Plenty more fish in the sea?

Not while celebrity chefs are reeling in the atlantic cod. It is of great concern to marine conservationists worldwide that overfishing and aggressive fishing strategies are causing a decline in valuable fish species that are crucial to ecological habitats. Endangered species of fish are dished up in top London restaurants with a handful of rocket but no concern for marine welfare and the sustainability of sourcing fish.

According to the marine conservation society, these are ok to eat sustainably:

• Black bream or sea bream (no restrictions)
• Clams (hand-gathered only)
• Cockles (hand-gathered only or MSC-certified)
• Cod, Atlantic (organically farmed only)
• Cod, Pacific (MSC-certified only)
• Coldwater prawn (MSC-certified from Canada only)
• Coley (MSC-certified from Norwegian waters only)
• Crab, edible or brown (pot-caught off the Devon coast)
• Crab, spider (pot-caught only)
• Dab (no restrictions)
• Dublin Bay Prawn/langoustine/scampi, MSC-certified, from Loch Torridon only
• Flounder (no restrictions)
• Gurnard, red and grey
• Herring (from Norwegian stocks)
• King mackerel or kingfish
• Lobster, Baja Californian red rock, MSC-certified
• Lobster, Western Australian rock, MSC-certified
• Mahi Mahi/Dorado (no restriction)
• Mussels (rope-grown or hand-gathered)
• Oysters, native and Pacific, farmed only
• Pollock (MSC-certified)
• Red mullet (not from Mediterranean)
• Salmon, Alaskan (MSC-certified)
• Salmon, Atlantic (organically farmed)
• King scallop (hand-dived only)
• Cornish sardines/pilchards
• Seabass, MSC-certified; line-caught
• Western Australian snapper
• Common sole or MSC-certified Dover sole from Hastings, or the Celtic sea
• Lemon sole (no restrictions)
• Atlantic and European squid (jig-caught only)
• Tilapia (farmed)
• Rainbow and brown trout (organically farmed only)
• Tuna, albacore (MSC-certified from the Pacific only)
• Tuna, skipjack (Western and Central Pacific fisheries, and Indian Ocean pole and line-caught only)

Thank god farmed Tilapia is on the list! I was hoping if I stuck round long enough someone might put in a good word for rollmops in brine.

Check out Charles Clover's website that rates fish in restaurants for quality and effects on marine life: http://fish2fork.com/apps/welcome