The British favourite dish of fish’n chips is under MSC label. Haddock and cod are the most common fish used for the dish, and with the increasing scarcity of the latter, sustainably caught haddock might have even more promising prospects. The Scottish Fisheries Sustainable Accreditation Group’s (SFSAG) attaining the eco-label for its North Sea haddock fisheries followed a 20-month assessment period.
The SFSAG fishery includes 192 boats fishing for haddock with a combination of fishing gears in the northern and central areas of the North Sea. The information revealed that the fishery fleet is worth € 24 million each year, the fleet catches 27,507 metric tonnes of haddock, most of which is sold in the European markets.
Scotland’s first minister Alex Salmond described the certification of the fishery as the “gold standard” of sustainability. He added that North Sea haddock is Scotland’s most valuable whitefish stock and achieving sustainable stock status will ensure further opportunities for our fishermen in the future.
Scottish fishing industry faces another bolt over mackerel quotas between the European Union as Scottish fishermen deepest involved. Due to warming Atlantic water mackerel stocks have migrated north, and in August both the Faroe Islands and Iceland raised their TACs unilaterally.
Iceland rejected on 29 October a Norwegian proposal backed by the European Union that the north Atlantic nation be awarded an increase in its mackerel quota to 26,000 tonnes next year, up from its earlier 2,000-tonne limit.
