Callander McDowell
Callander McDowell
reLAKSation no 403
The Start of the Line: We, at Callander McDowell, would like to congratulate author and journalist Charles Clover on his passionate crusade against overfishing. We can certainly identify with such passion and thus were keen to see the results of Mr Clover’s endeavours at the premiere of his film ‘The End of the Line’ which screened at selected cinemas last Monday night as part of the World Ocean’s Day celebrations.
There has been much written about Mr Clover’s film with widespread coverage in the press, especially about the plight of Bluefin tuna. If any fish is going to raise media interest it will be the Bluefin tuna, primarily because tuna is such a staple food of the Western world, even though the Bluefin accounts for less than 1% of world consumption and most is destined for the Japanese market. The media still associate it with the tuna we eat and its visual magnificence makes it a good media story. That is not to say that we should not be concerned about Bluefin tuna because clearly we should. It is just that it has become a symbol for the environmental movement just as the panda has become a symbol in the terrestrial world and therefore it is the obvious choice as the main focus for this film.
Most critics of the film have argued that the fishing industry has made stringent efforts to address some of the problems raised in the film and these have been ignored by the filmmakers. Of course, there are still massive problems. This is inevitable as the world’s demand for fish and seafood outgrows what the oceans can reasonably supply. It is the question as to what can be done to solve these problems is where the fish industry and the environmental lobby disagree. Those that know the industry well have expressed doubts about the film’s credibility because often blinkered vision that it tries to express.
Our own doubts as to the credibility of the film began to creep before we even had a chance to watch it when various news stories claimed that the film was being premiered at 50 cinemas countrywide, a figure even repeated on national television news. Yet, the film’s website (http://endoftheline.com/) listed just 46 cinemas. We appreciate that this is only a minor discrepancy and one that is hardly worth mentioning. We can understand that journalists might round up the figure but the fact that the source of the discrepancy is actually the film’s website simply begs the question that if they feel that they had to enhance the film’s repute, then what else about the film had been ‘talked up’?
Whether the film was shown in 46 or 50 cinemas might not seem a great problem but there are estimated to be around 3,500 screens in the whole of the UK which means that the coverage was not particularly spectacular. We, at Callander McDowell, were extremely surprised that the organisers could not find even one screen to show the film in our home base of Manchester. In fact, only one cinema in Liverpool had been designated to show the film in the whole of the North West of England, an area with a population of around 6.8 million.
Having read the book, we were keen to see the film and with only one screening, we expected that there would be significant demand for seats so we called ahead to make an advance booking. Fortunately, we had also seen that the film’s main sponsor, the supermarket Waitrose, was offering a 20% discount voucher on its website, but it turned out that this was only valid if presented in person at the box office. This presented a dilemma; should one wait until the day of the performance to obtain a discount or book regardless. The option of visiting the cinema in advance was out of the question especially as the cost of travel there would far outweigh any saving from the discount. If other members of the audience had thought the same way, then we suspect that any publicity that Waitrose managed to generate was obtained for very little cost.
Another reason why Waitrose probably did not have to make a huge outlay to subsidise the tickets was that the cinema we attended was less than half full. We estimate the size of the audience in Liverpool was no more than 100, which given that this showing was the only one in the whole of the North West was hardly an impressive turn out. This was especially so since the audience also included representatives from Greenpeace and the local Waitrose store. Whether this apathy to the screening was local or a national phenomenon is unclear but according to the film’s website, only three of the 46 cinemas had sold out of tickets in advance and these were in London.
Back in Liverpool, it wasn’t difficult to identify the representatives from Greenpeace because they wore green-coloured Greenpeace tabards. The volunteers were actually ladies of a certain age and the first impression they gave was that they were there to serve refreshments. We know that they are volunteers but they did not seem to display the professionalism that might be expected to promote such a serious issue. Instead they looked more like volunteers more used to working in a charity shop. One of these ladies, led a Q&A after the film, but sadly we were unable to stay for this due to prior commitments. However, it seems we were not alone. The film’s website reports that only half of the celebrities invited to a special showing at London’s Science Museum stayed for the Q&A, despite the presence of the film’s director and Waitrose’s MD. Guests included the Prime Minister’s wife, although the press release did not say whether she stayed on after the film or not.
The content of the film, or at least the part about the Bluefin tuna, has been extensively discussed in the press so we do not intend to cover the same ground here. Instead, we were interested to read an interview with Charles Clover which is linked to the author’s blog on the film’s website. This is an interview that he gave to New York’s ‘Village Voice’ for their ‘Fork in the Road’ blog.
