It’s a shocking figure: 85% of the world’s fish stocks are either overexploited or exploited to their maximum*. Consequently, there’s a growing demand for retailers and restaurants to engage with their suppliers and support responsible and sustainable practices. But what can you, as a seafood fan, do to ensure that you’re eating ethically?

Wisaal Osman, WWF’s SASSI outreach officer, told us that the presence of a SASSI logo or poster does not necessarily mean that a restaurant has a relationship with the sustainable seafood initiative, nor that everything on the menu is green-listed. Customers still need to ask what it is, where it’s from and how it was caught or farmed. “These questions will send the message that you want to know about your seafood and you want more sustainable options,” says Wisaal.

For full traceability, and to be sure that a seafood product comes from a well-managed fishery that has been certified against a credible third-party sustainability standard, WWF-SASSI promotes the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). The MSC is an international NGO that sets standards for sustainable fishing and supply chain traceability and is  working with local restaurants and retailers to increase the availability of items displaying its characteristic blue MSC tick, to help consumers choose sustainable options.

Notably, Woolworths introduced a sustainable seafood policy in 2008 and remains committed to procuring all its seafood from sustainable fisheries and responsible farming operations; and Pick n Pay has promised to transform its fresh, frozen and canned seafood operations by the end of 2015. But not all retailers are toeing the line. Look out for the MSC eco-label on seafood products and restaurant menus or visit the SASSI website to see the green, orange and red lists before you visit your local fishmonger.  You can also find out the status of a seafood product on the fly by using the FishMS service. Type the name of the seafood species into a text and send it to 079 499 8795.

Once you’ve armed yourself with the greenest, freshest seafood available, get cooking one of these calamari, fish, mussel and oyster recipes.

Calamari

Gordon Ramsay’s stuffed squid with pork
The invention of celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, this calamari recipe is served with nuoc cham, a delicious Vietnamese dipping sauce.

Peri peri calamari with chorizo sausage
Fresh from Jane-Anne Hobbs’s book, Scrumptious Food for Family and Friends, this easy calamari recipe is a real crowd pleaser. “Peri-peri is one of South Africa’s favourite flavours… Feel free to add more fresh chillies if you appreciate a blisteringly hot sauce,” says Jane-Anne.

Tempura calamari with sweet-and-sour dipping sauce
Light and crispy tempura is as good as it gets, especially when served with homemade dipping sauce and a wedge of lemon.

Fish

Baked fish
This recipe was created by Phillippa Cheifitz way back in the eighties – and it’s still as delicious as ever! It calls for coriander leaves, ornage and lemon juice, garlic and olive oil.  Use linefished yellowtail, not the variety farmed in at-sea cages, which is orange-listed.

Balinese baked fish
We loved seeing The Leopard’s Andrea Burgener on a recent episode of MasterChef SA. (See summaries of all the recipes on our dedicated page.) Here’s a fragrant, exotic fish recipe from the inventive chef to try yourself. Look for South African MSC-certified hake.

Braaied snoek with chilli and garlic oil
Braaied snoek is to a Capetonian what croissants are to a Frenchman. It’s part of our heritage, culture and culinary tradition – and is happily green-listed.

Cavatelli pasta with a broccoli velvet sauce and oregano flowers
Cape-based chef and restaurateur Giorgio Nava won the World Pasta Championships with this simple recipe. A traditional style of pasta made in Puglia, Italy, it’s seasoned with green-listed anchovies, broccoli, tomatoes and fresh oregano flowers.

Durban fish cakes
Soft on the inside, crisp on the outside, these hake fishcakes go down a treat with a little spicy mayonnaise. Pair with a glass of Nederburg Special Late Harvest. You can also use snoek as an alternative.

Fried fish with hand-cut chips
Doing it old-school with popping hot oil always tastes better. Here’s how to deep-fry fish and real potato chips at home. Use a firm white fish like MSC-certified hake.

