Posted on May, 29 2013

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Award-winning celebrity chef Bobby Chinn will once again team up with WWF in celebrating the Coral Triangle Day on 9 June.

The partnership will focus on promoting responsible retail and consumption of seafood to help alleviate pressure on heavily exploited fish stocks in the Coral Triangle.

This year, the culinary sensation will be supporting the Coral Triangle Day events in Malaysia.

“I am happy to once again be part of this regional event where I can lend my voice to WWF’s responsible seafood cause and reach out to as many retailers and consumers in the region as possible to highlight the need to make more environmentally-friendly choices in seafood,” said Bobby Chin.

Now in its second year, the Coral Triangle Day is a regional celebration of World Oceans Day — an opportunity for individuals, organizations, and establishments to celebrate the importance of oceans in people’s lives and the need to take action to protect and conserve its finite resources.

“Not many people understand the link between marine conservation and the fish on their plate. By choosing only responsibly-caught seafood, consumers can help encourage better fishing practices and help curb illegal and destructive fishing, which are causing so much harm to the marine environment,” said Chinn.

“Seafood consumption figures in Malaysia are one of the highest in Asia, and Malaysians are the biggest consumers of seafood in Southeast Asia with locals consuming a variety of seafood at least three times a week — amounting to about 50.4 kilograms per person per year,” said Executive Director/CEO of WWF-Malaysia, Dato’ Dr Dionysius Sharma. CEO.

“To help consumers make more responsible choices and address overfishing, WWF-Malaysia has produced a Save Our Seafood (S.O.S.) Guide, which outlines what seafood species should be consumed or avoided. Retailers, restaurants, and chefs should also make use of the S.O.S. Guide in preparing seafood dishes,” added Dr Dionysius.

Overfishing and destructive fishing are among the most critical problems facing the Coral Triangle — the world’s epicenter of marine life.

The Coral Triangle encompasses six countries in the Asia-Pacific region: Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Solomon Islands, and Timor Leste.

This nursery of the seas contains more than 3,000 species of commercially-valuable reef fish as well as much sought-after tuna species such as yellowfin, bigeye, and skipjack.

Increasing global demand for seafood has driven illegal and destructive fishing, threatening the fragile marine ecosystems of the Coral Triangle on which millions of people depend for food and livelihood.

In Malaysia, fisheries resources have been declining since the 70s. Fish stocks in some fishing areas dropped by even as much as 90% between 1971 and 1997.

“We need to increase people’s understanding of their impact on fish resources and the kind of legacy they are leaving future generations with, with the choices they make. Through events such as the Coral Triangle Day and tools such as WWF’s S.O.S. Guide, we hope to create a critical mass of awareness on such issues,” added Dr Dionysius.

The Coral Triangle Day will be celebrated on 9 June throughout the Coral Triangle region. Various activities ranging from beach and underwater clean-ups, educational seminars and exhibits, to beach parades and musical shows will be held.

Bobby Chinn will be appearing in selected by-invitation events at Aquaria KLCC on 8 June and DoubleTree Hilton Kuala Lumpur on 9 June to demonstrate sumptuous seafood dishes using responsibly-caught seafood.

“As a chef, I have the unique opportunity to influence seafood consumers in a positive way and I hope to inspire others to do the same,” said Chinn.

Visit www.thecoraltriangle.com/day to find out more about the various events happening around the region on 9 June and how to participate.

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For further information:
Nadiah Rosli, Communications Officer, WWF-Malaysia Peninsular Malaysia Seas Programme, Tel: _603 7803 3772. Email: nrosli@wwf.org.my

Paolo Mangahas, Communications Manager, WWF Coral Triangle Global Initiative, Tel: +603 7803 3772, Email: pmangahas@wwf.org.my

Notes to the Editor:

• The Coral Triangle—the nursery of the seas—is the world’s center of marine life, encompassing around 6 million sq km of ocean across six countries in Asia-Pacific – Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste.
• It is home to 76% of the world’s known coral species, 37% of the world’s coral reef fish species, and commercially-valuable species such as tuna, whales, dolphins, rays, sharks, including 6 of the world’s 7 known species of marine turtles.
• The Coral Triangle directly sustains the lives of more than 120 million people and contains key spawning and nursery grounds for tuna. Its reef and coastal systems also underpin a growing tourism sector.
• WWF is working with governments, local communities, businesses, and consumers to promote sustainable development in this region. For information on Coral Triangle go to: www.panda.org/coraltriangle
• Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Coral_Triangle
• Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/thecoraltriangle