Campaign Hopes To Lure Restaurants Into Ensuring Fish Stays On Menu
The Age
Monday March 6, 2000
Restaurants and cafes will be the target of a state-wide campaign to stop the sale of fish considered in danger of being over-fished.
The campaign, by the Victorian National Parks Association (VNPA), "Fish Forever, Your Choice", will gain momentum with the announcement today that the Victorian Coastal Council, the leading body for strategic planning and management of the state's coast, endorses the cause.
``There is a problem with over-fishing and we are very concerned," said Ms Diana James, chairwoman of the Victorian Coastal Council. ``And too many restaurants are selling fish that are endangered because it's done out of ignorance ... We're going to try and educate them."
That education will include a series of forums conducted by the VNPA later this year, and cooking demonstrations at the coming Melbourne Food and Wine Festival.
If there's one restaurateur who knows seafood, it's Michael Bacash; his livelihood depends on it. As owner-chef of Toofey's probably the best seafood restaurant in Melbourne, he laments the plundering of fish stocks on commercial and recreational levels.
He says the entire fishing industry needs to be overhauled.
``When you buy fish and chips from the local shop, the owner probably won't know if their flake is gummy shark, which isn't over-fished, or school shark," Mr Bacash said.
Ms Rachel Bathgate, a marine biologist and fisheries project officer at the VNPA, agreed that fisheries management was poor. She said the answer was multifaceted yet simple: more scientific research; tougher regulations; taking the fishing pressure off these species to allow them to replenish, and education.
According to Ms Bathgate, perhaps most important were more ecologically sustainable ways of catching fish being implemented rather than the devastating and wasteful techniques of trawling and dredging.
In south-eastern waters, about two-thirds of marine life, including marine mammals and birds, is discarded through these methods with little chance of survival. Ms Bathgate and Ms James agree that, ultimately, it's the consumer who changes the market demand. How can we do that? Simple, said Ms Bathgate.
``If you're in a restaurant and see an endangered species, don't order it and tell the owner. If you don't know where the seafood comes from, don't order it. Just say no."
While the federal and state governments need to fund more adequate assessments of fish populations and educational programs, part of the Victorian Coastal Council's agenda was to advise the State Government on its coastal and oceanic environments, including marine life, Ms James said.
Coinciding with the VNPA campaign, the Coast to Coast 2000 conference starts tomorrow, attended by international and national delegates. Depleting fish stocks and a campaign of targeting the hospitality industry will be discussed at the conference's sustainable-fish dinner at Melbourne Aquarium tomorrow night.
Species overfished
Swordfish
Marlin
Southern bluefin tuna
School shark
Gemfish
Red fish
Ocean perch
Black bream
Blue warehou
Rock ling
Commercial scallops
Orange roughy
Source: Victorian National Parks Association
© 2000 The Age
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