Seafood is the traditional food on Good Friday. I have realized that as I am getting older the more I enjoy Easter festivities. It’s not so much for the Christian ceremonies related to Easter but more for the amount of joy and peace that these days create. For example, you can easily lie on your couch the whole day watching excellent documentaries or biblical films. Lets’ face it some of them are classics! Also, you have the best weather of the year to enjoy outdoor activities, such as bushwalking, cycling or camping. Whatever your choices on these days there are usually family gatherings to share a delicious seafood feast!
The problem though with the Easter season and seafood is that there exists an over demand of fish and mussels which leads to an increase in fishing activities for species that are already ‘overfished’. In Queensland for example, due to the lack of rain, the population of natural Barramundi, one of the most popular seafood in Australia, has dropped. This creates a higher risk for the local population of fish to be over exploited, with the consequence of a low recovery in the next year.
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Of course not all the fishes that are on the table are in danger of being extinct as that will depend on many factors. Some of these depend on how the fish were cultivated, such as in an aquaculture environment or were fresh from the ocean, by hook or by trawling. It also depends on the biology of the fish.
Australian salmon and oysters are good choices of seafood to eat because they are farmed under fairly high health and environmental regulations but on the other hand Bluefin tuna should not be selected because it is an ‘overfished’ species. Neither should any species collected by trawler boats as this type of fishing captures all that is in the ship’s path with heavy consequences on the health of the ocean.
Australia’s sustainability seafood guide (http://www.sustainableseafood.org.au/) has created an application which can be downloaded for free which allows you to assess even in the supermarket if you are choosing the right seafood in terms of sustainability. On the website, is also available a free pocket guide with information about the seafood that you should be eating and those which should be banned because they are either ‘overfished’ or affect negatively Australian’s ocean health.
Regardless of the faith that we have, Easter has a profound reflective meaning. It is a time to evaluate how our actions can impact on our planet. We need as humans to remember to be civilized and to show respect for all the creatures on the Earth. Why is it necessary for a religious festivity to kill thousands, perhaps millions of creatures just to celebrate that event? After all, we are celebrating the triumph of life over death at Easter, not the opposite.
