Oops! Almost No Fishmonger Provides the Right Information About Fish
Want to buy responsibly sourced fish? Then you need to know which fish is available at the fishmonger and how and where it was caught. Research by the Consumentenbond shows that most fishmongers do not have this information in order. In addition, no certification label can be seen in most display cases.
According to the fishmongers, customers are not interested in the (mandatory) information about the fish they sell. They say customers do not read it anyway. That is not true: almost one-third of consumers have indicated that they would like to buy sustainable fish if the seller pointed it out to them.
Only one stall gets it right
The Consumentenbond conducted a major study: they asked 609 fish retailers how they inform customers about the origin of the fish. Only 181 fishmongers completed the survey. Mystery shoppers also visited 97 fish stalls and fish shops, checked the information on the price tags and asked the fishmonger questions. The result? Only 1 of the fish businesses visited had everything in order, namely Essies Versie Vis fish stall. The rest provided no information or incomplete information.
Certification labels invisible
How does it work? Fish sellers are required to state, for everything they sell, where the fish comes from, where it was caught and what its species name is. This allows customers to know whether they are buying sustainable fish: with limited bycatch, caught in a way that does not damage the seabed or the environment and does not pollute the sea. ASC, BIO and MSC certification labels indicate that the fish has been responsibly sourced, but these labels are usually not visible at the fishmonger either.
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Source: Consumentenbond
