Oct 16, 2026 · 20 min · 7 segments
What is a climbing perch? A) A fish B) A frog C) A bird Sharks have been around for 450 million years. Even cockroaches have only been around for 300 million years. Homo sapiens, on the other hand…
[upbeat music] Perhaps you haven't picked your favorite Taiwanese animal yet, but most visitors to Taiwan will have at least picked a few favorite foods.
But do you know where your seafood comes from, or how it impacts the environment and the species chance of survival? Dr.
Helen Scales says that when it comes to eating seafood, there are better choices to make for the health of the ocean.
There are fisheries that are working hard to have as little long-term environmental impact as possible by targeting species that reproduce quickly, using low-impact fishing gear, and staying well within catch limits to avoid pushing wild populations into decline.
Scales says the snag when eating seafood is that it's not always easy to know what exactly is on your plate, where it came from, and how it was caught.
You need to know that in order to be certain of how sustainable your food is.
But rarely is that information provided to you when y- you eat prepared food, like at restaurants.
It's even difficult to come by when you buy food from, say, a supermarket.
I mean, have you ever, [laughs] have you ever looked at, looked at a package that said, "We are not sustainable," or, "We are sustainable," when buying seafood? I, I don't buy a lot of seafood to be honest, but I have never seen that on packaging.
[laughs] Have you ever been to those cafes that are just really into their different coffees and coffee beans? So when they serve you y- your, your mug of coffee on the little plate or whatever.
What are those called? Saucers? [laughs] They, they have a little piece of paper with it that ex- that gives the name, the origin, the roast, whether it's a light, medium, or dark roast, and then it'll give you notes like, oh, notes of chocolate, of roses, or something.
[laughs] Most of the time, y- this is not just me, right? Please, please tell me it's not just me.
Because most of the time this happens, I, I look at that piece of paper, and I think, "I cannot taste a single thing that's on this.
Anyway, uh, when you go to a, to eat seafood, do they put a little paper next to your plate and tell you that it was, it was harvested sustainably? Because to be honest, we all know sustainability comes with a price tag.
So if you're a business owner, it is very tempting to cut corners and not go for sustainability, so you're not gonna advertise it.
Ask fishmongers, supermarkets, and restaurant owners how they source their fish.
[upbeat music] Perhaps you haven't picked your favorite Taiwanese animal yet, but most visitors to Taiwan will have at least picked a few favorite foods.
But do you know where your seafood comes from, or how it impacts the environment and the species chance of survival? Dr.
Helen Scales says that when it comes to eating seafood, there are better choices to make for the health of the ocean.
There are fisheries that are working hard to have as little long-term environmental impact as possible by targeting species that reproduce quickly, using low-impact fishing gear, and staying well within catch limits to avoid pushing wild populations into decline.
Scales says the snag when eating seafood is that it's not always easy to know what exactly is on your plate, where it came from, and how it was caught.
You need to know that in order to be certain of how sustainable your food is.
But rarely is that information provided to you when y- you eat prepared food, like at restaurants.
It's even difficult to come by when you buy food from, say, a supermarket.
I mean, have you ever, [laughs] have you ever looked at, looked at a package that said, "We are not sustainable," or, "We are sustainable," when buying seafood? I, I don't buy a lot of seafood to be honest, but I have never seen that on packaging.
[laughs] Have you ever been to those cafes that are just really into their different coffees and coffee beans? So when they serve you y- your, your mug of coffee on the little plate or whatever.
What are those called? Saucers? [laughs] They, they have a little piece of paper with it that ex- that gives the name, the origin, the roast, whether it's a light, medium, or dark roast, and then it'll give you notes like, oh, notes of chocolate, of roses, or something.
[laughs] Most of the time, y- this is not just me, right? Please, please tell me it's not just me.
Because most of the time this happens, I, I look at that piece of paper, and I think, "I cannot taste a single thing that's on this.
Anyway, uh, when you go to a, to eat seafood, do they put a little paper next to your plate and tell you that it was, it was harvested sustainably? Because to be honest, we all know sustainability comes with a price tag.
So if you're a business owner, it is very tempting to cut corners and not go for sustainability, so you're not gonna advertise it.
Ask fishmongers, supermarkets, and restaurant owners how they source their fish.
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