In the frigid waters of Antarctica, two thousand feet down, swims the ugly toothfish, feeding on smaller fish and squid and being preyed up on by seals, whales and giant squid. A happy, functioning ecosystem, you would think. Nowhere more so than in the Ross Sea, which was identified in a recent Science report as the one remaining ocean region in the world that has been little affected by human activities. Little affected so far, that is…
Enter the global fishing industry. On its ever further and deeper quest for seafood, fleets from around the world began combing the Southern Ocean for toothfish only three decades ago. Renamed a more palatable ‘Chilean sea bass’, seafood lovers couldn’t get enough of it - for the very good reason that toothfish stocks were beginning to collapse, wreaking havoc in the complex ecosystems where they play a top predator role. Female toothfish only mature at about age 17, making them highly vulnerable to fishing. Pirate fishing compounds the problem, making the estimation of actual fishing levels, not to mention fish populations, a wild guessing game.
The Ross Sea is protected from oil and gas exploitation under the Antarctic Treaty, but unfortunately not from fishing. While still being called an ‘exploratory’ fishery, toothfish from the Ross Sea were caught by fleets from seven countries this year. The Marine Stewardship Council has let the Ross Sea fishery through its pre-certification process in spite of the fact that the Ross Sea is the proposed site of a marine reserve because of its unique evolutionary qualities. Unsurprisingly then, the MSC certification is being contested as unsustainable by environmental organizations and a group of 30 Antarctic scientists.
In Canada, Chilean sea bass became the poster child for seafood unsustainability following a campaign led by the US National Environment Trust asking consumers and chefs to ‘Take a pass on Chilean sea bass’. More recently and under pressure from consumers and environmental organizations including Greenpeace, three major Canadian supermarkets (Overwaitea, Safeway and Loblaw) stopped selling it, with Metro planning to follow suit in September, leaving only Sobeys still carrying it. But it can still be found in high-end restaurants and fish shops. Canada is currently one of nine leading toothfish importers. How about we become instead a leading toothfish conserver?
Greenpeace has just released the report Defending the last ocean: how seafood markets can help save Antarctica’s Ross Sea. Read on, and be sure to keep passing up the Chilean sea bass.