Talk to the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute about sustainable fishing and you could win a £200 Waitrose voucher NOW CLOSED

[AngelieMumsnet]

The team at the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute want to talk to MNers about sustainable and responsible fishing.

Here’s what the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute have to say, “We are very proud of the quality and sustainability of the fish from their oceans. Sustainability and responsible fishing has been enshrined into Alaska’s law since it became the 49th state of the US. All the fish that comes from Alaskan waters are wild and natural, giving them a huge amount of flavour and taste in addition to all the health benefits, plus you can have a clear conscious when you choose Alaskan seafood safe in the knowledge that the ocean’s stocks are preserved for generations to come.”

So, do you think that sustainability of fish is important? Do you consciously choose sustainable fish when you do your shop or are other factors such as price more important to you? Does the country of origin of your fish matter to you? Do you have any top tips for Mumsnetters when buying seafood responsibly?

Everyone who adds their thoughts to this thread will be entered into a prize draw to win a £200 Waitrose voucher.

Please note your comments may be used by MN/ Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute in an email MN will be sending out as well as possibly elsewhere. Please only add a comment if you're happy for your quote to be used.

Thanks,
MNHQ

[AvengingGerbil]

I only buy 'wild Alaskan salmon' - just by looking at it you can see it is all muscle and very little fat. It has much more flavour than farmed fish. It is also a lovely colour, not all flabby and 'tinned salmon' pink.

Also, I only buy North Atlantic prawns, because they actually taste of prawn and not seawater!

[Fram]

We buy Alaskan salmon only, because of the issues over farmed scottish salmon. Are there really issues over contamination from Fukushima?

I don't buy cod at all because of the sustainability. I am not a connoisseur, so I am happy with other white fish tbh.

[Spirael]

I know pretty much nothing about fish sustainability! I eat a mostly vegetarian diet, but occasionally I have fish. I buy based on what I fancy, what is available and what is on offer.

[Ifpigscouldfly]

So, do you think that sustainability of fish is important?

Yes I think it is very important. I work in an environmental/conservation area so am painfully aware how important it is. We are looking at there being no fish left to eat in 50 years if we carry on the way we are now.


Do you consciously choose sustainable fish when you do your shop or are other factors such as price more important to you?

Always. Price ofcourse matters - if I can't afford it I don't have it. Like tuna for example which buying a sustainable variety Caught properly is expensive.



Does the country of origin of your fish matter to you?


Yes. I am aware of countries/ocean areas and which species caught there are sustainable - like say Norwegian cod vs American. If I can't remember I look it up. I realise a lot of people don't though.

Do you have any top tips for Mumsnetters when buying seafood responsibly?

• fish to fork has a restraint guide that is very good at explaining which places are the best to eat at. Also look out for the marine stewardship council MSC blue logo on fish.

[Ifpigscouldfly]

It also makes me very sad that people have in idea the damage they are doing by buying other fish and supporting the non sustainable methods and fish farming which at best is no better at all things considered probably as bad if not worse due to the amount of fish made into food for the farmed fish kilo for kilo.

[claraschu]

None of our family eat fish.

There is a simple answer to the problem of over fishing and sustainability.

[Parsnipcake]

So, do you think that sustainability of fish is important?

Yes, but I rely in my fishmonger's advice about which to buy

Do you consciously choose sustainable fish when you do your shop or are other factors such as price more important to you?
I would pay a bit more for sustainable fish as long as it was the fish I wanted to eat- I am not keen on a lot of the cod substitutes, they seem a bit watery.

Does the country of origin of your fish matter to you?

I go to a good fishmonger and take their recommendations, rather than seeking a particular country's fish

Do you have any top tips for Mumsnetters when buying seafood responsibly?

An independent fishmonger often has lots of knowledge and ideas about which fish to use

[Nouseforausername]

I think sustainable fishing is very important. surely if it were unsustainable there would be no fish left?
I think on the occasions we do actually buy fish we check to see if its from a responsible source.

