Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

Last week, I was standing in Dusseldorf, Germany in a giant market staring at the myriad of fish laying out on the ice.  I stood there watching folks purchase the fish without giving it a second thought; obviously, they know their fish.  But what about us that don’t know fish?  Surely technology can help us make a good decision standing at the counter?

Enter FishPhone.  That is right, FishPhone.  Say it again if you like.  This creative SMS based service allows folks like me who are not sure about what chemicals get stored up in which fish get answers fast.  But it is more than just a chemical containing update, FishPhone goes beyond that and lets you know about catch methods and if those methods are harmful to the environment.

For example, checking out a favorite of mine, Chilean Sea Bass brings up:

Chilean Sea Bass
Really named Patagonian Toothfish, high market demand for this naturally long lived fish drives depletion and creates an incentive for continued illegal fishing.  One very small Patagonian Toothfish fishery in the South Atlantic is being sustainably managed according the Marine Stewardship Council.

I guess it was an old favorite of mine now. 

To access the service, just text 30644 with the message “FISH” followed by the name of the fish you with to inquire about.  Lucky iPhone users can also access the site fishphone.org to find a specially formatted database just for them.

via [CoolHunting]