What fish are you eating?

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

- CHIT U. JUAN

I have been avoiding fresh water fish because of horror stories I have heard about doughnuts and bread being fed to fish in contained ponds. I also avoid species like tilapia because of the algae taste when grown in smaller bodies of water.

Then I recently met a fish expert who exports frozen and processed fish and he corrected some myths, much to my surprise. He says that fish producers no longer use bread or doughnuts because it has been found that they do not produce good results. Check!

Next, the algae-taste in tilapia is because of a process small fishers miss — the "cleansing" of the tilapia gut in clean water tanks after they are caught. And the secret is to find the dark species of tilapia, not the light ones. Check!

So I asked: how will I know where the fish comes from? I know that exporters have to state provenance of their products because the European Union (EU) and Japan have the most stringent standards for importation of fish. So I asked him for tips on what to buy and where to buy fish.

For fresh frozen fish, our best bets are bigger companies who follow standards prescribed by developed countries. For as long as these big companies do not cross the 15-kilometer line of municipal waters, which endanger the livelihoods of our fisherfolk.