The 10 Commandments of Fish

1. Love fish, whether local, national, or European, farmed or wild.
2. Don’t treat all farmed fish equally.
3. Consume farmed, local, and national fish on holidays… and every other day.
4. Honoring lesser-known wild species.
5. Prioritize fish consumption over other animal proteins.
6. Don’t contribute to illegal fishing: choose local, national, or European fish whenever possible. In the absence of these options,opt for certified fish that indicates the country of origin.
7. Don’t deprive yourself of refined taste: farmed fish is just as tasty as wild fish.
8. Don’t bear false witness against farmed fish or wild fish of national or European origin.
9. Don’t covet species that don’t exist in Portugal or endangered species.
10. Don’t covet “poorly prepared” fish – always demand fish with bright pupils, firm skin and flesh, a sea smell, and brightly colored gills.

“Our mission is to stimulate the blue bioeconomy in Portugal, we connect science and businesses, and we also aim to raise public awareness of the quality, safety, and flavor of national fish, both farmed and wild,” reveals the Technical-Scientific Coordinator of CoLAB B2E, Elisabete Matos.

 

Learn more about the 10 Commandments of Fish

1. Love fish, whether local, national or European, farmed or wild.

Freshness: Did you know that both farmed and wild-caught fish (fish, shellfish, and seafood) generally reach the market in less than 24 hours?

Environmental Sustainability: In addition to being more ecologically sustainable and fresher, by consuming farmed or wild fish or seafood, provided it is local or national, you are contributing to the reduction of the much-discussed carbon footprint.

Economy: Consuming local fish also contributes to the balance and sustainability of the trade balance: currently, about 65% of the fish consumed in the EU is imported.

Food Safety: All EU food products undergo rigorous food safety controls, and production must adhere to duly regulated standards from the source.

Antibiotics are not used preventively. The use of antibiotics preventively was banned in the EU in 2006. When it is necessary, for clinical reasons, to administer antibiotics to fish, this process is carried out by a certified veterinarian, using the minimum amount permitted by law. After antibiotic treatment, the fish undergoes a “mandatory quarantine” process, being held for the time necessary for all traces of antibiotics that may be present in the body to disappear, and only then, after this period, can the fish be caught for human consumption.

All hormones have been banned since 1981. That is, they have not been used in the EU, in any type of animal production, for exactly 40 years.

 

2. Don’t treat all farmed fish equally.

Cost: Many factors determine the final price of a product. In the case of fish, factors such as the specific diet adapted to each species being cultivated, the time of year and stage of development; the logistics of transport and storage; the specialization and training of company employees; taxes; and even issues such as the cost of production and the type of aquaculture influence the price.

Example: A 1 kg sea bass produced in national aquaculture under a semi-intensive system takes, on average, two years to grow. By buying this fish, you are guaranteeing additional quality and freshness compared to a sea bass of the same weight that comes from outside Portugal and has grown faster (intensive system).

Taste and Freshness: We can easily imagine that aquaculture in the Atlantic requires more infrastructure and personnel resources than aquaculture in the Mediterranean Sea. But the taste is also not the same, as our fish is truly unique.

“Due to upwelling phenomena, an oceanographic phenomenon that consists of the rise of deep, nutrient-rich waters to the surface layer of the ocean, the Atlantic is very rich in nutrients and produces higher quality fish – both in fishing and aquaculture,” says Elisabete Matos.

It is partly thanks to this phenomenon that brands have developed that indicate Portuguese fish as the best in the world, examples being “World’s Best Fish” developed by the Matosinhos City Council, or the book “The Best Fish in the World” by Fátima Moura, financed by the predecessor of the Mar 2020 program, which includes testimonials from researchers and renowned chefs such as Ferran Adrià and Joan Roca, who praise the unique qualities of Portuguese fish.

 

3. Enjoying farmed, local, and domestic fish on festive days… and every other day

Quality: If you consider the origin of the fish and opt for local and domestic options, you will be guaranteeing flavor, nutrition, and freshness – essential characteristics for special meals.

Nutrition and Health: Like wild fish, farmed fish is rich in vitamins A and D, important minerals (iodine, zinc, magnesium, iron, selenium), and has low cholesterol levels, along with highly digestible proteins. It is also richer in fat than wild fish, fat that contains the desirable omega-3s, essential for example to the cardiovascular system and useful in combating depressive states.