Sarah DiGregorio asked Mr Clover whether he still eats fish. He says he does, but less than he did previously. He then went on to say that he is ‘mightily confused’ by whether any farmed fish are sustainable implying that he doesn’t know whether he should be eating farmed fish or not. Clearly, if he is confused about this then what hope is there for consumers? After all, Mr Clover has been writing about fisheries and fish farming for many years and has even written his book on the subject but given that only about 12 pages of his 300 page book are devoted to aquaculture, then perhaps he has not adequately researched the subject at all.
Mr Clover added that rather than eat the farmed fish, he would prefer to eat the little fish that are fed to carnivorous fish rather than the resulting farmed salmon or bass. The film claims that feeding fish to fish is extremely damaging to fish stocks as it takes 5 kg of industrial fish to grow just 1 kg of salmon. Yet in his book, Mr Clover clearly states that ‘farmed salmon need three times their body weight in food made from other fish and cost cutting and waste reduction has taken that down to 1.1 times their body weight on the best run salmon farms (Page 253, Ebury Press paperback version).
We can only wonder whether this apparent reduction in feed conversion, like the number of cinemas, is simply another example of overstating the numbers to make them look more impressive and the case against fish farming more compelling. There is a huge difference between 5:1 and 1:1 which puts a whole different perspective to the argument about industrial fisheries. As the International Fishmeal and Oil Organisation point out in their rebuttal of the film’s figures, the typical conversion rates for salmon are around 1.7:1 whilst for aquaculture as a whole it is just 0.5:1. In addition around 25% of the fishmeal used in aquaculture is now made from recycled processing waste and not from wild caught fish. What the film also fails to address is that fishmeal is still widely used in the manufacture of pig and poultry feeds yet there is no suggestion that consumers should stop eating these meats.
In his book, Mr Clover suggests that as it takes 1 kg of wild fish to grow 1kg of salmon then surely it would be better to eat the wild fish instead. The fish he highlights is blue whiting which Icelandic chefs describe as extremely palatable and rather like small cod for which they have some of the best recipes. Whether Mr Clover should actually consider eating blue whiting is unclear as the MCS’s Good Fish Guide, which was handed out at the cinema by the ladies from Greenpeace, doesn’t make any recommendation for eating this fish.
Having been unable to decide whether he should eat farmed fish, Mr Clover went on to tell Village Voice that he likes mackerel, especially since it is MSC certified. He also says that he would like to like tilapia (which are also farmed) and vegetarian fish but that he can’t get them where he lives. This seems like a major cop-out. Mr Clover is an investigative journalist specialising in fisheries. It seems that using his skills he should be able to track down where to buy tilapia especially as the MCS Good Fish Guide gives tilapia a green rating. However as he is oblivious to where to buy tilapia, we would like to point him in the right direction.
The good news for Mr Clover is that tilapia is available in the UK. It is imported mainly from Jamaica, but also from Zimbabwe and according to CEFAS (Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science) there are at least twelve farms of varying sizes growing the fish in England.
Mr Clover says that he can’t get them where he lives but as he ends his book by signing off with ‘Charles Clover, Dedham 2004’ this indicates that this is where he lives. Dedham is a small village in the country located in the county of Essex about 60 miles from the centre of London. This part of Essex is commuter land and as Mr Clover works for the Daily Telegraph newspaper he no doubt travels into London regularly where the options are much greater, presuming of course, that he still lives there.
Yet, he doesn’t need to travel to London to find tilapia for most of the major supermarkets sell the fish in one form or another, although availability will vary from store to store.
Asda do sell tilapia on their fish counters although supplies have been erratic recently. Whole tilapia sells for £13.99/kg and the nearest Asda is in Colchester about 9 miles away.
Morrisons have much more stable supplies and their fish sell for £9.49/kg. The nearest Morrisons store to Dedham is 11 miles away in Ipswich.
Sainsbury’s offer tilapia fillets rather than the whole fish at £16.58/kg. The nearest Sainsbury’s is also in Colchester.
Tesco currently have a choice of whole tilapia or fillets. Whole fish are £9.67/kg whilst fillets from Indonesia are £18.18/kg or £13.63/kg on multi buy. Mr Clover also could buy tilapia fillets in a spicy Caribbean marinade for £16.66/kg although this is a summer offering. The nearest Tesco is in Colchester.
Waitrose sell tilapia fillets for £14.99/kg. A new store is due to open in Colchester but until then the nearest store is in Sudbury about 15 miles away.
There are other options available too. Aldi sell frozen tilapia fillets with a choice of flavoured butters costing £8.30/kg. The nearest store is in Colchester.
