20. Fishy Business

Abstract

Anthropocentric activities have led to unsustainable populations of various fish species around the world today. We have increased our cultivation rates to manage our own growing population sizes at the expense of fish species. As a result, fish stocks around the world are in decline and the fishing industry today is pushing them to the point of collapse. Although many people would like to believe that their grocery stores are stocking their shelves with fish from sustainable sources, that is not always the case, and the general population is lacking the knowledge to make informed choices when purchasing fish. We aim to assess the types of fish, their sources, and the information provided to consumers about the fish in grocery stores of the Queen’s student area. We will work closely with Food Basics, Metro, John’s Deli, and Loblaw’s. After assessing these stores we will inform the public on which grocery stores have the best practices, and also inform the stores on ways in which they can change to include information for consumers on the sources and methods of obtaining the fish sold in their stores. We would like to be able to provide the public with labels indicating where the fish was caught, how it was caught, whether it was farmed or fished, and whether it was sustainably sourced. We will implement a consistent format in all of the stores and raise awareness in Kingston about the issues facing the fishing industry and how our choices can impact fish species.