It's time to call this type of media irresponsibility a public danger – for that it what it is. At a time when fishery management is yielding some fantastic successes in rebuilding fish stocks, we have a popular press that acts like nothing has happened. This irresponsible fear mongering about fish will ultimately lead to people going hungry, as it distorts food markets and prices and demonizes important food sources.
SEAFOOD.COM NEWS — June 11, 2012 — The disconnect between the media and fishery facts has never been greater. This was brought home viscerally today with these two headlines:
Cod's had its chips; TOP FISH 'DYING OUT' screamed the UK Daily Star.
Norway Minister sees largest cod catch in 40 Years in 2013, based on ICES recommendation (abcnyheter.no)
It is time to call this type of media irresponsibility a public danger – for that it what it is. At a time when fishery management is yielding some fantastic successes in rebuilding critical fish stocks, we have a popular press that acts like nothing has happened. This kind of irresponsible fear mongering about fish will ultimately lead to people going hungry, as it ultimately distorts food markets and prices and demonizes important food sources.
First the good news on cod: ICES has recommended a 25% increase in the Barents Sea cod quota for 2013, to 940,000 tons. This is 25% higher than the 2012 quota of 740,000 tons, and it was 189,000 tons higher than the ICES recommendation for last year.
The final 2013 quota will be set in negotiations between Russia and Norway this fall. ICES says the stock biomass is estimated at 3.5 million tons. This spectacular recovery in the Barents sea has been due to good environmental conditions, and to fishery management that made it possible for the fish stocks to take advantage of these conditions.
The Norwegian export council, in praising the historic high cod recommendations, said Norway currently manages the largest and most sustainable cod stock in the world. The Norwegian fishing industry has a unique way of managing fishing quotas and discards, having banned the process of discarding unwanted stock 25 years ago in 1987.
Alongside this and the vast program of stringent regulations already in place, the Norwegian fishing industry has worked tirelessly with Russia to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing practices in the Barents Sea. The two countries have worked together to ensure that fish caught in the Barents Sea does not breach Norwegian-Russian fisheries legislation.
Lisbeth Berg-Hansen, Minister of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs says; “Thanks to many years of good fisheries management, and our continual work with Russia, we have succeeded in building up the world's largest cod stocks. If the quota recommended by ICES is agreed, this means that a record high quota will be set for next year.”
Berg-Hansen continues: “Today we have a huge population of cod in the Barents Sea, and the 2013 quota will give us the largest catch that we will have seen in 40 years.”
According to the NSC, the increase in the recommended quota is a clear demonstration that Norway's strong commitment to sustainable fisheries management is proving to be successful.
Johan Kvalheim, Director of the Norwegian Seafood Council for the UK and France, comments: “The increasing cod quota in Norway is recognition that our ongoing commitment to sustainable fishing is working. It is excellent news, not just for the Norwegian economy and our fishermen, but for the millions of people who enjoy eating good quality seafood with a clear conscience.
“It is fitting that this announcement comes today, on World Oceans Day, and we are delighted that through this increase in quota, we can continue to meet the market demand for well-managed, sustainably caught cod. Consumers around the world can rest assured that they will be able to continue to enjoy top quality cod from the cold, clear waters of Norway for years to come!”
Iceland is also increasing its cod quota for 2013, according to recommendations from Iceland's Marine institute. In a report published Friday, the Institute recommends an increase of the Icelandic cod quota to 196,000 tons in 2013, up from 177,000 tons this year.
So the UK market, one of the most important markets for cod in the world, and where cod has consistently been the number one selling fish, sees its two primary trading partners – Norway and Iceland, with total cod quotas in 2013 of over 1.1 million tons, and with both the biomass in the Barents Sea and around Iceland approaching levels not seen for 30 or 40 years.
So how does the Daily Star print this:
Cod's had its chips; TOP FISH 'DYING OUT'
by RICHARD SPILLETT
(c) copyright Express Newspapers 2012
BRITAIN'S favourite fast-food meal could be on its way out.
Takeaway lovers could find their fish and chips in short supply, because experts have warned that the cod is all but extinct.
Haddock Mackerel, halibut, haddock and hake will all become more expensive than caviar over the next 10 years as stocks dry up. Over-fishing of the Atlantic and other oceans could see most common food fish species disappear altogether by 2022. Marine biologists have warned that the coastal waters around Britain and other European countries will soon yield only shellfish, branded "the fisheries of last resort" by scientists.
Plummeting stocks of fish are also blamed for a huge increase in jellyfish as their natural predators disappear.
Britain's fishing chiefs are off to Brussels this week in a bid to tackle the problem before it is too late. One measure the Government wants to see is a change to the EU's current system of catch quotas.
More than 1 million tons of dead fish are thrown back into the Atlantic each year.
North Sea fleets have to discard more than 800,000 tons a year.
Fisheries minister Richard Benyon wants to stop "the waste of discards and remove ineffective, centralised micro-management". But many worry that continuing economic woes in fishing-dependent Spain, Italy and Greece could see continued stalemate.
Two things are happening here. First, environmental campaigners are using catastrophic language to try and scare the public over things that are not catastrophic at all, but like many problems, respond to effective solutions.
And secondly, the media is buying this scare mongering lock, stock and barrel. This has got to stop.
Every paper in the UK needs to tell its readers that Norway's no discard policy has contributed to the recovery of cod stocks to historic highs, and that such a policy would yield good results applied to the North Sea and waters around Britain as well.
Cod is not dying out, nor do the English need to eat trash fish for fish and chips. The whole UK campaign to demonize cod has been misguided, wrong, and ultimately shows an unbelievable disconnect between the pronouncements of respected media and chef spokespersons, and the actual facts on the ground. It is time to hold everyone involved to higher standards of truthfulness.