The team here loves fish. But we are also becoming increasing alarmed about fish being caught unethically. ‘Unethical’ is a word that is throw around probably too often so to provide some context: The UN Food and Agriculture Organization predicted that while the global catch for this year will be 160 million tonnes of seafood, less than 0.5 per cent is caught utilising genuinely sustainable methodology.
Large trawler methods unnecessarily waste significant potions of the catch. Fishing with large netting is indiscriminate, with the net hauling in whatever is in proximity. The fish species that are not wanted often die on the floor of the ship before they are thrown back into the ocean.
Mark Eather is a fisherman based in Tasmania who uses a Japanese method called Iki-jime. The Iki-jime “practice involves individually line-catching fish and killing them instantly with a special spike”. Eather explains that the technique embraces a simple yet sustainable mantra - “Catch it quick, kill it quick and chill it quick”. Although the procedure of individually line-catching fish is more time consuming and labor-intensive, it is less wasteful as the catch is either immediately killed or returned to the ocean, alive.
We encourage anyone who is interested in Mark to check out this brilliant article by Melbourne Pub Group and this insightful TED video about sustainable fishing presented by Dan Barber.
http://www.melbournepubgroup.com.au/food-and-drink/article/eating-fish-ethically
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EUAMe2ixCI