Grilled tuna with caper berries and polenta wedges
Grilled tuna and sour caper berries contrast beautifully in this popular flavour combination. Opt for pole caught Albacore Tuna, or Skipjack or yellowfin tuna. Avoid Bluefin tuna and imported longline tuna, both of which are on the red list.

Hake and potato fish cakes with tomato salsa
“This is a clever way to get the kids to eat fish,” says Hannah Lewry, who created this recipe for City Press’s Sunday lifestyle magazine, iMagazine. Hannah also mentions that you can make these fishcakes with sweet potato, and prawns or salmon, but sticking to hake or snoek will keep you green.

Mediterranean fish soup and red pepper rouille
Warm up this winter with a robust seafood soup created by Justine Drake. Mop up the flavours with crusty bread and Two Oceans Sauvignon Blanc.

Pan-fried hake with herb butter and mushy peas
This fresh and fragrant dish is as easy as a flash in the pan, and the addition of herb-and-garlic butter takes things up a notch.

Parsely and lemon zest crusted fish with parmesan
Succulent tender fish in a golden, crunchy crust: this recipe works well with any green-listed white fish, such as hake or gurnard.

Pickled fish
A delicious solution for sustainable fish such as MSC certified hake,  gurnard, santer or line-fished yellowtail.

Peter Tempelhoff’s yellowtail tataki with buckwheat noodles and powdered dressing
This recipe by The Greenhouse’s Peter Tempelhoff is not for the faint-hearted. But then again, that’s why we love dining at Top 10 restaurants. Look for line-fished yellowtail.

Rosemary fish skewers
A quick and delicious starter or light meal, using robust sprigs of rosemary instead of sosatie sticks to impart flavour. Use hake, santer or gurnard.

Smoked mackerel and broccoli salad
Roasted cashews and apple slivers add a lovely crunch and a bit of sweetness to this fish dish. It’s quick too; the fish doesn’t require any cooking. Avoid King mackerel, which is orange-listed, unlike Queen mackerel and Cape Horse mackerel, which are green-listed.

Spicy dorado kebabs with cucumber raita and poppadoms
This fragrantly spiced fish dish is perfect for a hearty meal without the red meat.

Teriyaki-seared tuna loin with grilled baby fennel salad, banana chutney and coconut sago pearls
This light salad, with layers of beautifully complex Asian flavours, comes courtesy of Grant Cullingworth, executive chef at The Westin Cape Town. Opt for MSC-certified or pole caught Albacore Tuna, or Skipjack or yellowfin tuna. Avoid Bluefin tuna and imported longline tuna, both of which are on the red list.

White anchovy, baby fennel and orange salad
A beautiful salad for warmer winter or autumn days when oranges are bountiful.

Mussels

Farmed green-lipped mussels and both farmed and hand-collected blue mussels are green listed.

Cream and white wine mussels with fresh baguette
This aromatic combination of garlic, cream, white wine and seafood is the perfect thing to soak up with a fresh baguette.

George Calombaris’s mussels spanakopita
Try this unusual take on mussels with garlic and wine, which incorporates fresh spinach leaves, chickpeas and ricotta and feta cheese, by MasterChef Australia judge George Calombaris.

Oysters

Both Pacific-farmed and hand-collected oysters are green-listed.

Gordon Ramsay’s fish pie with oysters and scallops
This moreish fish pie comes to us from the famed chef’s book, Cooking for Friends. Sadly there are no MSC-listed scallops currently available in South Africa so you’ll have to substitute mussels for scallops.

Reuben Riffel’s grilled oysters with horseradish crème fraîche and parsley-butter gratin
This different romantic supper for two, courtesy of celebrity chef Reuben Riffel, sounds more tricky than it is.

*2010 United Nation’s Food and Agricultural Organisation report

If you don’t feel like cooking, head out for a seafood platter at one of these restaurants around SA.