[rootypig]

I love fish and all seafood, and try to buy it regularly for the family, but must say it's slightly anxiety inducing, if that's not too strong! it's expensive, so I don't feel able to freely buy the best quality of fresh, wild fish. I have vague concerns about sustainability, mercury, whether farmed fish is actually that good for you and its effect on the environment. I would love to have information that I trusted to make me a more confident shopper - buying fish that is fresh and in season, from sustainable sources. As parsnip says, an independent fishmonger would be able to help, but I'm always a bit self conscious . I suppose that's because I worry I won't be able to afford their recommendation.

[Ifpigscouldfly]

FYI farmed fish is terrible for the environment.

[IncaAztec]

So, do you think that sustainability of fish is important?

Yes. In particular cod. A massive sustainability issue - many simply wont try alternatives like whitebait.

Do you consciously choose sustainable fish when you do your shop or are other factors such as price more important to you?

I try to choose sustainable options but if fish is being sold fresh the supermarkets often don't seem to know where it has come from at the counter.

Does the country of origin of your fish matter to you? Do you have any top tips for Mumsnetters when buying seafood responsibly?

Yes, I have issues with the use of grenades on the seabed in developing countries that kill all sealife present, not just useful fish. Then throw back anything not useful. So Thailand, Indonesia etc are out for me.

My main tip is to try alternatives where you can. Haddock and Whitebait for cod. Even try some Herring and Kipper to mix things up.

[gildedlily]

Yes sustainability is important to me. If buying from a supermarket I would check for a responsibly sourced sticker. Ideally I would like to buy Scottish fish and seafood as I live in Scotland and want to support local industry and avoid food miles. After reading about prawn farming I tend to go for cold water options rather than those from Thailand etc. Basically I like eating fish and want to continue doing so without feeling guilty.

[PlanetArghhh]

Sustainability of fish is very important as some staple food species are becoming endangered at an alarming rate.

As a family, we eat a lot of fresh fish but it can expensive and I tend to only buy it from Waitrose these days as the quality is good and, reassuringly, they do seem to have quite stringent policies on sustainable/endangered species. Their Alaskan wild salmon is particularly yummy…but alas very expensive and a bit of a rare treat!

It worries me that when you sometimes walk past the fresh fish counters in some of the more ‘mainstream/big 4’ supermarkets, often the smell of not so fresh fish is quite offensive – I was taught that smelly fish is ‘off’… and would not be inclined to buy it.

We are fortunate in that a great fish company based in Grimsby comes ‘down south’ once every 8 weeks and delivers fresh fish to order (they originally canvassed in our village about a year ago and now phone the week before delivery). The prices are quite reasonable and you can certainly tell the fish is freshly caught and it tastes delicious; my only regret is that I have to wrap most of it and put it in the freezer but even then, I defrost it carefully the day before using it and it is still good.

What angers me is that some countries seem to adhere to the fishing quotas more strictly than others and, without getting into too much of a political swamp, I am amazed at the brazen disregard of the ocean that still goes on… and don’t even get me started on the stories I hear of illegal hauls being thrown back into the sea; such a waste and surely it would be better to be more careful about what does land in the nets?

[MaddAddam]

Do you think that sustainability of fish is important?
Yes in theory but it's one of quite a few food issues I think are important and it tends not to be at the top of my mind when choosing food.
Also I have much stronger views about the meat industry and stick quite rigidly to this, fish farming issues don't quite grab me in the same way.

Do you consciously choose sustainable fish when you do your shop or are other factors such as price more important to you?
I do try, but am also looking for local food, and also price is a consideration.
Also, taste is an issue. I have had several attempts with Pollack instead of Cod. I just can't eat it, it tastes and smells rancid to me. So that's a problem, however many food writers insist it's an undervalued fish, I think there are reasons for its lack of popularity. Hake is also a bit weird.

Does the country of origin of your fish matter to you?
I aim for closer to home - UK, or close by in Europe, and/or arriving by environmentally friendly transport.

Do you have any top tips for Mumsnetters when buying seafood responsibly?
You can get quite addicted to tinned sardines, I found, when switching from tuna (my preferred choice of tinned fish for a long time). Sometimes a change in eating habits takes a bit of time. (sardines being more sustainable than tuna, in general).

[worldgonecrazy]

So, do you think that sustainability of fish is important?

