Ecological choices and healthy eating

by Benoît Bleau, translation Sheila Lord  (April 2012)

fishIt may be possible for you to distinguish between the choices of meats and their origins, but it is an entirely different matter with fish. Maybe you catch it yourself, but even at that the water in which it lived may be polluted. We are also less familiar with the varieties of fish available on the market.

How can be make choices which are ecologically acceptable and also safe for our health? I am going to attempt to give you some indicators to help you to find your way through this dark and chaotic sea.

Overfishing is the main problem affecting the oceans right now. There are a few organizations whose mission is to guide consumers in their choices of fish by identifying the most reputable sources. Here are a few:

OCEAN WISE
Ocean Wise is a Vancouver Aquarium conservation program created to educate and empower consumers about the is- sues surrounding sustainable seafood. No certification is provided but businesses are identified by means of colored logos. They list over 3000 Canadian businesses such as restaurants, fish markets, etc. who offer products which meet criteria such as the abundance of stocks, recovery following fishing, good management of fishing based on solid scientific standards, ef- forts to reduce accidental catches and origin of foods. In British Columbia alone, 64 local species of seafoods have been identified. Ocean Wise even offers an application for Iphone. Their website : www.oceanwise.ca is very informative. Un- fortunately it exists in English only for the time being.

MARINE STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL
Sustainable fishing
Greenpeace has also assessed Canadian supermarkets on the basis of their stocking policy, amount of information made available to customers, and the number of species in their red list.

The Marine Stewardship Council is an international organization which for the last 10 years has had a program of fish- eries certification. To obtain this certification, fisheries must meet precise criteria. At present 139 fisheries are certified as being “sustainable and well managed” by the MSC program.

The next time you purchase fish, look for their logo on the packaging. You can also visit their website at: www.msc.org/fr where under the heading “Where To Buy” you will find a research tool to enable you to make choices defined by make, species and type of product.

FOURCHETTE BLEUE
Since mid-2009 the Quebec organization Exploramer has been proposing the “Smarter Seafood for the sound manage- ment of marine resources” certification program that encourages restaurants and fish markets to offer lesser-known products chosen from the numerous edible species found in the St. Lawrence Gulf, with a view to sustainable development and the protection of biodiversity. By integrating new marine species in restaurant menus and fish markets, Fourchette Bleue aims to 1) bring the population to diversity its consumption of Quebec’s marine products and therefore 2) allow fishermen to diversify their catch and in this way, 3) contribute to reducing pressure on species at risk. Valved whelks, mackerel, sea urchins, kelp, rock crab, clams…23 species are listed in the 2011 programme. Unfortunately this program is not yet very popular in spite of the fact that, in my opinion, it is the right approach for Quebec. The 2012 lists of restaurants and fish markets will be available from 1st June onwards on its site at www.exploramer.qc.ca/fourchette-bleue.

Canned tuna – visit the Greenpeace website at : www.greenpeace.org/canada/fr/ to see their interactive guide on canned tuna.

Greenpeace has also assessed Canadian supermarkets on the basis of their stocking policy, amount of information made available to customers, and the number of species in their red list.

  • Loblaw’s is at the top with 2.4/10 because it under takes to offer its customers only sustainable marine products within 4 years.
  • Walmart 1/10
  • Costco 0.7/10
  • Metro is lowest with 0.1/10

BE HAPPY

Another Canadian organization, the David Suzuki Foundation, has set up a Facebook page;”Be Happy”. By clicking on “I like” on this page, you will find recipes for children and help them learn about good foods from the sea. As the link is quite long, let me know by email and I will send it to you. SeaChoice.org for healthy oceans

Meanwhile we can put pressure on our local supermarket and avoid buying fish such as tuna, farmed salmon, Chilean bass, Atlantic cod and several other varieties which you will find on the Greenpeace site. The SeaChoice Canadian Guide to Fish and Seafood can be obtained by visiting www.seachoice.org and don’t forget to ask for local products like Matane shrimps, Lower North Shore snow crab, Îles-de-la-Madeleine lobster named by Fourchette bleue.

If you have any comments or suggestions, don’t hesitate to get in touch with me, and I shall be glad to publish them and respond to them.

Benoît.bleau@gmail.com 450-247-0137