World Day for the End of Fishing and Fish Farming – why fish matter and what we can do to help

Our global oceans are being devastated by our appetite for fish. Many species, that were once abundant, have been brought to the verge of collapse by the fishing industry.

The enormous scale of loss, numbering in the trillions each year, systematically destroys ecosystems – the suffering seemingly out of control.

Many fish, if they survive the catching process, are gutted alive or left to suffocate on deck. As sentient animals, their suffering is immense.

The policing of the industry, especially across the vast expanses of ocean has proven to be ineffective with illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities, that disregard national, regional and global fisheries regulations compounding the threats.

Alongside the targeted fish, the industry’s bycatch also wreaks a devastating toll on whales, dolphins, porpoises, sharks, turtles, seabirds and a myriad other unsuspecting marine animals. Mostly perishing in nets or on hooks, those animals still alive, after being dragged onboard and thrown back into the sea, are often mortally wounded – doomed to suffer a slow, painful fate.

Fish farming has been seen as the ‘solution’ to the dwindling fish populations and supply of wild caught fish. This alternative industry deepens the accumulated devastation and suffering. It’s associated ecological and environmental ‘collateral damage’ is itself catastrophic for marine life and biodiversity. Vast quantities of wild fish are caught to feed those farmed, and the industry creates immense volumes of waste effluent polluting the immediate aquatic environment. Diseases and infestations, symptomatic of high stocking densities and poor water quality, affect not just those fish being farmed but can also spread over to wild fish populations. Sea lice infect passing wild salmon and sea trout, as these migratory fish pass floating farm cages on their return to their natal rivers to spawn.

Those fish farmed, along with their sea-caught counterparts, have very little protection in law at the time of their slaughter. Many farmed fish are bludgeoned to death with clubs, suffer asphyxiation or are bled to death without stunning, while some suffer from being gutted/processed alive. Also, wild-caught shellfish species, such as lobsters and crabs, are still being boiled alive despite their proven sentience!

Fish is regularly promoted as a healthy food option, but fish flesh can contain significant quantities of pollutants and toxins, concentrated from the oceans. These can include mercury, dioxins and PCBs, all of which can be a serious risk to human health. Omega-3 oils, essential to our diet, have long been promoted to the consumer through fish sources, but these too can contain concentrated pollutants. In recent times, fish have also been shown to be ingesting and concentrating microplastics with studies suggesting that consuming such contaminated fish could pose further human health risks.

For the sake of the fish, the wider aquatic environment and our health, it makes sense to choose plant-based fish alternatives, and we are here to help you.

To get you started, here are a few of our favourite vegan fish recipes – we hope that you like them!

Battered Tofish and Chips (serves 4)

Beer Battered Banana Blossom and Chips

Fish-e-Less Pie

Fish-free-Kedgeree

Fishless cakes

If eating out is more your thing and you can’t say no to the British Classic – fish & chips – here are a few venues to consider for vegan versions:

Across UK: Churchill’s Fish and Chips, Hungry Horse, Papa’s Fish and Chips

Brighton: The No Catch Co., Earth and Stars

Falmouth: Harbour Lights

Herefordshire: Fiddlers Elbow Fish & Chips

London: Brockley’s Rock, The Dove, Sutton & Sons

Margate: Beach Buoys

Newcastle: The Ship Inn

North Yorkshire: Seabreeze Fish and Chips

Norwich: Lucy’s Chips

Pembrokeshire: Milton Fish & Chips

Ramsgate: Shakey Shakey

Scotland: Holy Cow, Land & Sea Fish & Chip Shop, Mono Café and Bar

Stroud/Cheltenham: Simpsons Fish & Chips

You can also go onto the Happy Cow app, wherever you are in the world, to search for eateries that serve vegan fish options.

For more general advice on a choosing a plant-based diet that helps not just fish, but all farmed animals, please click on the box below to receive our guides: ‘A Guide to Going Vegan’ and ‘Plant-based Cooking on a Budget’.

To get a wider understanding of the plight of our oceans we recommend watching ‘Seaspiracy’ and ‘Sharkwater’.