What's In That Fish Sandwich?

by Clare Leschin-Hoar, Posted Feb 23rd 2010 @ 1:00PM

For a nice Catholic girl like moi, Lent means several weeks of fish-focused Fridays. Sometimes that means grabbing a fish sandwich on the run. While there's no shortage of fast-food spots ready to fill that need, it's not always clear what kind of whitefish is sandwiched between those seeded buns. Frequently it's made from swimmers like pollock, hake or, as Wendy's latest Lenten promotion brags, North Pacific cod. But plenty of fish sandwiches, fish sticks and fish-'n-chips are made with a fish you probably haven't even heard of: hoki.

Like many issues surrounding fish and sustainability, things are often complicated. Environmental groups like the Blue Ocean Institute and Greenpeace give New Zealand hoki (also known as blue grenadier, whiptail and blue hake) a poor rating.

"We're in the process of updating our hoki report now," says Alan Duckworth, research scientist for the Blue Ocean Institute, "but the biggest concern with hoki is very low abundance compared to what it used to be."

Other complaints include the bottom trawling methods used to catch the fish, which can damage seafloor habitat, and high by-catch rates that include the snaring of threatened seabirds or mammals like fur seals and sea lions.

"Hoki is one of the most valuable fisheries in New Zealand," says Casson Trenor, Senior Markets Campaigner for Greenpeace U.S.A., which gives the fish a red listing. "They take over 100,000 tons of it a year. That's huge. It's one of the biggest fisheries in the world. But hoki is a mess."

Hoki was red-listed by Greenpeace New Zealand in 2008, which is the year they launched their Fish Guide. According to Trenor, one of Greenpeace's major objections is that hoki migrate from New Zealand to a deep-water trench when they move from feeding to spawning, and says fishermen catch them at this vulnerable time. But the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), a well-regarded certification and ecolabeling program for sustainable seafood, has given the nod to the New Zealand fishery since 2001. Why the disparity between groups?

"We are each measuring fisheries to different standards," says Brad Ack, the director of special projects at the MSC's office of the CEO.

Conditions for reducing by-catch rates, plans for rebuilding stock levels and more were set as part of the MSC certification process. This past October, the New Zealand Ministry of Fisheries announced the Total Allowable Commercial Catch (TACC) of the country's two hoki fisheries had increased by more than 20 percent over the previous year. According to the New Zealand Seafood Industry Council, it was a validation that the stocks had been managed sustainably after a period of decline. Karli Thomas of Greenpeace New Zealand says the hoki catch is now less than half its 2001 level when it received MSC certification.

So is it a fish we should feel good about eating?

"Stocks are rebounding. There's a reduction in seabird deaths. New Zealand is meeting their conditions around by-catch, and it's an actively managed fishery with a focus on sustainability," says Ack.

Conversely, Trenor predicts a future based around aquaculture.

"At the end of the day, we're going to need to find a source of cheap whitefish protein that's not from a wild fishery, because the largest fisheries in the world, like hoki and pollock, are collapsing," says Trenor. "We're going to be looking to aquaculture, but we have to do it right. If we could create strong environmental standards to grow it, we could make it work.

Filed Under: Food Politics
Tags: aquaculture, Blue Ocean Institute, fast food, greenpeace, hoki, sustainable fishing

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Reader comments (Page 5 of 14)

2-26-2010 @7:55AM Blue Kentucky Girl said... I am so glad to read this article. Last weekend, a friend and I went shopping; around 1:00 we still had several errands left on the list and decided to 'grab a sandwich' .. I 'grabbed' a fish sandwich at Wendy's. I was up most of that night and did not feel good until Tuesday. Never again! Never, ever again! I am a vegetarian, but eat salmon once or twice a year; this was a poor choice on my part. In reality, I will most likely never eat salmon again, after seeing a program showing the tiny parasites that inhabit sea life. Boo, hiss and a pox on Wendy's!
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2-26-2010 @8:40AM Sally G said... Rather than it being specifically a Wendy’s problem, I suspect that your vegetarian system is unused to fish. I suspect that you would have had something similar happen in another chain, or a diner, or most any restaurant. That rare salmon meal—it's a treat, with fresh, not processed fish, right? I honestly don't believe that Wendy’s is worse than the others; in fact, their choices have generally been some of the healthiest of the fast-food chains. (That being said, even as a meat-eater, I can count on one hand the number of times I eat at a fast-food chain in a year—will sometimes get an iced tea or coffee if I need change or am with friends, but that’s about it.)

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2-26-2010 @11:22AM orlenda said... why do some vegetarians think that fish somehow arent as sentient as other animals? They feel pain and can think and even the common goldfish can be taught to do tricks....pretty hypocritcal.