Environment: Today, aquaculture diets increasingly include fewer ingredients of wild marine origin (i.e., wild-caught fish protein and oil), relying more and more on sustainable ingredients of animal and plant origin – including fish protein and oil made with byproducts of the canning industry. This allows for a reduction in the FIFO (fish in – fish out) ratio, a way of calculating how many kilograms of wild fish are needed to produce one kilogram of farmed fish. Nowadays, for most species, this ratio is less than one, meaning that production relies less and less on these unsustainable ingredients.

 

4. Honoring Lesser-Known Wild Species

Golden Tip: By consuming less sought-after wild species, you are promoting your health (acquiring different combinations of nutrients), saving money (as they are usually cheaper due to lower supply/demand pressure), reducing your environmental footprint (you are selecting already caught and ready-to-eat protein that might otherwise end up in the trash), and respecting fish stocks (by not consuming fish that is already in high demand and difficult to regenerate).

5. Prioritizing Fish Consumption (Over Other Animal Proteins)

Producing different types of animal protein and including them in our diets puts pressure on natural resources to varying degrees. One way to assess this pressure is the “feed conversion rate,” a calculation that determines the amount of food needed for an animal to gain one kilogram of body mass. Through this measure, it can be seen that fish production (in this case, salmon) is about seven times more efficient than beef production.

Furthermore, when comparing an animal’s ability to retain protein and energy and to convert food into meat, it is concluded that fish is by far the winner.

 

6. Do not contribute to illegal fishing: whenever possible, choose local, national or European fish. In the absence of these options, opt for certified fish that indicates the country of origin.

Portuguese or European origin should be the preferred criterion for the reasons already mentioned, but if this does not apply, certification is a viable alternative.

 

7. Don’t deprive yourself of refined taste: farmed fish is just as delicious as wild fish.

Nutrition and Health: Like wild fish, farmed fish is rich in vitamins A and D, important minerals (iodine, zinc, magnesium, iron, selenium), and has low cholesterol levels, along with highly digestible proteins. It is also richer in fat than wild fish, fat that contains the desirable omega-3s, essential for example to the cardiovascular system and useful in combating depressive states.

Taste: More than half of the fish consumed in Portugal, and in most countries, is already from aquaculture, but this happens, apparently, without national consumers realizing it, as most consumers seem not to distinguish between farmed and wild fish. A study by Deco Proteste, conducted in 2001, carried out blind tests with farmed species and their wild equivalents, and demonstrated that, in most of the species studied (gilthead seabream, sea bass and turbot), the preference of the Portuguese was random, with about 50% preferring farmed fish and the rest wild, which indicates that the study participants did not make the distinction. In the case of trout, however, 80% of the Portuguese preferred farmed fish to wild fish – which possibly occurs due to the higher percentage of fat, which makes the fish more succulent.

 

8. Do not bear false witness against farmed fish or wild fish of national or European origin.

Examples: There are several myths surrounding aquaculture, from the supposed absence of omega-3 in fish, to very marked differences in taste, the use of hormones and antibiotics preventively, among others. Precisely to demystify these completely misguided ideas, B2E recently promoted a campaign entitled “Oh No! It’s a Myth After All” which explains why they are, in fact, myths, through very short videos, with accessible language (about one minute) and scientific sources. The campaign can be seen on the CoLAB website and social media. It is essential to highlight that the origin (national and European) is key, as it adheres to food safety regulations that guarantee the superior quality of aquaculture products compared to those from other regions of the world.

 

9. Do not crave species that do not exist in Portugal or endangered species.

Which species should we avoid?

Consult the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Fish Guide, which lists the species that should be excluded from our diet due to sustainability and stock renewal issues. Some examples to be eliminated, according to the guide, are the Mozambique prawn, the European eel, and the blue shark.

 

10. Don’t covet “poorly prepared” fish – always demand fish with bright pupils, firm skin and flesh, a sea smell, and brightly colored gills.

 

Expert tips for choosing and preparing fish:

• Analyze the overall good appearance of the fish,
• Check that it has bright pupils,
• Make sure the skin and flesh are firm,
• Ensure a pleasant, sea-like smell,
• Check that the gills have a vibrant color and no mucus,
• If the fish is packaged, check for the absence of liquids.
• When buying fillets or loins, make sure the flesh is shiny and firm, not dull and soft. Check the structure/texture of the flesh to make sure it is smooth and intact, not broken or crumbly. And make sure the flesh looks – and smells – clean/fresh; the flesh may be moist, but any moisture should be clear (not cloudy) and the flesh should never appear slimy.
• If you’ve just caught the fish, let it rest, especially if you’re going to grill it, so the skin doesn’t stick.
• If you want to taste the fish in all its splendor, try cooking it with salt – that way, the fish will cook only in its own juices.