“Take Marlin Off the Menu” Campaign
Posted on | June 30, 2010 | No Comments
Sustainable Ocean Project has made the point that chefs, restaurants, retailers, purveyors, and consumers can significantly affect the health of our oceans with the decisions they make. Starting in 2008, three organizations launched a public action campaign to promote the preservation of billfish, such as marlin. SOP supports proper protection and management of these majestic fish, but we question the fairness of the campaign goal.
Take Marlin Off the Menu intends “through education and political advocacy, to end the commercial harvest, sale and importation of marlin, sailfish and spearfish in the United States.” Overharvesting of these long-lived species have left many of their populations in bad shape. A slew of restaurants (including all of Wolfgang Puck’s) and a few retailers (e.g., Wegmans) have signed on to the campaign and agreed to not sell billfish.
You may remember the Give Swordfish a Break campaign that started in the late 1990s. It was wildly successful, motivating high profile chefs, cruise lines, and even President Clinton to take action. Today, swordfish stocks around the U.S. and Canada are for the most part back to healthy levels. In fact, this month harpoon-caught swordfish from Canada became the world’s first swordfish fishery to be certified as sustainable through the Marine Stewardship Council.
What's wrong with this picture?
Now, on to the issue of fairness. The three organizations working together in the billfish campaign are the International Game Fish Association,
National Coalition for Marine Conservation, and The Billfish Foundation. Remember, the goal of the campaign is “to end the commercial harvest.” In a classic fisheries case of ‘us versus them’ the recreational and conservation interests single out the commercial industry as the billfish assassins. However, one glimpse at the image to the right shows that recreational fishermen also have a hand in the mortality.
The question arises: are the organizations running Take Marlin Off the Menu more concerned about the welfare of these amazing creatures or about making sure only recreational fishermen have access to these fish? In support of the former, the groups promote catch and release, helping to conserve the fish. However, SOP found no plea to end the killing of billfish by recreational fishermen. Are the campaign goals fair?
SOP applauds the campaign organizers for raising the profile of this under-appreciated issue. However, we urge them to add to the campaign a call to end mortality from recreational harvest. If stocks are in such bad shape, no one should be allowed to kill the fish.
Tags: billfish > Give Swordfish a Break > International Game Fish Association > Marine Stewardship Council > marlin > National Coalition for Marine Conservation > ocean > restaurant > retailer > sailfish > spearfish > swordfish > The Billfish Foundation
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