“CHOOSE WISELY” AWARENESS CAMPAIGN

Le Meridien Abu Dhabi has joined the "Choose Wisely" awareness campaign, aiming to replace threatened fish species with sustainable options.

Le Meridien Abu Dhabi and all the Starwood hotels in Abu Dhabi have introduced this sustainable fish program at the beginning of 2011 in partnership with EWS (Emirates Wildlife Society) and WWF (World Wildlife Fund) in Abu Dhabi. Starwood Abu Dhabi hotels are the first hotel group in the city leading the way towards increased awareness of sustainability in the hospitality industry.

With currently over 80% of the world's main fish stocks considered as fully exploited, overexploited, and depleted or recovering from depletion, the main goal of the "Choose Wisely" project is to address the problem of overfishing in the UAE and its associated environmental impact. In this project, the principal task of the UAE based non-profit organizations EWS and WWF is to raise customer awareness on the heavy exploitation of UAE fish resources and encouraging action from concerned stakeholders.

From January 2011 onwards, guests find special "Choose Wisely" buffet tags at our restaurants Le Bistrot - Sustainable cuisine, La Brasserie, Pappagallo and Talay, as well as special icons on the menus and diverse educational material in all participating outlets. Fish species marked as "green" are considered a sustainable choice with plenty of stock available in the UAE, "red" marks on the other hand identify threatened species, advising customers to think twice and "choose wisely".

About EWS and WWF:

The mission of the Emirates Wildlife Society (EWS) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in Abu Dhabi is to promote sustainable living and conserving the UAE's natural biodiversity. With support and scientific advice provided by the Environment Agency of Abu Dhabi, EWS-WWF is the first organization to highlight the unsustainable exploitation of marine fish in the Middle East region and specifically in the Persian/Arabian Gulf. Studies show a severe decline in important UAE commercial fish stocks in the past 30 years, with some species currently fished at over 7 times the sustainable level. Local fish are a staple of the Emirati diet and the UAE has a long-standing fishing tradition; as such the protection of fish resources holds cultural significance in addition to the inherent benefit to marine ecosystems and biodiversity.

 More information about the "Choose Wisely" campaign