News
There may be bigger fish to fry… but now small sprat are big on sustainability!
Sprat from the Baltic are now a ‘Best Choice’, with a rating of 1 meaning they can be consumed guilt free.
Bernadette Clarke, MCS Good Fish Guide Manager says: “We should be eating more oily fish like sprat, not only are they good for our health but sprat from the Baltic is now an environmentally friendly choice too. Sprat are a really nutritious, yet affordable, fish choice and although their appeal seems to have waned in recent years, this positive rating should see them getting back on restaurant menu in their own right.”
But although it’s great news, it also raises some fundamental seafood questions – what exactly are sprat? Have I ever eaten them? Would I know a sprat if saw one?
Sprat (sprattus sprattus) belong to the same family as herrings and sardines. They’re small oily fish which contain omega-3 fatty acids which are known to be good for our heart health. On average sprat don’t mature until they’re about 11cm in length and only grow to about 16cm. A rough belly sets sprat apart from other similar small fish.
Cooked under a hot grill, served with pepper and a squeeze of lemon, you can eat them up, heads and all, without the need for a knife and fork. But you’re more likely to have had them under the catch-all term of ‘whitebait’.
Mature sprat are a more sustainable alternative to traditional mixed whitebait, which isn’t actually a specific species at all and (depending on where you are) can be a mixture of juvenile fish such as herring, sprat and sandeel, hence the longstanding confusion about sprat vs whitebait!
The latest version of the MCS Good Fish Guide has also seen improved ratings for Irish Sea cod, haddock and plaice and hand-lined pollack from the south west.
Haddock from the Irish Sea is now a green rated, ‘Best Choice’ due to an improving spawning stock biomass and declining fishing mortality and hand lined pollack from the south west is another ‘Best Choice’ option – this is great news as it’s a fantastic alternative to the go-to favourites of cod and haddock.
41% of fish stocks in the northeast Atlantic and waters around the UK however, are still being overfished and MCS says it’s vital that the public, chefs, retailers and fish buyers keep referring to the Good Fish Guide Fish website, the Pocket Good Fish Guide or the app version on iPhone or android, to ensure they have the most up-to-date sustainable seafood advice. MCS sustainable seafood work is supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery.
For more information about sustainable seafood or to download the app please visit: www.goodfishguide.org
News
Dive Worldwide Announces Bite-Back as its Charity of the Year
Over the next 12 months, specialist scuba holiday company Dive Worldwide will be supporting Bite-Back Shark & Marine Conservation with donations collected from client bookings to any one of its stunning dive destinations around the world. The independently-owned operator expects to raise £3000 for the UK charity.
Manager at Dive Worldwide, Phil North, said: “We’re especially excited to work with Bite-Back and support its intelligent, creative and results-driven campaigns to end the UK trade in shark products and prompt a change in attitudes to the ocean’s most maligned inhabitant.”
Bite-Back is running campaigns to hold the media to account on the way it reports shark news along with a brand new nationwide education programme. Last year the charity was credited for spearheading a UK ban on the import and export of shark fins.
Campaign director at Bite-Back, Graham Buckingham, said: “We’re enormously grateful to Dive Worldwide for choosing to support Bite-Back. The company’s commitment to conservation helps set it apart from other tour operators and we’re certain its clients admire and respect that policy. For us, the affiliation is huge and helps us look to the future with confidence we can deliver against key conservation programmes.”
To launch the fundraising initiative, Phil North presented Graham Buckingham with a cheque for £1,000.
Visit Dive Worldwide to discover its diverse range of international scuba adventures and visit Bite-Back to learn more about the charity’s campaigns.
MORE INFORMATION
Call Graham Buckingham on 07810 454 266 or email graham@bite-back.com
Gear News
Scubapro Free Octopus Promotion 2024
Free Octopus with every purchase of a SCUBAPRO regulator system
Just in time for the spring season, divers can save money with the FREE OCTOPUS SPRING PROMOTION! Until July 31st SCUBAPRO offers an Octopus for free
with every purchase of a regulator system!
Get a free S270 OCTOPUS with purchase of these combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with A700
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with S620Ti
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with D420
MK25 EVO Din mit S620Ti-X
Get a free R105 OCTOPUS with purchase of the following combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with G260
MK25 EVO or MK17 EVO with S600
SCUBAPRO offers a 30-year first owner warranty on all regulators, with a revision period of two years or 100 dives. All SCUBAPRO regulators are of course certified according to the new European test standard EN250-2014.
Available at participating SCUBAPRO dealers. Promotion may not be available in all regions. Find an authorized SCUBAPRO Dealer at scubapro.com.
More information available on www.scubapro.com.
-
News3 months ago
Hone your underwater photography skills with Alphamarine Photography at Red Sea Diving Safari in March
-
News3 months ago
Capturing Critters in Lembeh Underwater Photography Workshop 2024: Event Roundup
-
Marine Life & Conservation Blogs3 months ago
Creature Feature: Swell Sharks
-
Blogs2 months ago
Murex Resorts: Passport to Paradise!
-
Blogs2 months ago
Diver Discovering Whale Skeletons Beneath Ice Judged World’s Best Underwater Photograph
-
Gear Reviews2 weeks ago
GEAR REVIEW – Revolutionising Diving Comfort: The Sharkskin T2 Chillproof Suit
-
Marine Life & Conservation2 months ago
Save the Manatee Club launches brand new webcams at Silver Springs State Park, Florida
-
Gear Reviews3 months ago
Gear Review: Oceanic+ Dive Housing for iPhone