Over the past few decades, more than 100 species of fish have vanished from Taiwan. One challenge is that consumers aren’t aware that many of the 400,000 tonnes of fish in local markets caught per year are endangered species, and they can’t identify which species these are. As a magazine that promotes sustainable food culture to Taiwanese people, Taiwan Edible Magazine needed to do something to rescue this unsustainable situation.   

With the ambition of helping people make more ocean-friendly fish-purchasing decisions, and the support of many volunteers, fishery related schools and environmental NGOs, we developed the mobile web app, Fish Checker. By following three simple steps: Scan, Show and Share, users can now easily check whether a fish is endangered, and share the result through social media to spread information about these species.

In 2019, Taiwan Edible Magazine launched Fish Checker publicly for consumers. It was recommended to the general public by National Geographic’s World Ocean Day Festival, Taiwan Radio Fishery Station and schools in coastal town. With no media budget, Fish Checker has engaged over 12,000 consumers in educational events.