The trouble is, our oceans are being seriously over fished. So much so, that unless action is taken some of our favourite fish may disappear from the seafood counter and restaurant table altogether.

But it is not just our supper that's at stake. Unsustainable fishing - caused by poor fisheries management and wasteful, destructive fishing practices - is decimating the world's fisheries, as well as destroying marine habitats and incidentally killing billions of fish and other marine animals each year.

But you can help change this. Consumer demand for sustainable seafood can act as an extremely powerful incentive for better fisheries management. If you buy, or ask for, seafood that comes from sustainable sources you are helping to protect our marine environment and, at the same time, ensuring that seafood can be enjoyed for many years to come.

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is an independent, non-profit organization set up to find a solution to the problem of overfishing. It has set an environmental standard to identify sustainable fisheries and you can spot seafood that meets this standard by looking for the distinctive blue MSC label. This gives you a simple way to identify - and purchase - fish from well-managed sources.

But as we became evermore efficient at catching this versatile fish, populations began a slow decline. Today, most stocks are at or near record lows, with several in danger of commercial extinction. If overfishing continues, Atlantic cod could be a dish of the past in less than 15 years.