Sustainable Fish Now Served on Not-So Sustainable Flights
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 09. 6.08
Image courtesy of BBC Green
Sustainable Fish Served on Dutch KLM Airline
The Dutch airline KLM has invested in algal biofuel development, looks forward to participating in a European carbon bank program, and claims to fly 25 percent more efficiently than its competitors. And now, the unusually green-seeming airline is offering the option for those flying in Business Class to order hake farmed from a Marine Stewardship Council approved sustainable fishery in South Africa, as a pilot program lasting from September to November 2008.
Obviously, this isn’t the hardest hitting green initiative in KLM’s oeuvre—in fact, the prospect of making the eco-conscionable choice to dine on sustainable fish while the roar of jet fuel-burning engines provides the ambiance seems more than a little absurd. But before you cry Greenwashing!, consider the following...
MSC is a valuable, effective non-profit organization. It's worked with giants like Wal-Mart to attempt to reach the corporation’s goal of selling 100 percent sustainable fish, and has gone to great lengths to educate fish eaters about the dangers of overfishing. So any publicity the MSC can get is good publicity, and this is the first time MSC approved fish has ever been served on an airline. Even if the program is doing little to impact the sustainability of flying, it may be shedding some always-needed light on the possibilities of sustainable fisheries and the perils of rampant worldwide overfishing.
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40% of our fish supply in the states comes from fish farms with that number bound to increase in the coming years, I am looking for a good on line resource to get more information about fish farms in the US.
Fish farms worry me. I'm no expert but that amount of concentrated fish waste, along with feed run-off doesn't sound too good.
I'd like to see a toxicity analysis comparing wild to farmed seafood. Anyone know of one out there?
I'm on a flight tomorrow - let's see how the fish is!
I just wonder how it will taste. Normally I'm not a big fan of airplane food. But the food in First Class to Hawaii on my honeymoon was better than expected. I just hope it doesn't taste horrible where the fish that is so eco-friendly will be thrown away because no one will eat it. That would be horrible irony. Let us know how your fish was on that plane trip.
It's great to see this mention of the KLM and Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) partnership here on Treehugger. Note, however, that the MSC-certified hake is actually from a sustainable wild-capture fishery — not a fish farm, as mentioned in the article.
By seeking out MSC-certified sustainable seafood — on a flight, in a restaurant or at your grocery store — you’re helping to ensure the availability of seafood, the health of the ocean and fishing-related livelihoods for the future. To find out where you can purchase MSC-certified seafood, visit www.msc.org.
Lisa M. Bailey
Communications Manager—Americas
Marine Stewardship Council