SASSI FAQ’s:
1. Is seafood the perfect food?
Nutritious, low in fats and available in a variety of delicious forms, flavours and textures seafood is often advertised as the perfect food. More people are choosing to eat seafood and to meet this growing demand more fish and shellfish are being caught and farmed than ever before. Depending on how fish are caught, the way they are caught, how well fishing operations are managed and how long they live before they are able to reproduce, some fish and shellfish are doing better than others.
For example, yellowtail and dorado grow fast and mature early and are therefore less vulnerable to overfishing than fish like red steenbras and musselcracker, which take longer to mature and reproduce. The ready availability of fish in the market place can create a false impression that if a species is available, then it must be abundant or well managed. Fortunately, when you choose seafoods that are more abundant and better managed, you are making a difference for ocean life.
2. How does the SASSI List work and what do the green, orange and red fish icons mean?
The SASSI list helps you make seafood choices that are better for the environment. The list is based on scientific information that incorporates statistics on life history, abundance, habitat and environmental impacts of fisheries as well as recommendations using other fisheries management tools. This information is distilled into an easy guide using different colours, like those of a traffic-light to indicate which are the best choices. Green are best: stocks are healthy and well managed, orange: some problems exist so exercise caution and red are illegal to sell in South Africa so avoid these
3. What about farmed seafood? Is it better for the environment than wild seafood?
This is a complicated matter as it depends on the farming practice and the type of seafood being farmed. Aquaculture or fish farming is a booming industry and can take the pressure off some depleted wild fish. While some forms of aquaculture hold promise as sustainable options, the practices used to farm many species can result in the loss of natural habitat, release of waste, spread of disease and the introduction of foreign species that harm native fish. Also troubling is the dependence on wild-caught fish to feed many farmed species. For example, vegetarian fish that are raised in closed-systems where waste is controlled and where there is little chance of fish escaping offer better alternatives. These fish also don’t require protein feed like other carnivorous species like salmon. Shellfish like oysters and mussels use non-invasive methods of farming, don’t require additional nutritional input and because they rely on clean healthy water may help to improve the condition of coastal ecosystems. By following the advice of organisations that have transparent methods of rating seafood or eco-labels such as MSC (Marine Stewardship Council), you can ensure that you are making choices that help solve the problem.
4. I am just one person, how can my seafood choices really help?
By making better seafood choices you can help shift the demand away from fish and shellfish that are overfished or poorly managed towards those that are in better shape. The seafood that you find in supermarkets and in restaurants are those that the market demands. If enough people ask for a particular kind of seafood, the demand will become great enough that it will be profitable to sell and stock it. Similarly, the argument ‘if its dead already why not eat it rather than waste it?’ also applies. If it doesn’t sell because people don’t want it, then retailers and restaurant owners will start to offer better alternatives.
5. Will wait-staff in restaurants and supermarkets be able to answer my questions when I ask where a certain fish comes from or how it was caught?
Remember that popular saying ‘Rome was not built in one day?’ Awareness about seafood issues will not grow overnight and the movement to promote best practices in the seafood industry is still in the early phases in South Africa. While some wait staff may understand your concerns and be ready to answer your questions, for others it may be the first time they are exposed to the issues. Have patience and feel good about your role as not only a conscious consumer, but also as a leader. Tell that why you care! It may take time, but the market will soon follow.
6. Not on the list?
Some imported species are not yetincluded on the SASSI list. A good place to find out more about anyfish is FishBase (http://fishbase.org/search.cfm) where you can learnabout the name, distribution and biology of a particular fish. A fishspecies may also be listed on other sustainable seafood lists.
A number of WWF offices worldwide have regional seafood lists.
Itis important to keep in mind that not all organisations use the samemethodology to place species on various lists. A good summary isavailable at Incofish who has compiled an International Seafood Guide.
Learn more about Seafood Awareness Campaigns here
Consumer’s General Rule of thumb:
- Keep informed about which fish is ok to eat and which fish is not
- Increase the variety of fish you eat- move away from a dependence on one favourite
- Don’t eat undersized or juvenile fish
- Choose fish caught in sustainable ways- consult your SASSI guide for recommendations or ask your fishmonger
- Local is lekka- buy locally where possible (eg. from the green list) rather than imported species- especially if they are from our neighbouring countries like Mozambique, Tanzania, Seychelles
- If you really can’t go without your craving for your favourite seafood on the orange list, then make it a special occasion and enjoy in moderation rather than as an everyday occurrence
- Avoid certain species e.g. reef fish species. The biology of many of our reef dwellers make them very susceptible to overfishing (e.g. they are long-lived, only mature and breed late in their lifecycle, are often territorial and therefore have limited home ranges and many change sex as they grow)
- If you love fish then find out more about your favourites so that you can understand why some of them may be better choices than others
- There are many environmental and human impact and health concerns associated with farmed species- so find out where your fish comes from. Globally there are no best practice standards or eco-labels for aquaculture yet, but try choose those that have organic certifications or are EU approved, or better still, rather avoid these and choose from well managed wild populations
- The only accredited seafood certification for wild stocks is the MSC label- Marine Stewardship Council (SA Hake has MSC certification) so look out for these in supermarkets and retailers stores