The tables on the following pages summarises the information contained in the UN FAO’s Technical Fact Sheets on two aspects of the environmental impact of 49 global fishing methods, namely how selective the methods are, and their wider environmental impact, ranging from habitat damage through to fuel usage. We use this in combination with a third indicator, the state of the fish stocks, to provide an overall indication of the environmental impact of fisheries, on five point scales from best to worst practice.

We will use these baseline scores as one starting point when assessing the fish currently on restaurant menus, and also when evaluating new potential fish sources. These generic scores may then be adjusted up or down depending on the local nature of the fisheries, and once more depending on the practices of individual boats within those fisheries. When making these assessments we will draw upon the opinions (among others) of fishers, managers, technical specialists and enforcement agencies, environmentalists, anglers, fish suppliers, the Marine Stewardship Council, and the MCS’s FishOnline, and place a strong emphasis on seeing and documenting the fishing methods for ourselves.

It needs to be emphasised that even the most selective, and least collaterally damaging fishing methods can be devastating for fish stocks if too many people are fishing. So the assessment of the state of the stocks is a critical additional element.

We are currently starting the pilot phase of our work. As part of this, we will also consult regarding the degree of consensus associated with these scores, derived from FAO data, and summarise this in future versions of this table – for the moment these columns are left blank.

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