The pocket guide lists 12 commercially caught seafood species
which Greenpeace asks consumers to avoid buying and urges
supermarkets to remove from their shelves unless they can guarantee
they come from sustainable sources. Since it was first published in
english 12 months ago some 40,000 copies have been distributed
around the country.
Greenpeace New Zealand oceans campaigner Karli Thomas said the
guide was designed to help consumers make an informed choice when
buying seafood. The new bi-lingual version would also teach
consumers some basic Māori phrases and species names.
"People can take the guide with them for a quick reference when
they're buying seafood. It also lists questions they can ask
retailers to check their seafood is truly sustainable."
Greenpeace researcher Jessica Hansell said some of the red list
species were already known by their Māori name (such as hoki) while
several species including toothfish and orange roughy are not
officially known in Te Reo Māori.
"He whakamere te rangahau e pa ana ki ēnei ika. Apiti ki tena,
he tino whakahirahira ki te maumahara te kaupapa o te aratohu, te
mana o te moana me ngā tamariki a Tangaroa hoki. Me whakaaro koutou
katoa e pa ana ki ēnei take i te wa ka haere koutou ki te
hokomaha".
"The research is pretty interesting surrounding these fish and
it helps us remember the kaupapa of the guide, which is the mana of
our oceans and all of the life that inhabits it. We should all
think about these issues whenever we are at the supermarket."
The guide is part of the Greenpeace Whakaorangia a Tangaroa
(Save our Seas) campaign to protect Aotearoa's oceans from
overfishing and destructive fishing methods.
"We're trying to protect species like tāmure (snapper) from
being overfished commercially so there will be plenty of kaimoana
for our future generations," said Hansell.
Greenpeace is also calling for a network of fully-protected
marine reserves covering 40 per cent of the world's oceans to
safeguard them against the ravages of climate change, restore the
health of fish stocks, and protect ocean life from habitat
destruction and collapse.
Other contacts: Karli Thomas, Greenpeace New Zealand oceans campaigner, 021 905 582
Phil Crawford, Greenpeace New Zealand communications & media, 021 2299 594
Jessica Hansell, Greenpeace New Zealand researcher is available for interviews in te reo
Exp. contact date: 2009-08-29 00:00:00