Tag Archives: North sea cod
Fishermen join forces to tackle North Sea cod quota ‘mismatch’
Skippers and other industry representatives from Shetland, Scotland, Denmark, Norway and England met in Copenhagen to discuss a “quota mismatch” they are facing at sea, Shetland Fishermen’s Association said today. Vessels are encountering more cod than current official assessments, the industry group said, adding the recent talks in Copenhagen “painted a unanimous picture” of an abundant stock stretching across the whole North Sea and beyond. But quota for the species, a staple of fish suppers in many parts of the UK has been slashed by 70% in just three years. According to the SFA, this “poor science” leads to quota recommendations that bear no resemblance to the volume of fish in the sea. >click to read< 12:46
Cod outnumber rats and mice in the UK – Ministers urged to ignore ‘nonsense’ talk on North Sea cod
It comes after an influential body of marine scientists recommended a 10.3% cut in annual quota for the species – a staple of fish suppers in many parts of the UK, although haddock tends to be the preferred choice of consumers in Scotland. But the same scientists at the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (Ices) have also admitted that doubling the quota would mean an increase of 24% in the size of the stock by 2023. And Ices’ own figures suggest there are now around 285 million cod in the North Sea, up from 180m in 2018. SFA executive officer Simon Collins said: “There are many more North Sea cod than there are rats and mice in the UK, and almost four times more than the most common land mammal, the field vole. “And yet green NGOs (non-governmental organisations) constantly go around describing cod as ‘threatened’ or ‘endangered’ or at risk of ‘extinction’. “They should be ashamed of themselves for peddling such nonsense.” >click to read< 09:48
Scottish fish stocks not at peril from bigger catches
Fishers claim bigger, not smaller catches can boost key North Sea stocks and help the Scottish fleet avoid a potentially “devastating” blow from further quota cuts. The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, wants to slash the total allowable catch for North Sea cod by 10.3% next year. Ices’ recommendation for west coast saithe, also known as coley, is for an even deeper cut, of 24%. At the same time, the organisation is advocating increases of 154% for North Sea and west coast haddock, as well as a 236% jump in the TAC for North Sea whiting. Scottish Fishermen’s Federation chief executive Elspeth Macdonald has previously described the overall advice package as “desperate news” , >click to read< 10:38
North Sea cod loses Marine Stewardship Council label as population halves in just two years
North Sea cod, a staple for the UK’s fishing industry, has lost its sustainable status, after stocks were found to have almost halved in the last two years. Cod caught around the UK received the “blue tick” sustainability label in 2017, when stocks of the fish were put at around 152,207 tonnes – its highest level since 1982. However, new advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) puts the stocks at only 81,224 tonnes – more than 100 tonnes less than predicted. >click to read< 16:51
North Sea cod gets MSC certification
At times during these moratorium years of the northern cod, people in this province have glanced at the North Sea to see how that cod stock was faring. Collapsed, recovered and collapsed again, North Sea cod over the years seemed on a different path than northern cod, and different methods were undertaken to attempt recovery and sustainability. On Wednesday, the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) announced that North Sea cod has received its distinguished certification after the stock passed an independent assessment against the MSC’s strict standards.,,, “Since then the industry has worked with the Scottish Government and EU Fisheries Council to agree and implement a ‘Cod Recovery Plan’ that would nurse the stock back to health. “The plan linked the number of days fishing that boats were given to the conservation measures they signed up to. click here to read the story 17:42
“just 100 cod left in the North Sea” – Media’s fish tales and codology
Recovery of stocks of a species we were told was near extinction shows fishermen were right, writes Simon Collins. But the truth will out in the end. Almost three years on from “100 cod”, and five years after they last called for North Sea cod catches to be reduced to zero, the scientists assessing key fish stocks have just issued their latest advice. “Told you so” is not much comfort to the fishermen who have been portrayed as the bad guys over the years by national media, not to mention environmentalists who knew perfectly well what was going on all along. Read the rest here 08:09
North sea cod stocks bounce back, analysis shows
While the fish populations in many of the 400 problem fisheries might be healthy, no one knows the true status because of severe lack of scientific data on the stock size and how many are caught by fishermen each year. The research was commissioned by Seafish, the government-funded body which represents the seafood industry, and the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) which certifies fish and shellfish as sustainable. Dr Tom Pickerell,,, Read the rest here 15:50
