If you don’t have a degree, masters and PhD in deciphering the eco labelling systems for seafood, it can be a pretty daunting prospect when looking to make more sustainable choices in everyday life…With the notion of sustainability becoming more and more recognised, many institutes, organisations and self-certified companies have produced eco labels and splashed them about on products from tuna to pet food to supermarket sashimi (well, maybe not quite there yet). But has this explosion been helpful to consumers, or is it just making things even more confusing?! It's like everyone has gone out and bought themselves a label machine!
The ‘Dolphin Friendly’ phenomenon was the first major campaign to hit the shelves after some canny conservationists used this charismatic creature to inspire passion amongst seafood consumers, resulting in a wave of reform and legislation for fishing methods with dolphin bycatch (this makes for some interesting reading; http://www.eurocbc.org/page322.html). Images of dolphins are now commonplace on cans of tuna, although now the hype has cooled, I do wonder how many people would consider even this label when buying tuna for their sarnies?So if you are one of those conscientious consumers trying to do their best in their buying habits, how can you wade through the sea of seafood labels, professing that each product pertains from a sustainable, credible source that will help save the seas in one fell swoop?
Wanna make it worse? There’s always Google! Try to find the answer, and instead you find so many more questions. Or is that just me?
One of my major issues with labels, and possibly one instant way to discount many of them as credible, is to look at who is doing the accreditation. If it’s done within the same organisation and not an independent source, then common sense should dictate that applying trust to those labels is a little naive. It would be a little like me writing myself a dating ad in order to make myself irresistible to someone, but using poetic licence, or downright untruths to make them take the bait! It may read a little like this (the truth is in brackets);
“I’m a stunning brunette (blonde) with a PhD in the football league tables (MSc in Marine Environmental Management and have my very own soapbox that I like to use every now and then) who can drink a pint with the best of them (OK, so that one is true…). I love spending all my spare time watching the football, or driving my partner to their football games, or staying in to cook the dinner while the other half is out at the pub (I don’t think I need to comment on that). I am funny (sarcastic) intelligent (I have my moments) and never expect my other half to attend family events.”
So, sexism aside, do you catch my drift?
Anyway, getting to the point, some labels have more credibility than others, which will take the hundreds down to a manageable number. Then you have to play spot the difference to ensure the copycats don’t catch you out, as, for example, many have copied the MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) label as closely as they can without ending up with a lawsuit (or so it seems, maybe it is just coincidence…)There are, of course, problems even with the most credible systems for labelling ‘sustainable’ seafood. The MSC in particular have come under some heavy fire for accrediting some fisheries with less than perfect methods;
http://politicsoftheplate.com/?p=254
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/jan/06/fish-marine-stewardship-council
But the point, I suppose, is that we are in a situation where almost no fishery can be considered completely sustainable due to the sheer numbers we are having to supply, therefore maybe we have to make the best of a bad lot? And therefore certify the best of the bad lot? A little defeatist maybe, but also fairly realistic. In order to keep up with the need for seafood, welfare pretty much goes out the window as discussed in my last post, and fishing methods have been developed to maximise catch, often with very little regard for any other impacts that occur as a result.
So, to try and end on a positive, all faults considered, I believe some of the labels and systems are a great place to start if you do your research and don’t just think that, because some clever marketing exec has put some words on a packet that include ‘responsible’ and ‘sustainable’, it automatically means they are applying the Ronseal approach in that ‘it does exactly what it says on the tin’. Instead, I would like to take you back to a short film my parents made me watch over and over in my childhood, of a scary looking guy trying to entice a small child into his car with sweeties…ending with ‘IT.COULD.BE.A.TRICK’. If you find a label that you have some faith in, it is at least a place to start on the long and winding road to a more sustainable way of life on the seafood front. I’m afraid I am not going to spell it out for you either, as everyone has their own opinion as to what is best practice, and what is not. But combine a little time, with a little common sense, and you can start to make a simple, but real differences to your purchases that in time (and in large enough volume) will have a positive impact on our seafood industry. You will also find the three core messages of my project will start to occur naturally in purchases;
• Buy local (no brainer really)
• Try something different (don’t stick to the same old thing and add to unsustainable demand)
• Pay attention to fishing methods used to obtain your purchase
The following document may also be something to add to your bedtime reading list…it made its way on to mine and was a very interesting read.http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/reports/de-coding-seafood-eco-labels-europe/
Good luck, and please tell me how you are getting on with sustainable seafood labels, I really want to know. Honest!