As the sustainability of fish is linked very closely to the sustainability of the oceans, and therefore to the sustainability of the human race, you might say that I have a vested interest in it.

Do you consciously choose sustainable fish when you do your shop or are other factors such as price more important to you?

Sustainability is the most important factor when I buy fish. I would rather buy less fish than have to purchase unsustainably sourced fish.

Does the country of origin of your fish matter to you?

Yes, I will always check the country of origin. I don't mind buying farmed sea food, and part of sustainability is about how far food has had to travel from source to plate, so I would choose Icelandic over Alaskan.

Do you have any top tips for Mumsnetters when buying seafood responsibly?

Read the label, educate yourself, try something a bit different.

[spababe]

I'd like an easy method to recognise sustainable fish eg a freedom foods sticker or an equivilent of the 'red tractor' sticker. I find it hard to know when I am looking at the packs in the supermarket if the fish is sustainable and ethically farmed or caught

[Ifpigscouldfly]

There is one spababe here

[aftereight]

Shamefully, given that I once wrote a degree level exam paper on suistainable fishing, I give little thought to it when buying fish to eat.

I do notice relevant labels on packaging, but always choose according to what I like the look of and the price. If money was no object I would perhaps have slightly different selection priorities.

[Sheldonswhiteboard]

Sustainability is important, we need to safeguard supplies for the future. Will generally look out for food marked as coming from a sustainable source - supermarkets have improved in this a lot.

I won't buy fish from the Pacific due to the Fukushima incident. I look out for North Atlantic fish in preference and the more local the better.

[Kikaninchen]

I definitely think it is important, and I will pay a bit more for ethical food in general, when I can afford it.

What that means in practice is we don't eat much fresh sea fish because I can't afford it; the fish we eat most often is tinned mackerel, and we don't have that often. I sometimes stock up on frozen fish when it's on offer.

I often order fish in restaurants as a treat - I don't have a clue if that is sustainable

[flamingtoaster]

So, do you think that sustainability of fish is important?
Yes very important - both because fish is a wonderful nutritious food and because we desperately need to keep all food sources going as demand for food steadily increases with increasing population.

Do you consciously choose sustainable fish when you do your shop or are other factors such as price more important to you?
I do try to stick with sustainable fish though price does come into it - if it's too expensive I just buy it less often.

Does the country of origin of your fish matter to you?
Yes - I like fish from the North Atlantic fish or closer.

Do you have any top tips for Mumsnetters when buying seafood responsibly?
Always read the label and look for sustainability - bring it within your budget by buying less and adding beans etc to the meal as additional protein.

[mrscumberbatch]

I think sustainability is of the utmost importance and so buy all my fish at M&S as they have a high profile sustainability campaign.

It's laziness really as I don't know where else offers it but if I was more aware of sustainability program's elsewhere then I would shop there.

Country of origin doesn't bother me so much as its paying somebodies wage somewhere.

Tips for other mumsnetters. Well no, not really. I think if people understand why we need to use sustainable stocks then they would.

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

I agonise over which fish is ok to eat and which isn't. Farmed can often have repercussions on wild stocks in terms of feed escaping and disease. Wild I worry about over fishing and the nets catching the wrong fish which are then discarded. Now I've read about the Thai slave trade and how we shouldn't eat thai prawns.

I really like fish and it's good for me but I often just give up in the supermarket after dithering for ages. If anyone sees a confused lady standing in the fish aisle it might be me. Just please place some fish in my trolley and put me out of my misery.

[MyNameIsInigoMontoya]

So, do you think that sustainability of fish is important?

Yes, although I don't always remember to think about it much.

Do you consciously choose sustainable fish when you do your shop or are other factors such as price more important to you?

Sometimes, but I do sometimes forget to think about it or it may not be clear which fish is/is not sustainable. We have started avoiding cod where possible.

Does the country of origin of your fish matter to you?

Not especially as I don't have much knowledge of what countries are "good" or not.

Do you have any top tips for Mumsnetters when buying seafood responsibly?

No, sorry!

[CMOTDibbler]

I'm concerned about sustainability, and ensure I choose sustainable fish. I find the staff on fish counters often very helpful in choosing less known types of fish, and frequently buy frozen fish for the cost savings.