Walk the talk, don't eat it: a call for sustainable seafood leadership from marine scientists

摘要

Fisheries stocks are rapidly declining around the world. A reduction in the consumption of unsustainable seafood may help curb this decline, however, the consumption of sustainable seafood is not commonplace, even within the marine science and conservation community. Our own observations on the frequent serving of unsustainable and/or unlabelled seafood at marine science and conservation meetings motivated this enquiry. We obtained information about the species served at mealtimes and where they were caught/farmed for seven marine ecology and conservation meetings held in Australia, attended by c. 4000 people from around the world. We then assessed the sustainability of each menu item according to the relevant sustainable seafood guide, which considered stock status and impact of fishing/aquaculture method. We found that seafood was served at all the meetings; four meetings served at least one unsustainable species, and only two meetings served a sustainable species. To achieve positive conservation outcomes, marine scientists, especially conservationists, urgently need to turn science into action, lead by personal example, and ensure that sustainable seafood is served, not only at such meetings but also more widely.