Forest and Bird's fish list not credible

Monday, 5 December 2016, 4:51 pm
Press Release: Seafood New Zealand

Media Release

December 1, 2016

Forest and Bird's fish list not credible

Forest & Bird’s so-called fish guide is doing consumers a disservice, the seafood sector said.

It is not science-based, it is ideologically driven, and it is not subject to robust peer review, Seafood NZ chief executive Tim Pankhurst said.

“Most seafood would be off the menu if you followed this list – no snapper, no Bluff oysters, no bottom trawled hoki, no whitebait, no groper, no flounder, no rig. We can’t all eat tofu.”

A more credible authority is the Ministry for the Environment which stated in its 2015 environmental stocktake: “Our commercial fisheries are sustainably managed and overfishing is decreasing.”

“In 2014 the proportion of fish caught (landings) from stocks subject to overfishing was less than 5 percent,” the Environment Aotearoa report said. “This is a decrease from about 10 percent in 2009-10.”

Fish stock assessments are overseen by Ministry for Primary Industries and National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research scientists, Mr Pankhurst said.

“They are internationally respected for their work and this country is at the forefront of fisheries management.

“The great majority of stocks are in good heart, they are sustainably fished.

“The small number of stocks that are deemed to be overfished have management plans in place.

“The trawl and dredge imprint, which seems to be a key influencer in F&B’s thinking, is also reducing.”

For the facts about the state of New Zealand’s wide range of nutritious and tasty seafood plus cooking tips go to Seafood NZ’s Best Fish Guide website bestfishguide.co.nz

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