(www.MaritimeCyprus.com) It’s a bit of a dire time to be a sushi lover and an environmentally conscious human. Even as 85 percent of the world’s fisheries are fully exploited, depleted, or in recovery, we are willing to bet that wherever you’re reading this article from, your favorite local sushi restaurant is still bustling with customers at any given hour on any given day. Worse still, fish like large tunas and salmon, which are staring down the barrel of extinction in some cases, are among the most common, delicious, and sought-after sushi fare. All this fish has to come from somewhere, and there’s no magic pill to replace what our global sushi addiction is taking from the ocean.
Studies over the past decade have anticipated that seafood may disappear altogether by as early as 2050 unless humans change their ways. Realistically, the best thing you can do to play no part in the rapid collapse of the world’s seafood stocks is to stop eating fish-based sushi altogether (gasp!). But if that’s not an option, this article will both help you to understand the impact of sushi on global fish stock depletion and equip you to be a smarter seafood consumer by asking questions and purchasing only seafood sourced in the most sustainable ways.
It’s not all sushi’s fault, of course. The global appetite for seafood goes far beyond just one type of seafood cuisine, but with the global rise in popularity of sushi and the fact that good sushi relies on high-quality, highly demanded (and often endangered) fish species, it hasn’t contributed positively to the imminent problem of seafood stock collapse. Having said that, this article is for all avid seafood lovers to consider, not just sushi lovers. Don’t smugly read this as you eat your fish and chips without taking on board the exact same facts. Let’s take a sobering look at some of them.