Malaysia: ‘Green menu’ to help conserve marine life

Isabelle Lai The Star 15 Feb 11;

PETALING JAYA: Restaurants and hotels will soon be roped in to help in marine conservation efforts by offering an alternative “green menu,” WWF Malaysia said.

Senior programme officer G. Chitra Devi said working with the food and beverage (F&B) industry would help combat the depletion of Malaysia’s fishery resources.

“We plan to engage with F&B outlets and ask the operators to provide alternative choices for seafood that have been subjected to overfishing,” she said.

She said this was the next step following the Save Our Seafood campaign launched last June by WWF Malaysia and the Malaysian Nature Society. The six-month campaign included distribution of a seafood guide which informed consumers which seafood to choose (green list) or avoid (red list) based on their sustainability.

Chitra said working with the F&B industry would ensure that consumers were given the opportunity to make responsible choices.

“With the public asking the right questions, the industry will feel the pressure to ensure proper seafood sourcing policies are in place to satisfy their customers,” she said, adding that this, in turn, would pressure fishery operators to practise sustainable fishing activities.

She urged consumers to find out where their seafood came from and whether it was caught using sustainable methods.

Speaking on the campaign, Chitra said public response had been very encouraging, with many wanting to know more about the problem of overfishing.

“We want the public to realise that it isn’t just fishermen who are affected. If nothing is done, consumers won’t have enough fish to eat in future,” she said.

She added that the seafood guide would be translated into Mandarin due to popular consumer demand.

Those who want the seafood guide can download it from www.saveourseafood.my.