PS-wendy's fish sandwiches are the ones made from COD! a pretty good fish....

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4-01-2010 @7:22AM Photocrazy said... The problem is we are overpopulating this planet and soon there will be no fish or other sea creatures to eat. We have no place to put all of the waste we produce and are getting to the point we won't have enough area to plant and harvest from.

People watch shows like 19 and Counting and admire them. If all of their children and grand children had 19 kids, they would be pushing 7000 in 2 generations. There is a reason that families in China are only allowed 1 child, they have no room for more and neither do we.

Wake up people! The world is over fishing our waterways, destroying our rainforests for land to plant on, and building more and more leaving no place for wildlife to live. To those of you who do not understand, we can not enlarge the planet we need to control our population so we have enough to live.
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2-26-2010 @11:22AM orlenda said... a very good point! i wish people would THINK BEFORE THEY SCREW! people wonder why wild animals attack them in their backyards, when those animals have nowhere else to go....

and on those HUGE families-i highly doubt those children get the ttention and nurturing they need from their parents, which is a crime. I'd much rather see a single child raised with plentty of interaction their their parents, than 10 raised in a military style where the older ones have to watch teh younger ones...sad...

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2-26-2010 @3:05PM Tackberry said... You're right. Human overpopulation is the root cause of almost every major problem we are currently facing. The days of the big family are gone, and someday it's going to come down to the actual creation and enforcement of child-limiting reproduction laws like they have in China. Either that, or mass starvation will do it for us. Of course, few care. They will sit at home eating a fish sandwich and then make another illegitimate welfare baby.

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2-26-2010 @9:27AM w.curry said... Just like most of the stories posted by AOL ......false headline followed by some type of leftist rant! Truthfully, what did you learn about what type of fish is in your fast food sandwich?
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2-26-2010 @11:49AM Ole Guy said... I believe you may have lost the subtle push behind the story. While the story itself elaborates on the various fish used in fast food sandwiches, the intent is but one: BUY MORE FAST FOOD FISH SANDWICHES and compare.

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2-26-2010 @8:01AM jimd said... HOKI-DOKEY!
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2-26-2010 @8:01AM Joan said... so you do the hoki poki and you turn yourself around, that's what its all about!!
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2-26-2010 @8:01AM rich said... This comment is for Jerry what if someone fed you human meat and you like it still dont care where it came from?
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2-26-2010 @8:02AM anonymous said... Fish is really good but it can also be fattening as well. Many of the batters they used in places like McDonalds, Wendy's, Hardees, anywhere that even sells fish are high in starch with the breading and then when you add the bun and condiments, ouch! Even a large glass of sweet tea at Mc Donald's has over 800 calories.

Of course, these are the foods we all love, including me! One of the best places to have fried catfish are the VFW's in our area, or a place called the Captains Table on the Moline, East Moline, IL border of the Quad Cities.

I guess when your eating fish, if your weight concsious, add a bit of lemon for flavor and forget the bredding and the tarter sauce and al of that...and if you just can't live without it, they hey, we cal all get together for a lenten workout after the fish hahaha!
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2-26-2010 @8:02AM getrealpeople said... Did the author ever tell us what kind of fish is in the McDonald's fish sandwich?
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2-26-2010 @8:26AM Sally G said... Pollock, cod (esp. at Wendy’s), hake, or (increasingly) hoki. It's right in the first paragraph. (Not McDonalds particularly, but fast food in general.)

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2-26-2010 @8:02AM patricia said... i think its up to the individal to decide what they put in there bodies ,if u dont like what u hear or read just leave it alone theres always got to be a big drama about everything.. jerry does your boss tell u what u can and cant do at work with that type of attitude iam surprise u got a job grow up each and everyone one of us has got someone telling us what not to do think about it
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2-26-2010 @8:50AM poot said... I think you're missing the point. Certainly people should have the right to consume whatever they want... but before that, they also have the right to be TOLD what they're putting in their body, instead of just some BS answer like "fish!"

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2-26-2010 @8:10AM Rich said... but living here in Florida I like a nice big grouper sandwich fresh out the water same day or I will go snook fishing, snappers just down the road from my house well I got the day off going fishing see losers later
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2-26-2010 @8:11AM cj said... I watched an episode of "Dirty Jobs" a year or so ago that dealt with the raising of Talapia. They raise these fish to clean out the tanks and ponds after other types of fish are harvested. They eat the fecal matter and scum that are left in the tanks and then they're harvested and sold. I used to love Talapia since I don't care for fishy-tasting fish but felt that I needed to eat and feed my family fish for the health related benefits. Now I just can't get past the thoughts of those fish "cleaning" out those tanks.
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