My first full week of being offaltarian began in earnest. Well ish. Some. A bit. It began with a visit to Little Tokyo in Leeds. It has a lot to offer the vegan/vegetarian, but what did it have to offer the offaltarian (I really like that term)? Well, unsurprisingly not a huge amount. All the meat things were out. The fish was in of course, but after my previous post about being a responsible fish eater, I wanted to well do that. But then I got over-excited and saw that eel was on the menu. Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeel.I had an eel bento … It was delicious, but …
I’ve plagued myself with half-remembered articles that I’ve read about eels and how people still don’t know where they spawn and what happens to adult eels after they’ve had a reproductive time and how long it takes them to reach sexual maturity and I’m not sure I made the right choice. A bit of the old google has shown me that I should be asked if the eel was sustainbably sourced as there is a new EU eel labelling standard (here). Each EU member state has had to come up with an Eel Management Plan that reflects the eels unique lifestyle. In England it is the Sustainable Eel Group who are responsible for its implementation.
However, at present, the eel is still on the Marine Stewardship Council’s red list (here) of species that are unsustainably caught. They also run the good fish guide so you can work out which fishes are most responsibly fished. This is excellent and I would downlaod the iphone app if I had one.
So, what you should take away from this lesson: DO NOT GET OVER-EXCITED IF YOU SEE EEL ON A MENU. IT IS NAUGHTY TO EAT IT AND THE (surviving) EELS WILL PUNISH YOU.
Eat Tilapia.
offallygood 