BRUSSELS, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- An environmental group has urged Europeans to note that the fish they consume may have come from illegal, destructive or wasteful fishing.
A report issued by the group WWF warned that over-fishing combined with increased demand will drive some species to the brink of extinction, reports Deutsche Welle.
Group spokesman Justin Woolford said "the trail of destruction behind industrialized fishing must be stopped or our children will be left with a barren ocean."
The report was based on an examination of half a dozen popular seafood dishes including fried plaice, swordfish or tuna steaks and paella.
"Think carefully before you go and eat cod, swordfish or tuna or plaice," Woolford told Deutsche Welle. The report said up to 80 percent of some plaice catches in the North Sea were thrown overboard dead or dying, partly because the fish netted were too small.
Woolford praised reforms to the European Union's common fisheries policy as promising. But he said there is still quite a trail of waste and destruction in European fisheries, Deutsche said.
WWF said consumers should look for fish with a Marine Stewardship Council label, which certifies that the fish has come from a sustainable and well-managed fishery.
