South Africa has stepped up its efforts to promote sustainable seafood consumption to combat overfishing and protect vulnerable shark populations.
As vital predators at the top of the marine food chain, shark populations are declining due to overfishing and habitat destruction, posing a serious challenge to marine biodiversity.
Research data have shown that more than a third of the world's shark and ray species are threatened with extinction.
Ayrton King, an aquarist and animal keeper at Cape Town's iconic Two Oceans Aquarium, warned that the decline in shark populations would directly impact marine fishery.
"So, if sharks were to decline, and what we're going to see with that is just a massive increase in other species that are then going to predate on fish stocks, which would have a direct impact on us as humans," he said.
To promote sustainable fishing practices, the country has launched the Southern African Sustainable Seafood Initiative to improve consumer awareness and ease the pressure on marine ecosystems.
"It works on a color system. We have green for good. You are more than welcome to eat it. They are caught with sustainable methods. And orange, which is 'stay clear away from it,' but it's not a no go. And then red, which is 'completely stay away from.' The method in which they are caught is usually like bottom trawlers. And bottom trawlers completely destroy the ecosystems," said Calley Chateau-Cyster, head of pathways and research at the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation.
The aquarium would also lecture young visitors about marine biodiversity protection during educational tours, hoping it will indirectly affect their parents' seafood choices.
"We've learned that students, like little kids, they also tell their parents, 'My teacher said you shouldn't be eating that fish.' And then it encourages their parents to also choose sustainably. We're not saying stop seafood, but we are educating people to choose sustainably," Chateau-Cyster said.
South Africa promotes sustainable seafood consumption to protect sharks
