14 May Think, Talk, Taste: Our Future is at Sea – Promoting Sustainable Seafood

Did you know that 90% of the world’s fish stocks are now fully fished or overfished? Did you know that overfishing destroys our marine ecosystem and you can help stem this decline by knowing the story of the fish that you eat? These and other interesting questions about sustainable seafood were discussed at a panel discussion on Sustainable Seafood at this year’s Ubud Food entitled: Think,Talk, Taste: Our Future is at Sea held on May 14, 2017.

The panel was moderated by Silvina Miguel a permaculturalist and a member of Slowfood Baliand included CTC Regional Communications Coordinator Leilani Gallardo, Yayasan Mdpi Fair Trade Manager Jaz Simbolon, award-winning Italian chef Lino Sauro of Gattopardo Ristorante Di Mare and Rob Garrison of Bali Mariculture,

The discussion focused on how seafood consumers have the power to conserve our marine ecosystems by supporting sustainable seafood and becoming responsible seafood consumers. The panelists recommended some tips that seafood eaters can do this such as:

• Buy fish in season – fish that are in season are cheaper, more accessible and have likely not been in long-term storage or transport to get to you
•  Spend less – less well-known fish are just as good and cost less because they less in demand. Learn to ask your fishmonger for them and learn new recipes to match them
• Discover new flavors – there are thousands of edible species of fish in the sea but we only eat about 15 of them. Enjoy discovering new flavors
•  Buy medium-sized to large fish (2 – 5 kg) are soft and tasty and prevent you from buying juvenile fish which have not yet spawne
•  Buy local if you can. This supports local fishing communities, has least impact on climate through travelling only short distances and has the highest likelihood of being fresh
•  Be informed – educate yourself about different species of fish that is used as food and look at sustainable seafood guides
• Ask questions – ask the restaurant or fishmonger where the fish comes from
• Read labels and when available buy fish which are certified to be sustainable
•  Choose wisely which fish to buy

We hope to inspire more people to become responsible seafood consumers for the health of our ocean that connects us all!