Reading Saturday’s newspaper from front to back (apart from just glancing at sport and the motor section) is one of my weekend pleasures. The review of a local sushi bar (Dominion Post 24/01/2009) sparked my interest for two reasons – one I like sushi and two the reviewer (David Burton) made reference to the fact that he should have asked the waiting staff whether the tuna was blue fin or yellow fin, as blue fin is an endangered species. It reminded me that I have been meaning for a while to obtain a copy of the Forest and Bird Best Fish guide. If you’re downloading the guide also have a look at their site – Sea Week is at the start of March and there are lots of activities being organized around NZ for people to get involved in.
So having downloaded the guide I was shocked to see how far down in the Red Zone Hoki was – a fish I sometimes buy for the freezer. My husband will be pleased as he much prefers John Dory which is up near the top part of the list. While I was looking at fish I also downloaded the Greenpeace Red Fish Guide which has 12 types of fish targeted to make it easier for the consumer to remember. GreenPeace cites that during the Hoki season hundreds of fur seals and seabirds are being killed. In addition some Hoki stock are being depleted. With regards to tuna Greenpeace recommend not purchasing any tuna other than SkipJack tuna from NZ or poll, line or troll fisheries in the Pacific.
David Barton made a good point that sushi bars need to explain the fish species they use in greater detail so that their customers can make better informed decisions when choosing their sushi.