NGOs join forces to nurture sustainable eating culture

The EU reform of the Common Fisheries Policy should be based on sustainability while regional advisory councils could assure a level playing field in the Mediterranean region, Resources Minister George Pullicino said.

Fishing was not just about tuna. The future of fishing, including the tuna and swordfish markets, depended on sustainable fishing and investment in the aquaculture industry, he told a conference organised by Din l-Art Ħelwa. Aquaculture was recognised by CFP as key to demand and supply challenges.

Former EU Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg said the European Commission’s aim was to develop a package for the CFP reform that comes into effect on January 1, 2013.

Six years from the 2002 changes, the CFP was still facing serious problems with overcapacity and overfishing. Considered a failure by fishermen and environmental groups, the Commission decided to implement a radical reform, he added.

Dr Borg said that, although fisheries management was an EU exclusive, labelled as a common policy, it did not have to be managed centrally. He insisted decisions on principles and standards should be taken at Union level while policy administration should be delegated regionally.

Dr Borg said the Commission’s vision of European fisheries in 2020 stated: “Nearly all of Europe’s fish stocks have been restored to their maximum sustainable yields. For many stocks, this means they have increased considerably compared to 2010 levels. Fishermen earn more from these larger fish populations composed of mature and bigger fish.”

Five NGOs – Greenhouse, Nature Trust, Sharklab, Get Up Standup and DLĦ – teamed up to form Fish4Tomorrow, an awareness campaign “aimed at a local problem that has gotten out of hand”.

The campaign aims at raising awareness within the local consumer market while nurturing a culture of sustainable eating.

DLĦ said research into population trends of seafood species pointed to a global collapse by 2048 brought about by pollution and overfishing. According to researchers, this would threaten oceanic ecosystems.

It added that an international study released in November 2006 in the journal Science concluded that about one-third of all fishing stocks worldwide had collapsed.

The NGOs quoted a 2010 consumer market survey which revealed that 70 per cent of respondents did not consider fish stock sustainability when choosing what species to consume. Asked whether they would choose differently if they were informed, 96 per cent replied in the affirmative and 81 per cent said they would not consume fish if they were aware that that particular fish stock was endangered.

The organisations added the survey showed the problem in Malta was not caused by consumer disregard to fish stocks but rather by a lack of awareness. Fish4Tomorrow campaigners are meeting celebrity chefs to explore ways how to endorse and promote sustainable fishing while minimising any potential negative impact on their businesses.

“In this respect one could emulate the example given by Gordon Ramsey when he said: ‘Chefs are part of the problem. We’re responsible for making people want certain fish’.”

Mr Ramsey teamed up with Heston Blumenthal and Jamie Oliver in Channel 4’s Big Fish Fight series.