Besides not knowing what’s in our seafood dishes, we also do not know what journeys they took to reach our plates. When asked where eel products came from, most sellers told me the eels were “farmed in Taiwan”. However, given the fact that eels can’t be bred at industrial scales, the eels grown to saleable size in East Asian farms are always wild-caught and likely from illegal or unregulated fisheries.
The many steps involved in fishery supply chains can hide unsustainable practices like destructive bottom trawling (silver pomfret), overfishing (many regional groupers), and even slave-like conditions on fishing boats (Thai prawn and squid).
One thing we can do as consumers is to be curious. When we eat seafood, we can ask “What am I eating?”, “Where is it from?”, and “How is the animal fished?”
Labels from organisations like the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) and Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) help identify products that are more sustainable. One can also turn to resources like the WWF Singapore Seafood Guide, or news articles and scientific papers on commonly eaten seafood.
Unfortunately, there is only so much individual consumer choice can do when labels are vague or misleading – which is where regulations and science can help.
For instance, Taiwanese scientists who studied tuna mislabelling highlighted that it is common practice in the European Union to label seafood with scientific names. It’s necessary to create standardised lists of seafood products’ scientific names alongside approved common names and widely used vernacular names according to the “one species-one name” principle.
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The many steps involved in fishery supply chains can hide unsustainable practices like destructive bottom trawling (silver pomfret), overfishing (many regional groupers), and even slave-like conditions on fishing boats (Thai prawn and squid).
LEARN TO BE CURIOUS
One thing we can do as consumers is to be curious. When we eat seafood, we can ask “What am I eating?”, “Where is it from?”, and “How is the animal fished?”
Labels from organisations like the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) and Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) help identify products that are more sustainable. One can also turn to resources like the WWF Singapore Seafood Guide, or news articles and scientific papers on commonly eaten seafood.
Unfortunately, there is only so much individual consumer choice can do when labels are vague or misleading – which is where regulations and science can help.
For instance, Taiwanese scientists who studied tuna mislabelling highlighted that it is common practice in the European Union to label seafood with scientific names. It’s necessary to create standardised lists of seafood products’ scientific names alongside approved common names and widely used vernacular names according to the “one species-one name” principle.
Continue reading...