A call by Greenpeace for the British retailers to stop buying seafood originating from the northern Barents Sea contrasts with a report by Seafish that paints a very different picture.
Greenpeace is arguing for ‘Some of the world’s biggest seafood brands are unwittingly buying cod from this vulnerable area. We’re asking them to get tough with their suppliers to ensure the northern part of the Barents Sea is off limits to giant fishing trawlers,’ describing the Svalbard region as an ‘Arctic Galapagos.’
The Greenpeace effort also brought in a quote from Callum Roberts, predictably claiming that two centuries of trawling have reduced seabed habitats to nothing but sand and mud.
With the Greenpeace report in preparation, a group of UK suppliers requested an analysis from Seafish, based on the available scientific data for the region, and the Seafish conclusions differ significantly from the Greenpeace version.
‘The Barents Sea is one of the most well managed regions in the world, with several MSC certified fisheries, including cod, and for Greenpeace to suggest otherwise is unwarranted,’ Seafish has stated, and its report examined in broad terms the various fishing activities for groundfish and shrimp in the area, setting out where these are pursued and what changes in distribution are likely to take place, if any.
‘There is very little fishing activity happening in this region apart from a small area to the North East of Svalbard, as the fish (which define any fishery) do not appear to be expanding their range northwards at the present time. However, this means there is an opportunity to develop protective measures to ensure there is environmental management in place for the future.’
