Just Fish…Or a chemical cocktail??

I love eating fish and prefer it to a meal containing meat I could quite easily eat fish instead of meat…But the fishing industry is in crisis worldwide.

Overfishing, fish farming using chemical and genetic manipulation, pollution of our oceans, bad management the fish flesh we eat now is more than likely a deadly chemical cocktail…

It just scares me that man has no care for our planet they just take and take until either we can’t eat it or are scared to feed our families with it or there is just no more the stock is depleted…

As a consumer and a worried one I feel we must start this protest at home…We are the shoppers, We choose what to buy, We choose what we feed our families …That is the bottom line folks…WE CHOOSE…AND WE MUST!

So what can we do? Well, only buy the fish we know is safe…WE/YOU need to get off our backsides and do some research find the companies that practise sustainable fishing, share that information among your friends and families…

Prove you care…Words are empty…Actions speak louder than words…

I will give you a starter for 10 here…I will tell you what I know and if you know more than me then pray please tell us all we would love to know …

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Alaska…Northwest of Canada, is the largest and most sparsely populated U.S. state. It’s known for its diverse terrain of open spaces, mountains and forests, with abundant wildlife.

It is fish country…Yes, they have many advantages over other fishing areas…They also have common sense and set the rules and the rules are not broken. Their fish management is second to none…

Effective state and federal institutions manage fisheries that are productive and sustainable, clean and healthy. Alaska is the only State in the nation whose Constitution explicitly mandates that all fish, including salmon, shall be utilized, developed, and maintained on the sustained yield principle.

Alaska is thousands of miles away from large sources of pollution that can contaminate the human food supply in other parts of the world.

The fish swim in clean, clear water…The fish are safe to eat…

But ok…We all know that you have to adjust and manage properly given your specific circumstances…Don’t we?

The WWF has been working tirelessly to put in place good practises and methods to provide sustainable fishing grounds…and some of the EU countries, although they agreed, have blatantly increased their fishing quotas. Probably due to demand but come on how short-sighted when there are no fish to be fished …What will Joe Public do then??? I’ll tell you …They will wonder why???

We can blame the fisherman, the manufacturers who pollute the waters, the scientists who work hard to find ways genetically to increase the fish yield, the fish farms…But we didn’t care when we were getting all the cheap fish we wanted…

Alaskan fish is safe to eat and yes it is a bit more expensive but you get what you pay for and what price do you put on your health and your families???

Make it a treat …I buy myself a piece Salmon once a month or look for deals and sometimes there are some to be had it freezes well …It is a lovely healthy treat…

Canned salmon labelled “Alaskan Salmon” is a less expensive alternative to salmon fillets.

Smaller fish with short life cycles, also tend to be better alternatives, such as sardines and anchovies, lower contamination risk and higher nutritional value. A general guideline is that the closer to the bottom of the food chain the fish is, the less contamination it will have accumulated.

Just make sure they’re not from the Baltic Sea…Why?? Because the Baltic sea has been grossly overfished, it is contaminated this report tells it all…

http://stateofthebalticsea.helcom.fi/pressures-and-their-status/hazardous-substances/

You only have to read it to see who is to blame…We all are from the perpetrators to the ones who did nothing… To say you didn’t know…Doesn’t cut it with me any more…I can’t believe that some don’t read or listen to the news and don’t want to know more when they do…Am I alone in wanting to know more?

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As I said I love fish but I have to be more selective …I look in the frozen fish section and read the label to see where the fish originated from. Canned fish just read the label if it says Alaskan Salmon then you are ok and I love a Salmon and cucumber sandwich made with lovely brown sourdough bread…

Browse your fish counter and look for bargains…the tail ends of the fish make a lovely fish pie just check the origins make it known to your fish monger what is the only fish you are going to buy…If we all did that and were more conscious consumers we could make a difference.

We are not going to change the world but we can change our own personal world and think what that can do if we spread the word…If you find a fish bargain tell all your friends so they can share in it …

Or grow your own if you are able… I have a little fish pond and when they spawn I tell all and sundry and they come and stock up their ponds and when I want a fresh fish I send hubby out to catch me one …They are happy fish not stressed and I know the origin but I still love a lovely piece of Alaskan Salmon as a treat.

My favourite Salmon Recipe.

salmon-steamed-Thai- coriander-chilli

Thai style steamed salmon with coriander and fish sauce, chilli and lime

Ingredients:

180 gm Trout or Salmon fillet. ( per person)

For Topping:

1 spring Onion finely chopped.

2/3 stems Coriander chopped finely…I use the stem as well.

1 red birds eye chilli finely chopped help promote the release of pleasure-boosting endorphins in the brain.

1 tbsp Fish Sauce.

A cheek of lime.

Mix ingredients together.

Put fish on foil and spoon topping on reserve some topping to add when serving. Seal foil and put in the oven on 180 for 10/15 mins until cooked.

