Seafood See Life
Seafood See Life is a vibrant new network bringing together influential people organisations and businesses that want to be part of a positive wave of change for our oceans
Watch our film about the problems facing our oceans and the positive changes that some people across the seafood industry are making to make sure that there will be fish on our plates tomorrow.
It's not being over-dramatic to say that our oceans are in crisis. Scientists describe three-quarters of the world's fish stocks as being "fully exploited, over-exploited or depleted". And nine out of ten of large predatory fish like tuna, swordfish and cod have already been fished out. The situation is so serious that, if current trends are not reversed, recent research predicts that fisheries for all the species we now fish commercially will have collapsed by 2050.
What can be done?
The good news is that fish stocks can recover if ecosystems are protected.
But action is urgently needed to end
destructive fishing practices and
to switch to fisheries that are run
sustainably. We also need large scale marine
reserves, essentially national parks
at sea that are closed to fishing, to be established now. They
are widely recognised as the most
effective way to protect damaged
ecosystems and give fish stocks
breathing space to recover, but
today such reserves cover less
than 0.1 per cent of the world’s oceans.
Terms of Endangerment:
read Charles Clover's Vanity Fair article on which chefs are adding (or failing to add) sustainable seafood to their menus
Will your favourite fish be on the menu in the future? Only if we make changes to the way we manage our oceans now. Greenpeace is calling for 40 per cent of the world's oceans to become protected as marine reserves.
The Seafood See Life campaign
For the past two years Greenpeace has been working successfully with UK supermarkets - getting them to use their economic muscle to apply pressure on their suppliers to fish sustainably, and start to phase out destructive fishing methods like bottom-trawling. But big retailers are only part of the story - chefs and restaurants also have a crucial part to play if our favourite fish dishes are not to disappear from menus all over the country - this is what Seafood See Life is all about.
Is your seafood sustainable? Frequently asked questions
The campaign launched with an event at Old Billingsgate Fish Market in London on 30 January with top chefs Raymond Blanc and Tom Aikens urging other chefs to use only sustainable seafood on their menus (click on their names to hear their speeches). And it's already attracted the backing of multiple Michelin-starred Heston Blumenthal and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. They've all agreed to sign the following pledge:
Our oceans are in crisis. If we are going to enjoy eating fish in the tomorrow, we need to change the way we do business, today. I want to be part of the wave of change.
I pledge to do my bit to protect our oceans by
- using my influence to promote sustainable seafood
- working to make sure that the seafood I sell or serve is sustainable
- supporting large scale marine reserves – national parks at sea – which allow space for fish stocks to recover
How you can help
If you are a chef or food-writer we'd love you to lend your support to the campaign by taking the pledge. Remember, we are not calling for an end to all fishing - but to the destructive fishing which is emptying our oceans across the world. As Raymond Blanc says: "Protecting the diversity of fish in
our seas is as important as looking after wildlife on land. Those of us who are
passionate about cooking and serving seafood will be equally passionate about
using only sustainable species, as the fish we cook and eat now will determine
what we have in the future."
If you'd like to sign up or get some more information, please email sarah.shoraka@uk.greenpeace.org
More information
Sustainable seafood - frequently asked questions