Buying fish, made a litle easier...?

Phil's Fish Market
Originally uploaded by dwinning

Last week, Greenpeace Canada released their report rating all the major Canadian grocery chains and their seafood sustainability. The results are not stellar, but they show that there is a burgeoning effort on the part of supermarkets to clean up their act. Indeed, most supermarket chains indicated the intent to remove more red-listed fish from their shelves by the end of the year. The only lemon in the bunch is Costco who seems to prefer inaction above all else.

Earlier in the year, the CBC and Radio-Canada investigated big chains and fish mongers on their fish labelling practices. It's rather disheartening to think that despite all our best efforts to buy sustainable fish, we will still get tripped up by mislabelled seafood. 

On the whole, the moral of the tale seems to be that one needs to get to know the fish monger better,  whether at the grocery store or in a local shop. And always keep a copy of the sustainable fish guide from SeaChoice (if you have an iPhone, you can even download an app for it) or from the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Both these guides are regularly updated, so you should check their websites once or twice a year.

Good luck, and bon app'!