Something fishy

There is something fishy afoot in the UK papers today.  In the wake of the horsemeat scandal it has been found that some fish and chip establishments are selling other fish as cod or haddock.  Possibly because we are all on tenterhooks on horsemeat, authorities are now checking everything.

Both cod and haddock are in a dangerous decline and with efforts to farm these fish, successfully, currently not within our grasp; what are we to do?  Or even expect?

For too long we have consumed our way through these fish without so much as a care in the world.  Was it not our right eat what has been provided for us, they bread in prolific numbers so what we do won’t hurt?  How wrong we were, although many people just do not care and still expect to eat what they have always done.  Well today’s news should not come as a surprise and in fact do people even have the right to be angry about eating non-cod cod?

But what is the issue here?  The horsemeat scandal was as much about eating animals possibly not fit for human consumption, as well as the notion that of eating “Black Beauty” or “Red Rum”.  With fish it appears it is more about being sold cod that isn’t cod at (possibly) cod prices.  This is not cool; people need to make a living but scamming others for profit is not good.  It’s sad to think people do this, make a quick buck by lying about what they sell.  But this is nothing new, for as long as there has been a commodity there have people to exploit it for material gain.  It is a very human thing to do. 

I can sympathise with people getting angry at paying the same for less.  Paying £4.50+ for cod (before the chips) is a lot then to find out they owner has been making a premium on it!  But £4.50 is a lot anyway it is so much cheaper to buy the fish in its natural state (£10 for a side of cod that will do the 4meals for the 2 of us - should have been £13 but the market stall owner wanted the sale and probably to get home, it was freezing on Sunday).  I know it’s not convenient to deep fry fish at home, it takes a lot and makes the place smell. .. Humm there’s a post in there somewhere, comparing deep fried to oven baked….

Personally anything we can do to help endangered fish is great, eating less “attractive fish” – sorry why do looks matter?  We are not going to take it to bed (I hope :/ ) – instead of cod/haddock is nothing but a good thing.  If it is just going to be deep fried in oil taste isn’t going to be anywhere near a fish baked with herbs, chilies, lemons and garlic.  So if it is going to be deep fried in oil, why shouldn’t eat cheaper fish – provided it is honestly labelled.

There is another issue here, sustainability.  How do we know if the substitute fish is not already losing stock?  How long has cod and haddock subs been used for?  If we cannot answer those questions with confidence; and let’s face it, if people lie about the fish they supply how can we trust what else they say.  How do we know we are not heading for a marine crisis on a scale we cannot imagine?  A fishy Koyaanisqats (pronounced koy-yah-nie-skut-zie).  Humans seemingly cannot consume in measure.

So what do we do?  Like with meat, we need to eat less fish, but better quality (and yes more expensive) fish from fishmongers who know where it has come from.  There are changes in place in the EU to make fisherman more responsible for what they catch and how much they can catch.  While this has got people up in arms about losing money, I say if there is no fish to catch you have no job…. Think about it?!

Research what fish is more sustainable or can only be caught in more ecological ways.  Some people are lucky to live by the coast and can probably get some unbelievably fine fish.  But for most of us we need to get out there and form relationships with our food suppliers.  Talk to your chippy, find out where they get their fish, what fish they have, there may be better alternatives to cod that is cheaper.  If they don’t know then perhaps you should vote with your feet.  Food is a necessity but we have no right to exploit the way we do at times.  We have to take more responsibility for our fish consumption.

Won’t someone please think of the fish!

Thou shall have a fishy on a little dishy, thou shall have fishy when the boat comes in. 

Not if we carry on this way.

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