No More Haddock in the Sea?

If you love a good chippie, you’ll be disappointed to hear that parts of the North Sea are running so low on the fish that it may no longer be sustainable to continue catching them.

According to The Marine Conservation Society, haddock caught from two North Sea fishing areas ‘should not be considered sustainable.’

As well as this, haddock caught in other areas of the country, including Scotland’s West Coast, have been downgraded to an ‘eat occasionally’ warning.

Bernadette Clarke, the MCS Good Fish Guide manager, commented on the changes:

“These ratings changes have come about because scientific perception of the stock has changed.

“Compared to 2015, the stock numbers in 2016 were below the recommended level and at the point where action is now needed to increase the number of fish of breeding age.”

However, there has been some backlash regarding the ratings, particularly from The Scottish Fishermen’s Federation. Chief Executive, Bertie Armstrong, told the BBC:

“The fishing industry is well used to these sorts of frankly meaningless publications – it’s not so long ago that we were told that there were only 100 cod left in the North Sea. Try telling that to fishermen today who are seeing huge volumes of large cod on the grounds.

“Consumers can be reassured that quotas for haddock have already been reduced in line with the stock assessments, following an unfortunate error by the scientists.

“So you can continue to buy your fish supper without worrying about whether there will be enough fish left in the sea.”

Will this affect your decision to head down the chippy, or do you think that there’s nothing to worry about?