Cod remain a fish of huge commercial importance as it is the most popular food fish in most of Europe and North America, and is still the most common ‘fish’ in the UK’s traditional meal of fish and chips.
Over the years there has been much debate about the sustainability of cod stocks, and there is certainly no doubt that the top line numbers of cod left in the sea are reduced from what they were in the last 20 years or so.
The IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) class cod as a “vulnerable” type of fish due to the consistent commercial pressure on the species.
Cod fishing ‘rights’ disputes have almost caused wars over the years and when numbers fall they cause hardship to economies dependent on them for their livelihoods.
In 2012 the good old British national press reported that there were just 100 cod left in the the whole North Sea! Of course this story was rubbish but it did cause a lot of worry among the diehard fish and chip fans!
But it’s true that in Europe there have been numerous attempts to reduce the fishing pressure on the species and allow their numbers to recover.
Following some measures put in place in 2012 to help cod numbers increase, by 2015 cod stocks in the North Sea were definitely on the up, and at this point in time the IUCN re-classified cod in European waters as a ‘Species of Least Concern’.
And things continued to look rosy for Cod as, in 2017, the MSC verified north sea cod stocks as ‘Sustainable’, stating that North Sea cod stocks were actually at their highest levels in thirty-five years.
But this recovery was short lived as commercial cod catches started increasing again and by 2019 the International Council for Exploration of the Sea reported that North Sea Cod was actually back at “critically low levels”.
Their advice was that catches needed to be reduced by two-thirds to stop this trend but, with the potentially huge ramifications of these changes on the industry, this has led to the MSC launching an investigation – which of course still could result in cod once again losing its sustainable status.
So what is the scarcity reality? Watch this space for updates.
PUBLISHED: September 22, 2019
