Overfishing, unsustainable fishing methods and the plain and simple greed of too many people on this planet, means that the reality is that our grandkids might very well not have the pleasure of eating seafood. Anyone who have watched the insightful film “The end of the line” or “Empty oceans, empty nets”, will know that the reality is a lot scarier than just not being able to tuck into some fish and chips or sushi.
So we applaud retailers and organisations who try to reverse this sad situation. In this article it was announced that Pick ‘n Pay and the World Wide Fund for Nature have signed a partnership agreement to support WWF’s Sustainable Fisheries Programme that aims to restore at least half of the
over-exploited fish stocks to sustainably managed levels, while
maintaining or improving the state of other stocks. In a statement Pick ‘n Pay said, “The three-year partnership agreement is worth a total R6,1 million and aims to restore at least half the over-exploited fish stocks to sustainably managed levels, whilst maintaining or improving the state of other stocks, through the application of an Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries and reducing the impacts of destructive fishing practices to acceptable levels.”
Morné du Plessis, chief executive officer of WWF in South Africa, said Pick n Pay’s support was likely to boost the promotion of sustainable consumerism. “Consumers have realised that they wield enormous power in driving the way natural resources are utilised. It is no secret that consumers drive trends and as the country’s greenest retailer, we believe it is our duty to assist them in making informed purchasing decisions,” he said.
What can you do?
Sassi has developed a three-level colour classification guide to help consumers determine which species they should avoid. To see in which category a fish falls (green – fo ahead nad eat, red – avoid), visit Sassi’s website or SMS the name of the fish to 079 499 8795 to find out whether a fish is on the red, orange or green list.