Haddock from UK waters removed from sustainable seafood list

MCS takes some haddock fisheries off green list – but Scottish fishermen accuse it of ‘dressing advocacy up as science’

Alexandra Topping

Friday 17 March 2017 00.01 GMT Last modified on Friday 17 March 2017 07.36 GMT 

It is among the most popular fish in the UK, but haddock may soon be off the menu in some fish and chip shops because of dwindling stocks. 

Haddock from three North Sea and west of Scotland fisheries have been removed from the Marine Conservation Society recommended “green” list of fish to eat, after stocks fell below the acceptable levels in 2016.

Action had to be taken to increase the number of breeding age fish, which is one of the UK’s “big five” marine species eaten, alongside cod, tuna, salmon and prawns, said the charity.

The MCS encouraged people to ask for “green-certified” haddock – caught in the north-east Arctic and Iceland – in fish and chip shops and on fish counters, or eat fish on the green list such as coley, mackerel and hake. 

But Scottish fishermen’s representatives reacted angrily to the downgrade, accusing the MCS of “dressing advocacy up as science”.

Bertie Armstrong, chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, said the advice could be damaging, causing already-caught fish to rot on fish counters. “We have gone to enormous lengths to maintain fishing stocks, including haddock,” he said. “We completely reject this [downgrade], it’s silly, it’s unhelpful and the public should ignore it.”

Armstrong said all Scottish fisheries adhered to fishing limits laid out by the Marine Stewardship Council. It was “unlikely” that the fish-eating British public would be put off eating haddock, he added. “Fish customers rightly trust their supplier to be responsible. This downgrade is something of nothing, they do it every year, it’s absolutely meaningless and counter-productive if anyone pays any notice.”

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Peta calls for aquarium's cafe to take fish off the menu saying 'it's like serving monkey nuggets at a zoo'

The animal rights group writes on behalf of 'all the fish in the sea' to the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth, Devon, saying the fact it serves seafood is 'odd'

By Agency

8:29AM GMT 12 Feb 2015

The National Marine Aquarium has come to blows with an animal rights group for serving fish in its restaurant.

It received an angry letter from Peta condemning the popular attraction for offering visitors fish-based meals.

The letter, written on behalf of "all the fish in the sea", compares selling seafood at the aquarium to "serving monkey nuggets at a zoo".

Peta's specialist project manager Dawn Carr said: "The National Marine Aquarium advertises itself as a place where people can cultivate an understanding of and admiration for sea animals.

"Yet after inviting people to look on these glorious, fascinating animals in awe, it's odd that your cafe then invites people to stick a fork in them.

"Serving fish in an aquarium is like serving monkey nuggets at a zoo."

Peta is calling for the aquarium to take fish off the menu - and suggests the attraction instead serves vegetarian options such as fish-free fish fingers, faux-fish cakes and vegetarian prawns.

"The fact remains that the seafood in your cafs is made from living sea animals who treasured life and were needlessly subjected to pain and fear," it adds.

Continued ...

6 ways climate change is screwing with your seafood (and what to do about it)

Have you not finished reading the latest IPCC report? The definitive summary of what we’re doing to the Earth’s climate is only 1,552 pages long — that’s like a single George R. R. Martin novel, right?

Well, sushi-loving non-speedreaders are in luck, because a new reportby the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL for short — pronounced, I assume, “sizzle”), along with the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership, turns the IPCC tome into the SparkNotes version of climate change’s impact on the seafood biz.

Annnnd if that’s not good enough for you busy bumble bee gobies, I’m going to shrink that down into even tinier chunks. I bring you the six ways that climate change is affecting your fish — and for bonus points, a few things you can do about it.

Think of this as your bare bones climate-change-and-seafood study guide, and be ready for the pop quiz next week.

