Since last December, every product displayed at the fish counter must also indicate the fishing gear used, to allow consumers to distinguish sustainable fish. And the changes don't stop there: the mysterious code that indicated the broad areas of origin of the catch (for example, FAO 37 for the Mediterranean Sea) must be replaced by a more specific and precise indication of the fishing area.

The new labels are unfortunately not yet visible everywhere, as retailers have been granted a certain amount of time to comply. But they soon will be.

The new label is compulsory on whole fresh fish, but may not be required for the refrigerated section of large retail outlets, where fish cleaned by the supermarket itself is displayed. So it is not actually possible to know how and where already-filleted sardines were caught: the advice, when choosing a sustainable product, is to ask the counter staff for information or take a look at the label on whole sardines.

But how can you tell whether a fishing gear is sustainable when you are not familiar with it?

On the consumaregiusto.it page it is possible to download the new guide to sustainable fish. Using the simple and intuitive traffic-light model, fishing gear to avoid is highlighted in red (bottom trawls, pelagic longline, dredge, seine net); good alternatives are shown in yellow (trammel net, fixed gill net, bottom longline); and the most sustainable are shown in green (harpoon, pots and creels, midwater trawl, rod and line, handline, purse seine).

More generally, the guidelines to follow for sustainable shopping at the fishmonger's are these:

Choose local products: the less distance the fish we buy has travelled, the more sustainable and low-impact our purchase is.

Choose certified sustainable products or those from organic fish farms.

Choose fish with a short life cycle: the sea will benefit, replenishing itself quickly, and so will our bodies, which will avoid coming into contact with dangerous pollutants.

Don't eat fish every day.

By Daniele Tibi for consumaregiusto.it