5th November 2026
Fish and seafood
Is eating fish sustainable? If we eat them at a faster rate than they can reproduce, then clearly no – which is why various governments have introduced fish quotas. But – “Fishing can be a classic ‘tragedy of the commons’, whereby anyone cheating the system – catching more than thwir share – makes a profit in the short term, while the cost of their selfish action is shared by all.” (P189 Eat the Planet Well).
Further issues around the sustainability of fishing include methods of fishing – bottom trawlers both severely degrade the seabed and drag up by-catch – ie fish and marine life that because is not suitable for sale, is discarded. Lost of discarded fishing gear adds to the already dangerous amounts of plastic in the oceans – this is bad for marine life and potentially for those eating that marine life. Most seafood that is eaten contains a mix of plastic particles. Fish often also contain various potentially harmful chemicals, including mercury, which bio-accumulation become increasingly concentrated in fish at the top of the food chain. (P151)
Ia fish farming sustainable? Like the industrialised farming of livestock, fish farming at scale is far from a natural lifestyle for the fish. Fed on concentrated feed to increase growth rates, over crowded in water which becomes polluted with faeces and in which disease can be rife, leading to an over reliance on antibiotics, sustainability is doubtful.
Goulson’s advice is that “…anyone who plans to continue eating seafood should support initiatives to set aside portions of the marine environment as protected areas. These support biodiversity, capture carbon, and can act s breeding grounds for commercial fish species which then spill out into the surrounding seas, increasing the sustainable catch. Nearly 40% of the UK’s territorial waters are nominally designated as Marine Protected Areas, but most of these provide little or no actual protection, still allowing harmful practices such as bottom trawling and some industrial activities. In 2023, the UK government announced that three small areas would become Highly Protected Marine Areas, with a total ban on fishing, but these cover a pitiful half a per cent of British waters.” (P167)
