Sharon Pavey Jones

My little family and I were all very tired last night after visiting Taunton after school to get a few Christmas bits, so we thought we’d opt for an easy dinner and get chips from the chippy on the way back home in Chard. The kids and I are veggie so we just had a bag of chips each, but hubby wanted some fish with his chips. I said to him I’d ask the person in the chip shop which was the best fish to buy – the one which has healthy stocks, and is basically environmentally friendly sustainably produced seafood which is not intensively fished. Dan said there’s no way they’d know but I defended them and gave them a chance…

…so (and good job I don’t mind sounding like a total idiot in public) I asked the young girl behind the counter. She didn’t understand me and I had to repeat myself (now with people starting to look at the mad woman holding up the queue in the chip shop!). She said “Sorry I don’t have a clue but I’ll ask the manager” just as the manager walked in. I thought, great I’m going to get my answer now and get Dan some ‘good’ fish.

The manager smiled and said “tuna” and I replied “none of these then?” She explained that all their fish was cod and had been caught way up in the Russian sea, but didn’t know anymore than that. I got hubby a cod anyway and decided on the way home to write this blog and find out which is a good fish to buy at your local fish and chip shop – as to be honest Dan was right and they didn’t know what I meant and didn’t seem to have a clue what they were selling? If this is the same across the whole country then I’m not impressed!

The website Fishonline helps people, businesses and organisations which are concerned about declining fish stocks and the welfare of our seas. The Marine Conservation Society FISHONLINE website can help you identify which fish are from well managed sources and/or caught using methods that minimise damage to marine wildlife and habitats. I used this site to look up cod, it said:

The Pacific cod fishery is reported to be well-managed with healthy stocks. By-catch is monitored and the fishery closed if acceptable by-catch levels are exceeded. The Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Freezer Longline Fishery for Pacific Cod was certified as an environmentally responsible fishery by the Marine Stewardship Council in 2006.

After some more research into the Russian seas – as the lady in the shop said their fish were caught way up in the Russian seas…..I’ve found that those seas are the Artic Ocean and the Bering Sea. The Atlantic Ocean is much closer to home and she didn’t say they were from there but much further north. It’s very hard to find any info on this – but then I stumbled upon this article on the wwf website about the artic sea which is the huge piece of water across the north of Norway and Russia. http://www.wwf.org.uk/what_we_do/safeguarding_the_natural_world/oceans/oceans_arctic/

This site says that “More than half of the entire world’s cod comes from the Barents Sea – the UK being a significant market. With global cod catches having fallen by 70% over the past 30 years, it is vital that fish are sustainably managed.”

So this is not sounding so good now is it. But if anyone is reading this and knows more about which fishes are good and not so good – please do add your own comments. According to the Seafish website (the authority on seafood) “more than 250 million fish and chip shop meals (featuring fish) are sold a year, the traditional dish of fish and chips is still top of the league of Britain’s favourite fast foods. There are around 10,500 fish and chip shops in the UK.

The Eatwell website says “Around the world, some types of fish, especially in certain areas, are threatened by being over-fished. At the same time, we’re eating more fish and shellfish in this country and across Europe. Fish and shellfish farming (and other types of what are known as ‘sustainable aquaculture’) have a significant role to play in meeting our demand for fish and shellfish, along with fishing at sea.