Posted on November, 30 2016

Bucharest - WWF launches a seafood guide in Romania to assist consumers in buying sustainable seafood products. The guide is available online and contains information about 31 fish and seafood species available at Romanian markets. The Seafood Guide addresses both consumers and business, importers and retailers of seafood, raising awareness about responsible fish trading and seafood products certification.

"WWF publishes the seafood guide because the market needs better labeling for fish and seafood products, but also better understanding of these labels from the people is needed. This is the first version of the Romanian guide, but we want to improve it over time. Therefore, we call on all stakeholders - consumers and business, to give suggestions about add-ons in the information, new species, fishing methods or other issues that we have not taken into account," said Magor Csibi, Director of WWF Romania.

Fish species included in the guide are analyzed by origin, method of fishing and the stocks of fish species. Therefore, if the guide code shows sustainable tuna consumption is needed, the buying option is to choose fish labeled with Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).

MSC certification is an environmental standard recognized internationally for sustainable fishing and responsible seafood practices. It is based on maintaining sufficient quantities of wild fish, a thriving marine environment and effective management, not involving excessive social standards, and respect to the people involved. According to Retailer Scorecard 2015, most retailers in Romania offer imported fish and seafood products with MSC certification, some even have their own branded products.

The guide also presents stories about some fish species representative for Europe, including sturgeon, and have 10 recipes based on seafood or fish.

WWF-Romania’s Seafood Guide can be accessed here: http://ghidpeste.wwf.ro/

WWF's Seafood Guide in Bulgaria
Bulgarian consumers and fish traders were also equipped with a new WWF Seafood Guide enabling them to make informed choices about the fish products they buy. “For 40 years fish stocks used for food dropped almost twice globally. This is straining both nature and food security of mankind,” said Veselina Kavrakova, WWF-Bulgaria Country Manager. The global demand continues to increase, but the ocean and sea resources are finite. At the moment we are pulling 2-3 times more fish out of the water with nets, lines and rods, than our oceans can sustainably provide.  
Bulgarian Seafood Guide presents in an interactive way where the fish we all consume is coming from, what is overfishing, how to choose the seaproducts we buy and which are the certificates ensuring sustainable consumption: http://riba.wwf.bg/
 

WWF’s project for fish and seafood from sustainable sources

 “Fish forward – sustainable seafood for the environment, people and developing countries” is a project launched during the European Year for Development, co-financed by the EU, for more environmental, social and economic sustainability in fish and seafood consumption. In 2015, WWF started the ambitious project in 11 member states of the European Union to increase consumer awareness of the global ecological and social consequences their fish consumption has.

More about the project: http://www.fishforward.eu/