North Sea cod off ‘red list’ and on menu

As well as being a favorite for takeaway meals, cod was once one of the U.K.’s chief exports.

The fishery, which collapsed in the 1980s as a result of overfishing, has risen above dangerously low levels for the first time after years of reduced fishing and efforts to avoid catching cod in mixed fisheries.

Nine smaller cod fisheries in the North East Atlantic remain on the MCS red list of endangered fish – the Celtic Sea, Faroes Plateau, Faroes Bank, Irish Sea, Kattegat, Norwegian Coast, Rockall, West of Scotland and West Baltic.

Samuel Stone, MCS Fisheries Officer, said: “The announcement is a milestone”.

He said: “Years of sacrifice and a lot of hard work have led to population increases above dangerously low levels”. But the body warned that a history of sustained overfishing along with changes to environmental conditions have reduced the reproductive success of North Sea cod – meaning numbers may never fully recover.

The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) had previously said cod should not be eaten because stocks were only slightly above sustainable levels.

It’s also bad news for other types of fish.

He said: “What then happens to the fish on the fishmongers’ slab which has been caught in accordance with quotas?”

As a nation of fish and chip lovers, this news will come as a welcome relief to the industry.

Now all cod stocks in United Kingdom waters are being fished in excess of this level, which is required by law by 2020 at the latest, Mr Stone said. As the oceans continue to warm, the slower the recovery could be, the charity warns. However, the MSC said the fishery was now showing suggestions of improvement.

He said: “It is not just North Sea cod, the majority of fish stocks of interest to Scottish fishermen are in a healthy state and being fished sustainably, which is fantastic news for consumers looking for great tasting and healthy to eat food for their shopping baskets”.

“If there’s a legal quote and it’s being caught within the constraints of that, then of course we would agree that it’s legal, but we would not necessarily agree that it’s sustainable”.

Conservation measures have helped the fish rebuild its population.