Illegal, unmonitored fishing constitutes 30% of fish quantities yearly.[1] This often affects species whose stocks already suffer badly from overfishing. It also threatens the livelihood of every person whose existence depends on healthy oceans and their prosperity. The EU guidance on compulsory labelling for fish and seafood products is helping to improve the situation. A sustainable approach to fish is decisive in the future of the oceans for biodiversity, global food security and a 2.9 trillion dollar industry
[2] as well as all the people who live from it. Yet fishing fleets are putting an unprecedented amount of pressure on sea life globally – sometimes and to an extent not to be underestimated, illegally. Still, their products make it onto the market as the supply chain from producer to consumer is long, complex and in many cases, not transparent.
EU guidelines provide help To be able to make responsible buying decisions, to avoid illegal or un-monitored fishing, we need information. For this reason, the European Union has improved information on the labels of fish products. Since the end of 2014, it has been compulsory to label important information for our buying decisions. This includes information about the species of fish, where the fish was caught, the production methods used (fish caught in the wild or farmed) and the capture method (e.g. the type of nets used).