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December 2, 2008 7:55:35 PM CST

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Overfishing Could Force You to Hold the Anchovies

Posted Sep 4, 08 10:23 AM CDT in Business,  Arts & Living,  Science & Health 

(Newser) – Anchovies have made a list of "fish to avoid," the Guardian reports—and not for their salty pungency, but because overfishing has left stocks at unsustainable levels. The UK’s Marine Conservation Society—which ranks fish after assessing biology, stock status, and the impact of the farming or fishing method—gave its worst score of 5 to 69 fish, including North Sea cod and Atlantic salmon.

The ranking is specific to where a fish was caught, but customers often don't get such information—leading advocacy groups to push for more detailed packaging. Industry members retort that it could confuse the consumer: “Fish stocks are dynamic and can change their status quite quickly,” says a rep.

Source Guardian (UK)

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A fisherman releases anchovies from a net in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, southern France. Stocks for the salty fish are depleting in London fisheries.   (Getty Images)
Second from the top, anchovies are a part of the cultural heritage of many cuisines, including Spain's.   (KRT Photos)
Kathi Lefebvre, a research biologist with the Northwest Fisheries Science Center, has buckets with anchovies swimming in them aboard a research ship in 2005.   (KRT Photos)
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You pick up some tuna in a supermarket and it might say it comes from the Indian and Pacific oceans. Well, that covers half the world.
- Willie Mackenzie, oceans campaigner at Greenpeace

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fishing • overfishing • North Sea • sustainability • fishery


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