by Playfuls Staff |
27th March 2007
Conservationists in Hong Kong Tuesday began distributing a pocket-sized guide to seafood lovers in the territory urging them to stop eating endangered fish species.
The [more] guide has been produced by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in an effort to slow Hong Kong's voracious appetite for seafood that is decimating fish stocks.
It classifies 66 fish available in markets and restaurants into categories of "recommended", "think twice" and "avoid" according to the degree of threat to the species.
Residents of Hong Kong consume an average of 58 kilograms of fish a year, the fourth-highest amount in Asia.
Seafood is imported into the city of 6.9 million from 30 countries and comes from as far away as Argentina. Ninety per cent of seafood comes from outside Hong Kong waters.
Surveys indicated that most people in Hong Kong people have no idea where the seafood they eat comes from or whether it is endangered, and would change their habits if they had better information.
Among the species in the guide's "avoid" category are the humphead wrasse and the leopard coral trout from southeast asia and the mantis shrimp and red crab from the South China Sea.
The "think twice" category includes the tiger garoupa from southeast Asia, the yellowfin seabream from Hong Kong, squid from the South China sea and orange-spotted garoupa from China.
The 16 recommended fish include pacific salmon from the US, sardines from Portugal, leopard coral trout from Australia and abalone from China.
WWF Hong Kong chairman Markus Shaw said: "Consumers have the power to make a big difference in protecting globally depleted marine resources through their purchasing decisions.
"We all need to act responsibly to ensure the oceans are not stripped bare for future generations."
© 2007 DPA
