Chefs Come Together to Support Sustainable Seafood Consumption
VIPs tasting farmed fish cooked sustainably, as an alternative to wild-caught reef fish
A ‘Taste & Tell’ Culinary Session allowed chefs from restaurants and hotels in town to cook sustainably farmed leopard coral trout (or locally known as sunoh) and serve it to match the taste of wild-caught fish. The challenge is to demonstrate that farmed fish is comparable to wild-caught fish, and a survey was conducted by WWF-Malaysia to assess consumers’ preferences.
Dr Sundari Ramakrishna, Conservation Director of WWF-Malaysia, said in the opening speech, “This campaign is one of the many efforts to help reduce pressure on the wild population and promote good practice to help make live reef fish trade a sustainable industry.”
WWF-Malaysia also premiered the “Consumers Help To Save Live Reef Fish” video that highlights a shift to aquaculture-based sources of reef fish to reduce pressures on wild stocks.
Irwin Wong, Live Reef Fish Trade Fisheries Officer of WWF-Malaysia, said that the video’s Call to Action is for LRF consumers to demand to know where and how LRF are caught, and to choose farmed fish or sustainably caught fish.
The campaign aims to: 1) Create awareness on the destructive fishing method associated with the supply of live reef fish to the Live Reef Fish Trade among the industry players and consumers; 2) Urge the industry players (restaurant owners/managers, chefs, and tour operators) to pledge for more sustainable cyanide-free fish supply; and 3) Urge consumers to choose farmed fish or sustainably caught fish.
WWF-Malaysia’s Life Reef Fish Trade work is partially funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The USAID administers the U.S. foreign assistance program providing economic and humanitarian assistance in more than 80 countries worldwide.
-END-
About WWF-Malaysia:
WWF-Malaysia (World Wide Fund for Nature-Malaysia), the national conservation trust, currently runs more than 75 projects covering a diverse range of environmental protection work. Since 1972, WWF-Malaysia has worked on important conservation projects, from saving endangered species such as tigers and turtles, to protecting our highland forests, rivers and seas. We also undertake environmental education and advocacy work to achieve conservation goals. By conserving our natural resources, WWF-Malaysia is helping to protect our livelihoods, food and water supply, thus securing our good quality of life and our children’s bright future. We thank our supporters whose donations enable our conservation work. If you would like to donate to WWF-Malaysia or learn more about our projects, please call: +603-78033772 or visit our website at: wwf.org.my.
WWF’s mission
WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the planet’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature by:
• Conserving the world’s biological diversity
• Ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable
• Promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful production
For media queries:
Liew Hui Ling, Communications Officer, Marine Programme, WWF-Malaysia, Tel: +60 3 7803 3772 ext. 6103, Mobile: + 60 17 628 7513, E-mail: hlliew@wwf.org.my
Cecilia Chu, Fisheries Officer, Sulu-Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion (SSME) Programme, WWF-Malaysia, Tel: +6088- 626 420 ext 27, Email: cchu@wwf.org.my
VIPs tasting farmed fish cooked sustainably, as an alternative to wild-caught reef fish