Wild Atlantic salmon. (Photo Credit: The Atlantic Salmon Trust)

Wild salmon consumption advised to be avoided

A non-government organisation recommends British consumers shouldn't buy wild-caught Atlantic salmon due to its depleted stocks while it advises to intake Northeast Arctic haddock and mackerel from the EU and Norway.

This recommendation was voiced by Marine Conservation Society (MCS) after considering that the number of rivers assessed in the UK as meeting their conservation targets in 2013 has decreased from 30 per cent to 53 per cent registered the previous year.

The marine charity added that in Scotland salmon has been included in the Fish to Avoid list due to the lack of appropriate management measures to prevent overfishing it from rivers where stocks are low, and the absence of internationally recognised conservation limits.

“Unlike most other members of the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation (NASCO), Scotland has not yet set conservation limits for its salmon rivers,” stated MCS Fisheries Officer, Bernadette Clarke.

She also claimed that according to NASCO Scotland has almost no management regime in place to prevent an increase in coastal netting, neither has it adequate mechanisms to limit catches whether local salmon populations are strong or weak.

Besides, on the MCS Fish to Eat and Avoid lists, cod from both the East and West Baltic all now get a cautionary rating. North Sea cod remains as a fish to avoid whereas herring from the Western Baltic has improved its status although should still be eaten only sparingly.

The NGO points out that some whiting, often suggested as a good alternative to cod and plaice, find themselves on the Fish to Avoid list. Small whiting are being taken as bycatch in nephrops (scampi) fisheries in the West of Scotland, North Sea and Eastern Channel.

“Whiting is being discarded in alarming quantities in these fisheries,” explains Clarke, who added that on the west coast of Scotland more than half of the annual catch weight comprises under-sized or low-value whiting which are then discarded. 90 per cent of these discards come from scampi fisheries using small-mesh gears.

The updated Guide now includes some additional entries for lobster and crab and new entries for cuttlefish and squid. The best sources for lobsters are from fisheries where there are measures in force to protect berried or egg bearing females.

Surprisingly, current legislation prohibits the landing of berried crab but not lobster. Lobster from the Southwest, Cornwall, and crab from the western channel and the Celtic sea are the most sustainable choices.

MCS urges the public, chefs, retailers and trade buyers to keep referring to its Pocket Good Fish Guide and Fishonline website to “ensure they have the most up-to-date sustainable seafood advice.”

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