1. Climate change is, drumroll please … bad for fish. Warmer water holds less oxygen, which will lead to smaller fish on average. Less oxygen means more dead zones, especially in near-shore areas where nitrogen-laced runoff contributes to algal blooms. Plus, ocean acidification is putting a lot of pressure on the small organisms which make up the base of the food chain. As a result of these stresses, in most parts of the world, fish catches will decrease by 40 to 60 percent. Meanwhile, catches at higher latitudes may actually increase, as equatorial fish flee warmer waters — but plenty of fish in tropical or enclosed seas may just flat out go extinct. Plus, food webs don’t necessarily migrate intact, so predators and prey are likely to lose track each other in the shuffle.

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Tiny Grazers Play Key Role in Marine Ecosystem Health

Apr. 2, 2013 — Tiny sea creatures no bigger than a thumbtack are being credited for playing a key role in helping provide healthy habitats for many kinds of seafood, according to a new study by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science and U.S. Geological Survey.

The little crustacean "grazers," some resembling tiny shrimp, are critical in protecting seagrasses from overgrowth by algae, helping keep these aquatic havens healthy for native and economically important species. Crustaceans are tiny to very large shelled animals that include crab, shrimp, and lobster.

The researchers found that these plant-eating animals feast on the nuisance algae that grow on seagrass, ultimately helping maintain the seagrass that provides nurseries for seafood. The grazers also serve as food themselves for animals higher on the food chain.

Drifting seaweed, usually thought of as a nuisance, also plays a part in this process, providing an important habitat for the grazing animals that keep the seagrass clean.

"Inconspicuous creatures often play big roles in supporting productive ecosystems," said Matt Whalen, the study's lead author who conducted this work while at VIMS and is now at the University of California, Davis. "Think of how vital honeybees are for pollinating tree crops or what our soils would look like if we did not have earthworms. In seagrass systems, tiny grazers promote healthy seagrasses by ensuring algae is quickly consumed rather than overgrowing the seagrass. And by providing additional refuge from predators, fleshy seaweeds that drift in and out of seagrass beds can maintain larger grazer populations and enhance their positive impact on seagrass."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130402150151.htm

Major US supermarkets say no to Ross Sea seafood

Calls for the sea to be protected March 2012: A third US retailer has announced it will not stock seafood from Antartica's Ross Sea for environmental reasons, reports Greenpeace.

Harris Teeter joins US supermarket chains Safeway and Wegmans by taking the ‘Ross Sea Pledge' which means it will not buy or sell seafood from that area. It is also calling for the entire Ross Sea to be protected.

‘We have pledged not to buy or sell any seafood harvested from the Ross Sea,' the company states on its website. ‘By taking the "Ross Sea Pledge", we encourage the nations who are members of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources to designate the entire Ross Sea as an MPA [Marine Protected Area],' it continues.

The area is being exploited to feed the wealthyThe Ross Sea has been identified as the least human-affected large oceanic ecosystem remaining on Earth. Many scientists are calling for it to be designated as a fully protected marine reserve. However, a longline fishery for Antarctic toothfish - better known to British consumers as Antarctic sea bass - started by New Zealand vessels in the late 1990s, is operating in the Ross Sea and supplying the luxury market. 

‘The delicate balance of the fragile Ross Sea is under threat from commercial fishing,' says Greenpeace New Zealand Oceans Campaigner Karli Thomas.

‘Although technology has made it possible, it is simply not sustainable to be fishing every last corner of our ocean. The Ross Sea is a special place that we should be protecting as the home to diverse and unique wildlife, and a refuge in the face of climate change - not exploiting to feed the wealthy.'

This should be a no-go areaIn 2010 Greenpeace published a report outlining the role that seafood traders, retailers and chefs can play in protecting the Ross Sea.

‘The announcement by Harris Teeter shows there is a growing awareness by retailers that the Ross Sea should be protected as no-go area,' says Thomas

The recently formed Antarctic Ocean Alliance, a group of environmental organisations, last week launched a report calling for a large-scale marine reserve to be established in the Ross Sea.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/ross-sea2012.html