Eating our way to extinction

6
centrepiece
Editor Nick bekolay
The Voice, THURSDAY, april 1, 2010
Local groups play their part to
help bring the world’s oceans...
THE KEY TO OCEAN
conservation
BACK FROM THE BRINK
The majority of fish stocks worldwide
have been in decline for decades. Here’s a
glimpse of what this means.
On a global scale:
Eating our way to extinction
ANNA KILLEN photo
Left to right: Kevin Huang, Vancouver food writer Stephanie Yuen, Shark Truth founder Claudia Li and Ken Leung,
owner of Ken’s Chinese Restaurant, gather at Leung’s
restaurant to launch Shark Truth’s wedding campaign.
M
Sharks love
Happy Hearts
Vancouver group Shark Truth entices
Chinese-Canadian couples into fin-free
wedding pacts with promise of dive trip
By ANNA KILLEN
S
MATHIAS FAST photo
Ken Leung’s restaurant is the first to take shark fin soup off of its menu for the
Stop the Soup campaign (above left). Kirin manager Chris Yeung (above right)
says his restaurant will continue to serve shark fin soup for as long as customers continue to order it. Jars of shark fins line the shelves at Cheng Sing Herbal
& Birds Nest Co, Ltd (below).
MATHIAS FAST photo
Jim Zu points out dried shark fins that can sell for over $300 at Cheng Sing Herbal & Birds Nest Co, Ltd in
Vancouver’s Chinatown district.
Ocean Wise credited with curbing public’s
demand for unsustainable seafood items
By working with restaurants, Ocean Wise is able to have a greater effect on consumer
habits than other systems of sustainability certification: UBC Fisheries Centre expert
By MAXWELL M. ADDINGTON
A
MATHIAS FAST photo
GREENPEACE’S
redlist
Greenpeace recommends consumers avoid purchasing
the following fish:
NICholas DULVY
Shark expert and
Simon Fraser
University professor
Atlantic haddock
Atlantic cod
Atlantic halibut
Atlantic salmon (farmed)
Atlantic sea scallops
Chilean seabass
Greenland halibut
Hard shell clams
New Zealand hoki
orange roughy
sharks, skates and rays
swordfish
tropical shrimps
tuna (bluefin, bigeye, yellowfin)
To learn more, visit: http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/campaigns/
oceans/what-we-do/sustainable-seafood-markets/redlist
Jennifer jacquet
Post-doctoral
researcher with
the UBC Fisheries
Centre
Year when majority of commercial fish stocks are
expected to hit rock-bottom if trends observed in 2005
continue unchanged:
2050
By REBEKAH FUNK
ANNA KILLEN photo
Per cent decline in large predatory fish, including
bluefin tuna and numerous shark species:
90
Cultural and culinary traditions play major role in driving
demand for unsustainable items like shark fin and tuna
any of Vancouver’s seafood
restaurants are contributing
to the degradation of the
world’s oceans and experts
say little is being done to regulate the
consumption of unsustainable seafood.
Almost 99 per cent of high-end Chinese restaurants serve shark fin soup at
banquets, according to Chris Yeung, regional manager of Kirin Restaurant at
City Square on Cambie. He said consumers play a big part in keeping the tradition alive.
“Business wise, we’re hoping to keep
doing this,” Yeung said. “If no one consumed the shark fin, of course we
[wouldn’t] take the shark fin.”
Shark fin soup typically costs between
$20 and $80 per bowl and one pound of
dried shark fin can sell for over $300. According to Sharkwater filmmaker Rob
Stewart, shark fin sales rival drug trafficking in profits.
But Chinese restaurants are not the
only ones serving unsustainable seafood. Greenpeace publishes an online
“red list” of seafood to avoid. Fish and
shellfish make the red list if they are harvested faster than they can be replenished — an unsustainable practice that
will inevitably lead to extinction if nothing is done to curb consumption.
A number of restaurants serve these
red-listed foods. Bluefin tuna is popular
at Japanese sushi restaurants and can
sell for $4.50 to $5 a piece at places like
Miko Sushi Japanese Restaurant on
Robson Street. And while many Vancouver and Richmond sushi restaurants
don’t sell bluefin tuna, they do sell bigeye tuna, another red-listed fish. Chinese
supermarket T&T no longer sells shark
fins but still sells red-listed Atlantic
farmed salmon.
