Today, we eat twice as much fish annually as we did 50 years ago

Globally, on average, each person consumes about 20 kilograms of fish annually, which is twice as much as 50 years ago, and 90 percent of fish stocks are being fished at maximum capacity, overfished, or have already been overfished. These alarming data were presented at today’s promotion of the Guide to Purchasing Fishery Products launched by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) as part of the sustainable fishing initiative.

The presentation featured Martin Šolar, Director of WWF Adria, Danijel Kanski, Fisheries Expert at WWF Adria, Marina Šubašić, Communications and Corporate Relations Coordinator at WWF Adria, and Sanda Sokol, PR and Marketing Manager of the Esplanade Zagreb Hotel.

The Fish Forward project, funded by the European Union and implemented in 11 EU member states, was launched in 2015 with the aim of raising citizens’ awareness of the global economic and social consequences, thereby ensuring the future for millions of people who depend on fishing and related sectors, which account for 10% of the world’s population.

“With this guide, we can contribute to ensuring that our fish remains, that it is not endangered, just as pandas are no longer endangered, so it is up to us as a society to achieve this,” stated Šolar.

The consequence of the growing demand for fish is overfishing, which poses a significant threat, and this project was initiated to prevent that. What consumers can do is ensure they support sustainable fishery products that are caught in a way that preserves fish stocks and the people who depend on them, it was stated at the presentation of the Guide.

The key to successful fisheries management is connecting all participants. For consumers to have the opportunity to choose sustainable fishery products, key retail chains and restaurants must offer such products, while on the other hand, customers must demand sustainable products so that over time, there will be more of them on store shelves and restaurant menus.

In the Guide, consumers can find out which products are recommended by WWF and try sustainable recipes created by renowned chefs.

You can find your copy of the guide at http://www.kojuribukupiti.org/