If you enjoy ordering seafood at your favourite restaurants, the WWF Southern Africa has released a report which details just how sustainable your favourites are.
South Africa (06 February 2024) – The WWF Southern Africa released its latest “On the Menu” report highlighting popular seafood bought and sold in South African restaurants. Having this information helps patrons make sure their favourite places are making sure to provide sustainable options.
What the report highlights is that many restaurants are still selling species that are red or orange-listed by the WWF Southern Africa Sustainable Seafood Initiative (WWF-SASSI). The report itemises the most popular menu items and makes the point that diners are heavily reliant on restaurants to be honest about where their seafood comes from.
Fish is classed into three categories: green, which obviously means good; orange, which means think twice; and red, which means don’t buy. Orange and red are the least sustainable.
Common Seafood Menu Items in South Africa
These are some of the common seafood options on menus. Within these types of seafood, there are various species. To find out exactly which species are listed as green, orange or red, check out the WWF-SASSI website here. The report also goes into more detail about each fish and its colour-coded classification.
- Hake – Green / Red
- Calamari / Squid – Green / Orange / Red
- Snoek / Barracouta – Green
- Kingklip – Green / Orange
- Salmon – Orange
- Mussels – Green
- Rainbow Trout – Green
- Tuna – Green / Orange / Red
- Oysters – Green / Orange
- Prawns – Green / Orange / Red
- Kob (Kabeljou) – Green / Red
- Red Roman – Orange
- White Steenbras – Red
- Yellowtail/Amberjack – Green / Orange / Red
- Galjoen – Red
- Cape Stumpnose – Red
- Slinger – Green / Orange
- Red Steenbras – Red
- Musselcracker – Orange / Red
- Carpenter – Green / Orange
- Red Stumpnose – Red
- Cape Bream – Green
- Garick – Red
- Potato Bass – Red
Why is all of this important? Well, as consumers, we use our rands to “vote” for meaningful change within the environment and that starts by only supporting businesses that have sustainable practices. By ordering sustainable seafood off the menu, you are telling that restaurant you want more of the sustainable options.
If you are not sure, speak to your local restaurant and ask them to look into the report too. Sometimes, the powers that be, are not totally aware of their sustainable practices.
You can review the full report here.
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