You don’t have to be a scientist to know that our oceans are terribly polluted. Here at Amanprana we have regularly published articles on this subject under the title of ‘Save the Sea’. Many things have caused our oceans to become so unhealthy, but it all boils down to one thing – pollution.
Fish absorb a wide variety of unhealthy substances through their food and gills and store them in their omega-3 fat cells. It is this fat that is recommended that people consume in fish oil and other substances, and it is recommended that we eat fish a number of times a week. Although Amanprana has a vegetable-based and clean version of omega-3 (the Okinawa omega oils), we understand that there are many who cannot resist some fish. But we do recommend that if you eat it, go for sustainable fish.
Sustainable fish, both sustainably hatched and sustainably caught, seems hard to find at the fishmonger or from your fish stall. But around half of the fish available from supermarkets is labelled as sustainable. They frequently carry either an MSC or an ASC label. Moreover, the amount of sustainable fish is growing in the shops, which shows that demand for it is likewise on the rise. So why is this not yet the case at the fishmonger or fish stall?
The problem is that fishmongers may often only sell MSC and ASC certified fish if the shop itself is certified. There are only 15 such certified shops in the entire Netherlands. And given that customers don’t demand sustainable fish, certification is considered unnecessary. These shops often do sell sustainable fish (such as herring, sole and cod), but they are sold without the quality label.
It is a sad fact that uncertified fish is caught in areas where the fish population is declining rapidly. These fish, which do not bear a quality label, such as the basa fish or tropical prawns are highly polluting. This means things would improve greatly if you insisted on fish with a quality label, which is how you could do your bit for sustainable fishing.