CONNOISSEUR:WHEN IT COMES to fish, confusion reigns. Cod from the North Sea is not a good idea, cod from the Irish Sea (south east) is. Brill is under threat if it comes from anywhere but the Baltic Sea. Tuna is not a good idea, nor is ray. Mackerel is okay, as is the Dublin Bay Prawn – except that is, supplies from Spain or Portugal.
We live in a confusing world and nowhere does it get more confusing than with fish. They keep swimming round for a start and it’s hard to keep tabs on them. Add seasonality to the whole issue of sustainability and what to eat and when becomes little short of a nightmare.
Plaice, particularly large specimens from which you can cut a steak, is a favourite fish, undervalued and superb eating, yet by the beginning of April it will have turned flabby. This will last through to the start of September. That leaves two months of good eating, assuming the weather holds.
Check out the Marine Conservation Society website, however, and you will discover that plaice is under threat unless supply comes from the North Sea and Irish Sea where stocks are classified as “healthy” and are fished “sustainably”. Furthermore, to increase sustainability, we are advised to choose fish caught using seine or gill nets as they are less damaging to the marine environment. Most of us have trouble identifying the fish, let alone what net was used to catch it.
Lidl did some research at the end of last year showing that fewer than 2 per cent of its Irish customers had ever heard of the Marine Stewardship Council. The MSC claims to be the world’s leading certification and eco-labelling programme for sustainable seafood. Lidl appears to be the only supermarket in Ireland with such a programme and is championing much undervalued and delicious fish such as pollock and hake – fish to be enjoyed with a clear conscience – and two mackerel fisheries in Ireland are currently under MSC assessment.
Confused? You are not alone. Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) is currently working with the Fish Sustainability Information Group (FSIG) to try and simplify information for interested consumers who, understandably, are finding it very hard to make informed decisions. Things are somewhat easier than they were, however, and it is a legal requirement that all wild fish shows the area where it was caught and all farmed fish now displays the country of origin. Still, you need to be able to interpret this information for it to be any real use.
For anyone keen to get an up-to-date overview of where fishing sits today, Charles Clover's book, The End of the Line: How Overfishing is Changing the World and What We Eat, has been turned into a documentary which was shown at the Sundance Film Festival last week and will be out later this year. It is a powerful condemnation of current fishing practices and shows just how much work is required to reverse centuries of an effective free-for-all.
BIM is at pains to point out that a lot of work has been done and is being adopted by fisheries as they wake up to the threats. And while fish farming has gone some way to alleviate part of the pressure, we remain too obsessed by fine white fish. A conscious switch to the delights – and they are delightful – of the likes of pollock, mackerel, hake and gurnard would make a significant difference. Responsibly managed fisheries remain as vital as ever.
Marine Stewardship Council, www.msc.org; Marine Conservation Society, www.fishonline.org; Frozen fish brands Youngs and Birds Eye both have product lines from MSC-certified fisheries; The End of the Line, http://festival.sundance.org/2009