Fish is considered a healthy food: It provides high-quality protein, valuable omega-3 fatty acids and important minerals. But the appetite for salmon, herring or shrimp comes at a price. Overfishing, destructive fishing methods and environmental pollution are affecting the world’s oceans. Which fish can be consumed sustainably? What should we pay attention to when buying?
Around 34 percent of global fish stocks are considered overfished, and another 60 percent are exploited by humans to their biological limits. Only around six percent of the stocks are still in a natural, good condition. Many fish populations are now shrinking so much that they can hardly recover. The amount of wild fish caught worldwide has been falling continuously since the mid-1990s. In order to meet the demand for edible fish, the importance of aquaculture has been growing since then. But these are not automatically sustainable either.
Obligation to label fish
There is a labeling requirement for fresh fish in Germany. It affects fresh fish, smoked fish, crustaceans and molluscs as well as processed frozen fish products. Three pieces of information are mandatory: the fish species, the fishing area and the fishing method. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) divides the world’s oceans into 19 fishing areas, which appear on the label as a name or number. Fishing area 27, for example, refers to the Northeast Atlantic, which also includes the North and Baltic Seas, for example.
In the case of farmed fish, it must be stated that it comes from “aquaculture” and the country in which the animals went through their final phase of development. The label “from inland fisheries” applies to fish from lakes or rivers. However: Processed and prepared products such as fish soups, fish cutlets or herring salad are exempt from the labeling requirement. Even in the catering industry, information about origin is usually completely missing.
The information provided in stores also does not show how a fish population is actually doing. “Many people don’t know how differently individual fish stocks can develop,” explains Kristina Barz from the Thünen Institute. “Because different fish stocks of a species can be in different conditions. For example, the cod around Iceland is in good condition, while the cod in the Baltic Sea (that’s what the cod is called there) is not doing well.”
The “Good Fish” list
Since fish guides in Germany sometimes give different assessments regarding the sustainability of fish, environmental organizations, scientists and consumer advice centers have jointly developed the “Good Fish” recommendation. The list is updated annually and does not claim to be complete. The list includes, among others, flounder and plaice from the Baltic Sea (FAO 27.3), pollock from the Barents Sea (FAO 27.1/27.2), skipjack (global), keta and sockeye salmon from Alaska (FAO 67) and herring from the Gulf of Riga (FAO 27.3).
“Good fish” refers to stocks whose size is stable above the minimum value necessary for sustainable use and which are not fished to a greater extent than is sustainable in the long term. The animals caught should mostly be fully grown and have already achieved reproduction. In addition, there must be sufficient fish available that are caught using gentle fishing methods that minimize bycatch and have as little impact on the environment and stock structure as possible.
Not all quality seals are reliable
In addition to the “Good Fish” list, various quality seals also offer buyers guidance by identifying sustainable fish. The best-known seal among them is that of the Marine Stewardship Council – MSC for short. However, consumer advocates and environmental organizations criticize the MSC seal. “[…] The label [ist] “This is not without controversy, among other things because the standards are formulated too weakly and unclearly and only 60 to 80 percent of them have to be met for certification,” reports the consumer advice center. “According to Greenpeace, this makes it possible for MSC-certified fisheries to fish for unhealthy and depleted stocks and endanger endangered species. NABU criticizes the fact that harmful fishing gear, marine protected areas and social aspects are not given enough consideration when awarding the seal.”
Instead of the MSC seal for wild fish and the ASC seal for aquaculture, the consumer advice center therefore recommends the Naturland seal for wild fish and aquaculture, as well as the EU organic seal and GAA-BAP for aquaculture.