The renewed interest in sustainable
fishing comes after last week’s Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meeting in Qatar.
The United States, Palau and the European Union proposed trade controls on
threatened shark species, while Monaco
asked for a ban on all bluefin tuna trading.
All the proposals except one were
turned down by other CITES member
nations, including Canada. The only proposal adopted put trade controls on the
porbeagle shark — a species fished in
Canadian and American waters that is
already sufficiently managed, according
to Simon Fraser University shark expert
Nicholas Dulvy.
“When Canada wants to manage
something, it generally does very well,”
he said. “It’s just that very often, there’s
very little political power to do anything
about it in the interest of business.”
Dulvy said over 33 million sharks are
killed for their fins each year. Some estimates claim the number is closer to 100
million because much of the shark fishing goes unrecorded on the black market.
Lydia Chung is a member of Shark
Truth, a Vancouver-based organization
that educates the public about the perils
of shark finning. She said the Chinese
community needs a “wake-up call” because current consumers do not think
beyond what they can see.
7
mid growing international concern over the status of
ocean wildlife, organizations such as Ocean Wise are going beyond targeting consumers to curb demand for unsustainable seafood.
“It’s working with restaurants, which … is a better bracket
than consumers, because you can actually effect greater purchasing power,” said Jennifer Jacquet, a post-doctorate researcher with the UBC Fisheries Centre and author of numerous studies and articles concerning the health of oceans.
Jacquet said Ocean Wise is a “commendable effort” because it accomplishes more than sustainable seafood
wallet cards, printed by non-profit organizations such
as SeaChoice, which are designed for consumers to
carry as a quick reference when buying seafood.
Ocean Wise is a non-profit conservation program
created by the Vancouver Aquarium. By partnering with
“restaurants, markets, food services and suppliers,” the
program provides “the most current scientific information regarding seafood,” helping their partners and consumers make
environmentally-friendly choices, according to the Ocean Wise
website. A black and white symbol of a fish’s head in a circle
beside a menu item indicates that it has been approved by
Ocean Wise.
However, most of Ocean Wise’s partner restaurants have a
mix of sustainable and not-so-sustainable items.
“An Ocean Wise restaurant can sell shark fin soup,” Jacquet
said, adding that she would like to see partner restaurants sell
only Ocean Wise-approved items.
However, to attract existing businesses to the program,
Ocean Wise does not make it so businesses have to be completely sustainable right away. Instead, they encourage partners to “commit to removing or replacing one unsustainable
item every six months until they create a 100 per cent clean
menu,” according to the Ocean Wise website.
Jacquet said labeling is another major issue in the seafood
industry, as businesses do not have to label where something
was caught, or what subspecies it is. Thus, at Donald’s Market
in East Vancouver, there are two types of salmon: one labeled
“wild salmon – previously frozen,” and the other labeled “fresh
salmon.” Jacquet said that in such a situation, it is usually
safe to assume that the “fresh salmon” is farmed, not wild,
and therefore unsustainable.
But according to SeaChoice, wild salmon is only a
sustainable choice if caught in Alaska, an aspect the
Langara Café highlights with their “Alaska salmon” and
“Alaska halibut” burgers.
However, the college’s cafeteria — operated by Chartwells, which is a division of Compass Group Canada and Ocean
Wise partner — sells tuna in sandwiches.
Depending on where and by what methods the canned white
albacore tuna was caught determines its sustainability, according to SeaChoice.
Thus, if unsure of a seafood item’s origin, it is best to ask the
seller.
Whatever the approach, Jacquet said educating people about
ocean wildlife is an important part of the solution. But on top of
that, she would like to see people engage with seafood as wildlife, not just as items on a menu.
hark Truth wants to stop the slaughter of sharks — one
cup of soup at a time.
The Vancouver based shark conservation group
launched its Stop the Soup campaign at a press conference last
week. The campaign aims to raise awareness in the Chinese
community about the large number of sharks killed every year
for their fins—fins that are used in shark fin soup, a Chinese
delicacy.
“About 33 million sharks are killed each year,” said Nicholas
Dulvy, Canadian Research Chair in Marine Biodiversity and
Conservation. “Their fins are passed through markets in Hong
Kong to provide the world with shark fin soup.”
