Looks deceptively real: There is a growing selection of plant-based fish substitutes. Alternatives include tapioca starch (cassava root) and glucose from algae. — Photo: Sina Schuldt/dpa
There are plenty of fish lovers out there who are opting to go vegetarian but looking back and feeling like they may be missing out.
Try these recipes for vegan herring salad, salmon and tuna.
There are ever more fish substitutes available, from vegan salmon to shrimp. And you can also make many fish dishes using plant-based ingredients at home, says German nutrition group ProVeg:
Vegan salmon for brunch: Use carrots instead. Peel them into strips and marinate them in a spicy mixture and enjoy a texture and taste is reminiscent of salmon.
Vegetarian salmon is easy to prepare at home and makes a great brunch ingredient. — Photo: Daniel Karmann/dpa
Plant-based herring salad: This takes its flavour from a mixture of beetroot, aubergine, apple, nori and gherkins. Plus, soy yoghurt provides a creamy consistency and gives you some protein, while the sheets of nori deliver a fishy taste. This salad tastes great on its own or you can use it to make a sandwich!
Sushi without fish: Sushi doesn't always have to contain fish. You can use marinated grilled peppers that you then fillet, making an excellent topping for nigiri sushi. The wakame powder and seaweed sheets will give you that familiar fish flavour and they are also high in iodine.
Algae leaves add a delicious fishy flavour to vegetarian sushi. — Photo: Christin Klose/dpa
Why eat less fish?
"From consumer research, we know three main reasons why people are eating less animal foods, namely health, concern about the environment and climate, and ethical reasons," says nutritionist Anna-Lena Klapp of ProVeg.
Particularly during certain phases of life, such as during pregnancy, people tend to pay close attention to their diet, which also means whether or not they eat fish, and what kind. "On the one hand, fish contain important nutrients such as iodine and omega-3 fatty acids, but methylmercury can also accumulate in certain fish species, which can affect a child's neurological development," says Klapp.
Pregnant women are advised to avoid fish such as tuna that have high levels of methylmercury, by the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment.
You can also go for plant-based fish alternatives if you are counting your calories. "On average, salmon made from carrots contains 70 calories per 100 grams, far less than actual salmon which contains 190 calories per 100 grams," says Klapp.
Overfishing, bycatch and plastic
Health is one reason to rethink your fish consumption, and the environment is another. Overfishing and bycatch are the biggest problems.
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) says wherever there is fishing, there is bycatch — the incidental capture of non-target species such as dolphins, marine turtles and seabirds.
"Modern fishing gear, often undetectable by sight and extremely strong, is very efficient at catching the desired fish species — as well as anything else in its path. A staggering amount of marine life — including turtles, dolphins and juvenile fish — is hauled up with the catch, and then discarded overboard dead or dying," the WWF says.
"Bycatch means that the creatures are not the actual target of the catch and are often thrown back into the sea, sometimes seriously injured," says Klapp, noting this is detrimental to marine biodiversity.
Another problem is that more and more discarded trawler nets are drifting around in the sea, generating a great deal of plastic pollution. Nature magazine assumes that about half of the Great Pacific Garbage Carpet consists of fishing nets, Klapp says.
"Those who choose plant-based fish alternatives are allowing fish stocks to recover and can definitely do something to reduce plastic pollution in our oceans," she says. — By Neele Hartmann/dpa
