In a report published by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (Ices), it has been revealed that the North Sea Cod Stocks have fallen to critical levels, a grave issue that will have a distinctly negative effect in the coming years.
There has been warning that cod was being harvested unsustainably, and the report specifically recommended a 63% cut in the catch, which is on top of the cut of a 47% reduction from the previous year. Despite a 250% increase in the 1970s, there has been a strong decline since, seeing most recently a falling of North Sea Cod Stocks since 2015. Waiting for independent auditors to review the Ices report, it is to be decided if the fisheries can retain the Marine Stewardship Council's (MSC) certificates of sustainability (only issued two years ago), or if they are going to be suspended. Depending on the results of the decision, the North Sea Cod could soon be off the menu.
According to an official at Peterhead - Europe's largest white-fish port - the cod haul was small, nearly half of the previous night, though that it was not a bother to him as it "fluctuates". There are mixed feelings about the Ices advice from all of those in the industry, some finding the advice worrying, with too many merchants and too few fish - or others feeling more positive. Will Clark, the managing director of Wilsea, had bought 37 boxes of cod just that same morning, and believed it to be a normal event, stating "all stocks go up and down", and that, "we've been here before".
This is accurate to say, as the North Sea cod stocks were subject to both extreme rises and plummets. They came perilously close to collapse, but a "cod recovery plan" sought to restore these stocks to sustainable levels, by a number of methods, including:
The UK consumes about 115,000 tonnes of cod each year, of which only 15,000 come from the North Sea, the rest is imported. However, the industry provides nearly 24,000 jobs to people (with more than half working in Scotland).
Ices are unaware as to why there is such a significant reduction, claiming that "further work is required to investigate climate change, biological and fisheries effects." Environmental organisations point out that cod has been fished far above its maximum sustainable yield for many years, or alternatively it could be due to the slower breeding of the species as a result of the "juvenile fish" being caught and those letting dead fish being thrown back into the sea to stay in quota - despite it being explicitly banned.
There has been a great call for change to the government to take action just the day after, from companies like the Marine Conservation Society, the WWF and ClientEarth, who have asked to see urgent steps to secure the future of North Sea cod.
Matters are further complicated by the inclusion of Brexit, with the fishing industry seen as a symbol of the Leave campaign, to be a clear beneficiary of the plan to "Take Back Control". This held limited effect however, as fish do not respect national boundaries, so therefore the industry still needs to see coordinated international management. "After we leave the EU we will have greater control of how fishing takes place at sea. But the buck will then land squarely at the feet of the UK and Scottish ministers. We may have greater control, but we will also have greater responsibility and accountability," said Phil Taylor of Open Seas, a company which works on protecting and recovering the marine ecosystem.
Consumers are to continue eating cod that is labelled as sustainable until any change comes into place - at which point the impact on the supermarkets, fishmongers and restaurants would be felt (areas where sustainability is important to consumers). The industry is under great pressure, as the grouping of 90% of cod being imported, and 1 in 5 making the trip to the fishery each week leads to a sharp decline in cod levels. If it is deemed unstable, it will be removed from shelves, which is a great loss for the industry and to the country - to lose something as important and ingrained in the nation's identity, especially at a time which is so critical for morale.
