Overfishing and destructive fishing methods are putting growing pressure on marine ecosystems, weakening the ocean’s ability to store carbon and sustain biodiversity.
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The World Wide Fund for Nature’s (WWF) sustainable seafood guides highlight how everyday choices about the fish we eat can help protect vulnerable species – and reduce the environmental footprint of our diets.
The free guides are tailored to each country, reflecting which species are most commonly consumed and how sustainably they are caught or farmed.
A simple traffic light system helps consumers make informed choices: green for species to promote due to healthy stocks or low-impact fishing methods; yellow for those to consume in moderation due to concerns over stocks or production methods; and red for species to avoid, either because they are overfished or linked to particularly damaging practices.
What are the most sustainable fish to eat in Greece?
The latest version of the WWF guide in Greece offers a snapshot of which seafood options are considered sustainable in the country – and which are best left off the menu.
It includes more than 100 species of fish widely found on the market, as well as some non-commercial species that are worth including in our diets. The species are divided into four main categories: Mediterranean species, foreign species, aquaculture species and imported species.
The Fish Guide offers practical advice on the seasonality of species, helping consumers to choose fish and seafood at the right time, avoiding the months when they are breeding or when they are not allowed to be caught.
“First and foremost we want people to be informed and aware. To learn to choose their seafood correctly and responsibly” Elias Margaritis, fisheries officer at WWF Greece, tells Euronews. “That is, to learn which fish to choose, in what size and in the right seasons. It is also good to keep in mind the environmental part because we or the previous generation have benefited from something: a healthy sea. We have to leave it at least in the same condition or better.”
Given that the size of a fish indicates its age and whether it has spawned at least once in its life, the guide also provides information on the minimum legal size that each species must be in order to be consumed, as well as the size of its first spawning maturity, so that consumers have all the information at their fingertips to make more responsible choices.
In addition, it contains basic information on the characteristics of the species, their diet and morphology, the areas where they are found and the status of their populations.
Consuming ‘alien’ fish species could be a climate solution
For the first time, the updated guide includes a special section dedicated to alien species, as they are increasingly found in Greek seas as a result of anthropogenic interventions, including climate change and overfishing. Based on the most recent data, more than 240 alien species have been recorded in Greece to date.
The rapid growth of invasive species, which compete with native fish for food and damage fishing gear, is negatively impacting both the marine environment and fishermen. The consumption of alien species has become a key element of climate change adaptation and biodiversity protection.
“When you’re not familiar with something and you hear the word ‘alien’, unfortunately there is a phobia”, says Elias Margaritis. “There are many species, like sardines, non-native mullet and trumpet fish, which are very tasty and have a good nutritional profile. In the southern regions they are now in abundance – they have slowly gone to the Peloponnese and the Ionian Sea.”
The Fish Guide includes information on which alien species are suitable for consumption, including which have a distinctive taste and high nutritional value.
WWF fish guide includes nutritional information and recipes
The Guide places particular emphasis on the nutritional value of the species included, with detailed information on the nutrients they contain, such as protein, omega-3 fats, energy and vitamins. It even highlights the 10 species that excel in nutritional value.
Finally, and with the aim of becoming a tool for everyday practical use, the Fish Guide includes recipes from Greek chef Giorgos Tsoulis, Greek gastronomistIlias Mamalakis, and other renowned cooks from around the world.
“We have to think that in two years we might not even have fish to sell in our shops,” says chef George Tsoulis. “So we have to slowly integrate foreign fish species into the menus, so that people gradually learn about them.
“We should not give people what they ask for, because we cannot have octopus all year round, we cannot have mullet, squid and all that all year round. So we have to adapt our menu with foreign species and slowly the whole world will get to know them.”
The relationship between Greek consumers and seafood
For its latest edition of the Fish Guide, WWF Greece carried out a nationwide survey to gather consumer options on the purchase of fish and seafood in Greece.
According to the results of the survey, about one in two Greeks consume fish or seafood once a week. This figure was lowest among young people.
About six in 10 respondents said they are concerned about the issue of responsible fish consumption, while half were unaware of the existence of non-native fish species.
WWF’s Fish Guide will be regularly updated, incorporating the latest scientific data. It is addressed to all: consumers, caterers, fishermen and traders, with the aim of enhancing collective responsibility for the conservation of marine resources through small but meaningful changes in our daily choices.