We love Japan, but not high seas whaling | Home | Scrimzy: the anti-whaling alien

It is amazing that the crew onboard the Esperanza love sushi. Who would have thought it was ok to eat that which we are trying to conserve and save for future generations.

It is kind of ironic that with all the work Greenpeace does to save the oceans, the whales and all the life in the sea, that you would even consider eating sushi! Kind of hypocritical if you ask me. Here you guys are demanding whaling bans, demanding an end to the mass slaughter of the seas and you have the nerve to sit down and eat sushi.

Did you guys ever stop and think that by even enjoying sushi that YOU are also part of the very same situation that you are trying to stop?

Steve - It was veggie sushi that we ate on Sunday! We aren't that hypocritical. The ships have been fish-free throughout the Defending our Oceans expedition.

But thanks for being so concerned.

I don't follow. I understand Greenpeace's objection to whaling. But are you opposed in principle to the eating of any fish?

Hi Richard - good question. No, of course we're not against the eating of fish. We're against the destruction of fish stocks. There's people in Greenpeace who like eating fish, but they tend to conscientious about where their fish come from.

Here's a Good Seafood guide on the Greenpeace UK website »

Also, here's details on our plans for marine reserves »

Report: Roadmap to recovery

But those who like eating fish are not allowed to eat fish on the Esperanza at the moment? Why?

Talk of "vegetarian sushi" makes me depressed! There must be lots of delicious, non-endangered fishies out where you are. Why not just jet yourselves go nuts over a sardine?

Ahh, suffering for the cause. Good for them.

I haven't eaten tuna for six months now. I'm not giving it up for good, mind you. I'm just giving it a little break.

Hi Richard,
As a fellow journalist, I know you would be the first to cry hypocrite if we were campaigning against illegal and overfishing, and then chowing down on a tasty slab of something from god knows where in the evening. I have a personal policy that I won't eat fish unless I have caught it myself or I know who did. It's the same on this expedition - Defending Our Oceans - the clue is in the title! No fish comes onboard the ship unless we know it comes from a sustainable source and has not been caught using destructive methods. When we get our supplies through normal ships chandlers, it is very difficult to ensure this, so it is better that none comes on at all.

The problem is that there aren't very many sustainable sources to be found these days and also, when you are buying fish in bulk or at the supermarket it is almost impossible to tell its origin or how it was fished out. In many countries there is a tracking policy for meat....you can follow the carcass right back to the cow and the farm it was raised on, the same is true for beef and poultry. But it is not true for fish. It is really hard to know what went on before it landed on your plate. Was it stolen from west African or Pacific waters? Were miles of seabed dragged to dust by bottom trawling nets in the pursuit of a small number of fish? Did dolphins get caught and fight until their beaks were broken and they drowned as purse seiner nets closed in on them? How many tonnes of other fish, sharks, crabs, starfish and countless other marine life was brought up at the same time unwanted, so just shovelled back over the side, dead or dying? Or was your tuna caught as a juvenile, taken from the wild, dumped in a cage, fattened up and sent to Tokyo fish market to be sold for tens of thousands of dollars, while the natural stock edges closer to commercial extinction.

As for "the non-endangered fishies out here" - all I will say is Patagonian toothfish - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patagonian_toothfish
Maybe one of the worst examples of illegal fishing in the world.

According to the UN FAO three quarters of all fish stocks are in trouble one way or another - either over exploited , on the verge of becoming so it, or still recovering from previous exploitation. There are some stocks that are okay and Dave has already highlighted some useful fish guides that can help with the choice. So we are not dogmatic about never eating fish, we just refuse to make a bad problem worse by not being selective about which ones we eat.

I would say almost everyone on the ship loves fish - to eat, not just to save - but if you are expecting others to make change, which we MUST do with our fish consumption, then as Ghandi said - you have to be that change.

PS. Veggie sushi might sound depressing, but it tastes great. Go on, let yourself go nuts over a mango and some seaweed!