whether we will be able to continue to enjoy seafood into the future.”

Communications and sustainability manager of the Two Oceans Aquarium Helen Lockhart said: “At the aquarium we recently reviewed our sustainability strategy and overfishing is one of the key threats to the ocean which we have chosen to focus on. This is in line with our vision of abundant and healthy oceans for life.

“Teaming up with SASSI this Marine Month provides a great opportunity to take the sustainable seafood message beyond the Aquarium and to focus on informing and empowering consumers during this month. The more we are able to talk about these issues, the better. The more people know, the better informed choices they can make.”

Follow the conversation with the hashtags #choosegreen and #SAMarineWeek on social media. You can also participate in a Twitter chat on October 12, 2017 at 12 noon.

The Mercury