If Mr Clover doesn’t want to buy his fish from one of the large chains then there are many independent fishmongers in London, especially in the north of the city that specialise in supplying fish to the ethnic communities and thus always have plenty of tilapia in stock. A list of most fishmongers can be found in the directory of allinlondon.co.uk. He should also not forget Billingsgate Market, where the many stallholders will undoubtedly give Mr Clover a warm welcome.
However, if Mr Clover is busy with his next project and doesn’t want to have to leave his house then he could always have his fish delivered direct. There are a number of online fishmongers such as Red Snapper Seafoods who can supply tilapia. Whole frozen fish cost £3.45 each or skinless fillets are available for £1.85.
We hope that Mr Clover can now enjoy tilapia and in doing so reverse his declining fish consumption. However, if he wants more choice, then he can also buy pangasius (basa) fillets from most supermarkets for less cost.
Having digressed about what Mr Clover should or should not eat Sarah DiGregorio asked him what should consumers do to help the campaign? His advice is that they should buy only sustainable seafood. Of course, if Mr Clover is confused as to whether farmed fish are sustainable, most consumers are simply clueless. The film recommends that consumers should refer to the various pocket guides such as that produced by the MCS and that they should also look out for the MSC blue tick symbol which is a guarantee of sustainability. However, as we have pointed out in a previous issue of reLAKSation, four of the MSC certified stocks featured in the MCS pocket guide are actually listed by the MCS as fish that should only be eaten with caution. They say this is because the stocks risk becoming unsustainable. One of the fisheries is the MSC certified mackerel stock that Mr Clover so likes to eat. Perhaps, he should now reconsider this choice in the light of the MCS’s recommendation.
Mr Clover goes on to say that in addition to eating only sustainable seafood, the film urges that politicians adopt scientific quotas and then cut the fishing fleet accordingly. He also says that Governments should establish as many large marine reserves as possible. He said that if this does not happen then in a few years time his advice will be to eat no fish at all.
We, at Callander McDowell, wonder whether Mr Clover’s advice is flawed. Greenpeace believe that 40% of the world’s oceans should be established as marine reserves. This leaves 60% of the oceans open to fishing, yet already global demand for fish and seafood cannot be met from existing fishing activity, so clearly, such restrictions will only increase the fishing pressure in those waters. Cutting quotas and fishing boats will simply increase illegal fishing from those who see that there is money to be made from those who want to keep on eating fish.
Ever since the MSC and certified sustainable seafood was first conceived, we, at Callander McDowell, have argued that the only way to relieve the fishing pressure on exploited stocks is to find alternative sources of fish and seafood. In practice, this has meant that fish is now sourced from around the world in order to find that variety and availability of fish required. This is simply transferring the fishing pressure from one stock to another. Instead, we need to source fish without increasing any pressure on any wild fish stock and the only way that this can be achieved is to source from farming.
In every other area of food supply, man has turned from hunter gathering to farming and it makes sense that the same should apply to the aquatic environment too. After all, man has been farming fish for thousands of years and so there is no reason why we should not continue.
Mr Clover and the environmental lobby would argue that modern intensive farming of carnivorous species depletes stocks of wild food fish. Does he think that when stocks of sustainably certified fish such as Alaskan salmon, as featured in his film, are hungry they go looking for Burger King or Kentucky Fried Chicken? Of course not, they consume vast quantities of wild fish and other animals from within the ocean. Wild fish eat wild fish. Farming simply emulates this, but at the same time, makes the efficiency of conversion is improved so less wild fish are consumed to make more farmed flesh.
In the introduction to her interview with Mr Clover, Sarah DiGregario highlighted that sustainable fish does not have to be expensive. She said that she found frozen wild Alaskan salmon (one of the only sustainable kinds of salmon) for only $8.50/lb. What she didn’t realise was that, as respondents to her blog pointed out, wild Alaskan salmon is not as wild as everyone would have the world believe. Most Alaskan salmon are farm raised in a hatchery until they can be released into the sea. They spend their time in the hatchery eating the same salmon feed as used in traditional salmon farms. So much for sustainably caught fish?
It is no wonder that Mr Clover is so ‘mightily confused’ about whether to eat farmed fish or not. However the message is clear, if the world is to protect wild commercial stocks then more fish needs to be sourced from farming and less from the sea. Mr Clover will never have to issue the warning that consumers should eat no more fish because whether he likes it or not, aquaculture will eventually become the dominant supplier of fish protein and supplies will be guaranteed. This is not the end of the line but just a new beginning.