Ask Stinky!

Many of you people have a sense that the world's oceans are in trouble, but fewer seem to understand just how much strife they are really in.

It is caused by overfishing, and it’s the single biggest threat to my home. How’s it work?

More and more humans are competing for less and less fish. Today's industrialised fishing practices exceed nature's ability to replenish the ocean's fish stocks. Giant ships, using state-of-the-art finding sonar, can pinpoint schools of my friends quickly and accurately. The ships also have fish processing and packing plants, huge freezing systems, fishmeal processing plants, and powerful engines to drag enormous fishing gear through the ocean. Frankly, we don't stand a chance.

As a result, an incredible three quarters of the world’s oceans are officially over-exploited of fished right up to their limit. And you know, scientists have recently discovered that 90 percent of the big predatory fish (yep, they scare the hell out of me) are lost – species like bluefin tuna, swordfish and sharks all stripped from our oceans by industrialised fishing vessels.

Once considered inexhaustible, our oceans are now in a state of global crisis. Take it from someone who knows. I’m a fish after all.

X Close

The problem is that you're often trashing whole ecosystems to get to it! Some modern fishing fleets take much more than they need. Know that to get your nicely wrapped fillet of fish, huge quantities of other species may have had to die: sharks, dolphins, turtles, porpoises, and many others. That is what is called "bycatch" - don't you love euphemisms? It's all in the same vein as "collateral damage". These species are incidentally killed and then just thrown away. The goal should be more sustainable fishing, and there's some top humans out there doing it. We need fishing that does not risk the extinction of species... fishing that does not rip whole ecosystems from the seabed. And we need it not just for the fish but also for coastal communities that depend directly on living marine resources, and good fisher folks that want to make a living and do good by us fish.

X Close

Heck, you don't have to irritate or be aggressive (that's my job); just politely ask the question and raise the issue. "Is this fish from a sustainable fishery, and how do you know that?" The point is not to engage in furious fishy debates with waiters before dinner, but to raise the issue. The more those in the industry know that people like you are worried about these issues, the more they'll ask the same difficult questions of their suppliers. You have far more power - like wa-a-a-ay more than we fish - in this matter than you imagine, because the food business is very sensitive to public perceptions. You gotta help - please! - when'd you last see a fish able to give a waiter a hard time?!

X Close

Okay, gotta get a little techy on you here.

Bottom trawling can catch up to 17 times as many unwanted as wanted fish, while destroying in a moment fragile corals and habitats that take decades to grow back; trawling in coral forests is one of the worst things we are doing in oceans today. See more here

Longline fishing with thousands of baited hooks attracts seabirds who grab the bait, swallow the hooks, and get dragged underwater and drowned in their thousands. And the lines can also kill loggerhead and leatherback turtles just for good measure. But there's definately good guys out there looking for solutions - check out the WWF Smart gear competition.

Gill nets, which trap fish of specific sizes, also trap whales and dolphins (new types of gill nets are more easily noticed by dolphins and whales but are not yet widely used).

Cyanide? Cyanide?! Yes, it's injected by fishermen into water to paralyze fish; for every fish caught; a square metre of coral is killed. Oh yeah, cyanide is also widely used to trap tropical fish for aquariums. Kinda explains that slightly stunned look, huh?

Dynamite fishing is not only a thing of the past; it still happens a lot in South-east Asia, and it destroys habitats - fish homes! - at a terrifying pace.

Read more about these practices

X Close

There's no need to stop eating seafood because sustainably managed and responsibly caught seafood is available. The easy way to find some of the good stuff is looking for the MSC ecolabel. Asking for MSC will help push this industry to change even more, because without this positive pressure, unscrupulous fishermen will just continue their damaging practices, selling to those who don't care or can't care where or how their seafood is caught. Check out our Dish on Fish section to know what and how to eat your fish. Just don't eat me, please.

X Close

Well, being a fish and all, you are automatically my favourite type of human! Many people don't eat fish for a variety of reasons. But there are still lots of things you can do. Perhaps some of your friends and family do eat fish? If so you can tell them about MSC-certified seafood. You can also still check out your local stores and restaurants to see whether they stock sustainable seafood. You might not eat the fish on offer, but other people probably will so it's better for everyone if it isn't stinky!

X Close

Many organizations (such as the American Heart Association and the UK's Food Standards Authority) recommend at least two portions of fish a week; but some feel even this is not sustainable - there's that word again. Really, people, so much depends on where the fish you eat comes from; two servings of "Chilean sea bass" (actually Patagonian toothfish) is completely unsustainable; two portions of Cornish mackerel is now completely sustainable (see WWF seafood guides). The MSC logo is a simple way to ensure that you're not contributing to marine destruction. Please, just be open to changing your eating habits to take into account the real impact of your tastes on the oceans. Or push yourself a bit - and take a look at our 6 Step Plan. Go on, do it for me, your old mate Stinky.

X Close

Any fishery that is certified against the MSC environmental standard has to be managed in an environmentally responsible manner. Lots of happy, uninterrupted fishy sex must be facilitated! The ecological balance of any MSC fishery must be respected. And all relevant local, national and international laws and regulations must be respected. It can get pretty complex, and it's not all black and white, but it's really starting to work. If you want to know more, just visit MSC's website.

X Close

Always remember, the key to which fish to avoid is often not the species, but WHERE IT COMES FROM. For example, bluefin tuna from the Mediterranean should be avoided at all costs - that's a BIG no-no; but yellowfin or skipjack tuna from the Indian Ocean is, at present, OK. And, of course, if possible, try to avoid any fish that does not come with the MSC ecolabel on it .

Look at the WWF fish guides or for even more info, visit FishOnline for a regularly updated list of what to eat; this is the list of what NOT to eat.

Please get used to thinking not in terms of just "tuna" or "hake" but in terms of "what kind of tuna or hake" and "tuna or hake from where?"

X Close

Aquaculture is HUGE - one of the fastest growing food production systems in the world. At times, aquaculture -- also known as fish farming -- can impact the environment. For example, sometimes fish farming pollutes the water or harms senstive habitats, like mangroves. But fish farming is transforming. WWF, for example, is working with aquaculture industry leaders worldwide to develop standards for certifying aquaculture products. The standards will minimize or eliminate the main impacts aquaculture has on the environment and society. The end result will be fish that is healthy for consumers and the environment -- not "stinky."

X Close