While some shark advocacy groups use graphic videos of
shark finning practices to get their message across, Shark
Truth founder Claudia Li decided it would be more effective to
take a positive, educational approach.
“We want to work with the Chinese community, not against
them,” Li said. “We want to engage the consumers [of shark fin
soup].”
Shark fin soup is typically served at traditional
Chinese
weddings
where it is a sign of
status and respect.
Li likens it to the
western
practice
of eating turkey at
Thanksgiving
dinner—it’s engrained in
Chinese culture.
“Anytime it comes to
cultural change, whether
it be in the Chinese culture or any other culture, it’s going
to be an uphill battle,” Li said. “One thing we try to do is make
sure we target the right audience.”
This is why Shark Truth’s Happy Hearts Love Sharks wedding contest, launched on Sunday, targets young couples. People in the 20-30 year age-range are more aware of conservation
issues, Li said.
Li hopes that getting young couples to pledge not to serve
shark fin soup at their weddings will raise awareness through
the entire Chinese community and create a ripple effect.
Through couples educating their guests about why they are not
serving the soup, entire families becomes aware of the issue.
This is already happening in some Lower Mainland Chinese
families.
Vancouver’s Karin Tham did not serve shark fin soup at her
February wedding after attending a baby shower hosted by her
brother. He handed out cards and DVD’s to guests explaining
why he was not serving shark fin soup.
“I understood the consequences of serving sharks,” said
Tham, “And I decided not to serve them [at my wedding].”
Educating the Asian community about shark fin soup is important, she said.
“As long as they’re educated I think they’ll have a second
thought,” said Tham. “It might take a hundred years but at least
it’s a start.”
This weekend she is attending her fourth family banquet
without shark fin soup.
“At the beginning when the guests sit down and see that
we’re not serving shark fin they might think we’re being cheap,”
said Tham. “But when they take the DVD home and if they have
the time to watch it they might realize that what they’re eating
is actually pretty disgusting.”
Shark Truth’s Happy Hearts Love Sharks wedding contest offers couples a chance to win a trip to Mexico if they pledge to
not serve shark fin soup at their weddings. Students can find
out more about Shark Truth at www.sharktruth.com.
Locally:
Per cent decline of ling cod “biomass” in Howe Sound
compared to “historic levels:”
99
Per cent decline of ling cod in other regions of the
Straight of Georgia:
≥80
Solutions:
Governments worldwide are working
towards resolving the “fisheries crisis,”
however, much remains to be accomplished. More responsible fishing policy is
one piece of the puzzle. Another, is what’s
known as “marine protected areas.” These
are large sections of ocean that are either
off-limits to fishing, or sustainably managed.
Per cent by which fish catches increased in the vicinity
of a marine reserve in Fiji over three years:
300
Per cent increase in the income earned by local fishermen over that same period of time:
35
Per cent of the world’s oceans that scientists recommend should be closed to fishing:
20
Per cent of the world’s oceans currently protected:
Per cent by which a marine reserve proposed for
the Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean would
increase total protected area:
~100
Date when the U.K. is expected to announce its decision regarding the Chagos Archipelago reserve:
0.7
“Early April.”
Per cent of Canada’s ocean territory “protected”:
Per cent of Canada’s ocean territory designated as
protected by the federal government:
1.08
<0.5
Per cent officially protected by the U.S.:
Per cent officially protected by Australia:
Grade awarded to Canada by the Living Oceans Society
for our progress on “marine protected areas”:
5
10
F
Grade awarded to the U.S.:
C
Grade awarded to Australia:
A
Per cent of B.C.’s ocean territory “protected”:
Per cent by which B.C.’s “protected” area will increase
once the Gwaii Haanas National Marine Conservation
Area Reserve receives approval later this year:
1.98
38
Sources:
1. http://www.wdpa-marine.org
2. Dr. Daniel Pauly, former director of the UBC Fisheries Centre
3. http://news.discovery.com/
4. http://www.livingoceans.org/programs/mpa
5. Documentary: End of the Line (2009)
6. World Wildlife Fund
7)”Monitoring and evaluating rockfish conservation areas in British Columbia,” by Jeff Marliave and Wendell Challenger