If you paid attention to the seafood press over the last few weeks, you would have seen headlines about a British sustainable seafood campaign called "Fish Fight" more than a few times.
 

Fish Fight, organized by Channel 4 in the UK and supported by some of the biggest names in food such as Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsay, Heston Blumenthal and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, aims to "champion sustainable seafood and celebrate lesser known delicacies of the deep."
 

The campaign used television, print and online media to expose destructive fishing around the world and extol the virtues of less popular seafood items. The effects on local sales were felt almost immediately, with many retailers reporting an increase in the demand for alternatives to cod, tuna and salmon. A representative from Tesco, the UK's largest supermarket chain has stated that it sold between 25% and 45% more "fresh sardines, coley, brown crab, whiting and sprats" compared with the week before the broadcast.
 

The campaign will continue over the following months with the aim of long term change in the seafood purchasing habits of consumers.

The campaign and all its components are laid out in the official website - take a look!

We regularly receive questions about the issues surrounding fishmeal, whether from our partners, emails from the public, or in person at events. It seems as if the issue has begun seeping into the consciousness of seafood consumers, and for good reason. The production and use of fishmeal is one of the most important topics in sustainable seafood today.

In essence, fishmeal is a high nutrient ingredient (meaning it contains not only protein, but also essential oils, vitamins and minerals) used primarily in animal feeds and in some cases, as plant fertilizer. It is made by cooking, pressing, drying and grinding whole fish or fish discards to create a solid, dry product. Most commonly, fishmeal is made by processing small, oily and bony fish such as anchovies, sardines and herring which are consumed by humans in relatively low numbers. These fish are known as "forage fish" and act as an essential energy source for large ocean predators - fish, mammals and birds alike.

Many farmed (aquacultured) species; particularly large, active, carnivorous fish such as salmon, yellowtail and cobia, require relatively high levels of fish meal in their feed to achieve optimum growth. Other species such as catfish and trout require less fishmeal and in some cases can be grown using entirely vegetarian diets.

As you might imagine, there is a limited supply of wild forage fish stocks that are facing substantial increases in demand from the global expansion of aquaculture. In 2006, it was estimated that 68.2% of the total global fishmeal production was consumed by the aquaculture sector and these percentages are increasing. While feed efficiencies continue to improve, some researchers have suggested that projected aquaculture expansion will soon outstrip fish oil and fishmeal production, increasing the need to identify and develop alternative protein sources.

Businesses and researchers are racing to develop a truly sustainable alternative to fishmeal experimenting with everything from genetically modified plants, which could provide omega-3 fatty acids, to the extraction of fatty acids from seaweed.

We will be sure to keep you posted as new developments occur!

The UK-based Environmental Justice Foundation is a non-profit that tackles the difficult issue of pirate fishing, among others. Do you think pirates are only legends from the past? Think again! In order for a boat to fish, they must be registered to a country (their "flag") and have a permit to fish.

Boats from a country can be fishing in their own waters, or across the world in waters off Western Africa, for example. If boats skip this process, or don't follow the restrictions on their permits, like staying away from area near shore designated for only local fishing, they are pirate fishing.

When this product hits the market it is called Illegal, Unregulated, or Unreported (IUU) product. IUU product can be found in markets all around the world and it is for this reason that the EJF is calling for a Global Record of Fishing Vessels.

They say:

"Pirate fishing operators" steal with impunity and devastate marine environments, often using banned fishing gears, targeting protected species and fishing with high levels of bycatch - the accidental capture of species including seabirds, sharks, turtles and other endangered wildlife.

Without a Global Record of Fishing Vessels, it's difficult to identify offending vessels and even harder to penalize the true owners. This important step would bring much needed transparency and accountability to the oceans, providing a clearer picture of vessel ownership, their histories and the size and capacity of each country's fleet.

You can act now by signing the petition to expose the illegal actions of pirate fishing vessels worldwide.