Serve with steamed rice, boiled new potatoes or over noodles.

Enjoy!

I hope when you read this post that it has made you more aware and made you want to do your bit for the fishing industry…I also wanted to leave you with something nice after my rants… A Salmon Recipe x

Wishing you all a happy, healthy New Year.xxx

About Carol Taylor:

Enjoying life in The Land Of Smiles I am having so much fun researching, finding new, authentic recipes both Thai and International to share with you. New recipes gleaned from those who I have met on my travels or are just passing through and stopped for a while. I hope you enjoy them.

I love shopping at the local markets, finding fresh, natural ingredients, new strange fruits and vegetable ones I have never seen or cooked with. I am generally the only European person and attract much attention and I love to try what I am offered and when I smile and say Aroy or Saab as it is here in the north I am met with much smiling.

Some of my recipes may not be in line with traditional ingredients and methods of cooking but are recipes I know and have become to love and maybe if you dare to try you will too. You will always get more than just a recipe from me as I love to research and find out what other properties the ingredients I use contain to improve our health and wellbeing.

The environment is also something I am passionate about and there will be more on this on my blog this year

Exciting for me hence the title of my blog, Retired No One Told Me! I am having a wonderful ride and don’t want to get off, so if you wish to follow me on my adventures, then welcome! I hope you enjoy the ride also and if it encourages you to take a step into the unknown or untried, you know you want to…….Then, I will be happy!

Carol is a contributor to the Phuket Island Writers Anthology: https://www.amazon.com/Phuket-Island-Writers-Anthology-Stories-ebook/dp/B00RU5IYNS

Connect to Carol

Blog: https://carolcooks2.com/
Twitterhttps://twitter.com/TheRealCarolT
Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/carol.taylor.1422

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/caroltaylor56/pins/

Thank you once again for reading this post I hope you all have a great weekend xx

 

 

14 thoughts on “Just Fish…Or a chemical cocktail??

  1. Pingback: CarolCooks2…A roundup of my New Years posts… | Retired? No one told me!

  2. Rebecca Moon Ruark

    Important advice, Carol. Thank you! Here in Maryland, it’s all about the blue crabs, which are a treat but our Chesapeake Bay and rivers aren’t as clean as they should be. And we’re doing what we can to get more oysters back–with people in my town putting spats of their docks. But over-fishing and polluting changed things forever. These are treats now, as bottom-feeders should be, I suppose. I could eat anchovies all day, but we’re 2 for 2 on that stinky fish in my house! I love salmon too, and that recipe sounds delicious. Thank you!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      Thank you, Rebecca what a shame isn’t it ? ..It makes me so mad that we have a beautiful world with plentiful food supplies and it is being spoilt…I admire your community for what they are trying to do but it seems the odds are stacked against us every way we turn. Thank you for reading 🙂 xx

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  3. Adele Marie

    Fantastic, Carol, thanks for bringing awareness about what we can do to save the world’s fish population. Having lived in a small fishing village, just when Britain joined the Euro, I saw first hand how the EU regulations and laws decimated the village’s fishermen which of course has a knock on effect everywhere. We can not and must not support overfishing. I am a vegetarian but used to eat fresh salmon, now I don’t as a choice of one person to try and help. As a child, when I lived on Rousay, Orkney islands, we were spoiled for choice. Fresh trout from the burn, fresh fish from the sea, no frozen or fishmongers just what we had on the day. xxx

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    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      Wow, Adele, that is one place I would love to visit the Orkneys such beautiful wild scenery what a lovely place to spend your childhood and yes the EU has a lot to be ashamed of…I am not a vegetarian but I do source my food responsibly or grow my own my diet is half and half yesterday was a veggie day for me xxx

      Liked by 1 person

      1. CarolCooks2 Post author

        So do I Adele..There is too much apathy in the world..I had a really small garden in my lsst house in the UK but grew vegetables in tubs, grow bags , hanging baskets and among the flowers…I grew up in a farming family so I suppose that was in me from a child….Have a lovely wdeek 😀x

        Liked by 1 person

  4. johnrieber

    A terrific article and great “call to action” – I read a book about working the fishing season in Alaska and will post it next week – but everything you say is true: how fish is currently “grown” and “harvested” is sending us in the wrong direction!

    Liked by 1 person

  5. lydiaschoch

    What a fantastic post. Yes, there is a lot we can do as consumers to change things like this and help the environment.

    Liked by 1 person

  6. shelleywilson72

    My heart breaks with every news story about the destruction our beautiful planet has to endure! You are so right about changes starting with us. Lovely post, Carol, and fabulous recipe x

    Liked by 1 person

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      Thank you, Shelley so does mine and I think I had just seen one thing too much and the rant started…lol…I tried to soften the rant with a recipe but I believe every word I said it has to start with us …Happy New Year , Shelley 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

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