Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Snapper menu ban urged

Updated at 9:07 am on 9 February 2012

An environmental group is challenging restaurants to remove snapper from the menu after the fish failed a sustainability test.

A best fish guide issued on Wednesday by the Royal Forest Bird Protection Society of New Zealand has an ecological assessment of 78 fish.

Snapper is one of the most popular fish meals, but it is red flagged along with orange roughy and southern blue fin tuna, as having been overfished.

The Seafood Industry Council has dismissed the guide, saying all fish on the list are caught responsibly.

Forest Bird says its facts are based on information from the Ministry of Fisheries.

The new guide was launched at Logan Brown restaurant in Wellington. Company director Steve Logan says snapper will be removed from the menu at certain times.

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