Haddock

AVOID eating haddock from overfished stocks (North-East Artic, Faroes and Irish Sea).

Problems

Haddock fishing can be responsible for high levels of bycatch in cod (50%) and juvenile haddock, which are discarded back to the sea as waste.
Many stocks have been highly overexploited in the past, however numbers have been recently improving. However, the state of haddock stock from the waters around Rockall is unknown and is subject to unregulated fishing pressures. In addition, fish from the Icelandic and Faroes waters are overfished.

Solutions

The EU and Norway have introduced a reduction in the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) to improve sustainability.
Choose haddock caught from the West coast of Scotland and the North Sea as they are at healthy, sustainable levels.
Sustainable fishing management practices used to improve the state of fishing stocks should be employed in areas where overfishing takes place.
Line caught fishing reduces the effects of bycatch on already depleted species like cod.
Large supermarkets including Waitrose and Marks and Spencer are working to sell haddock caught from less wasteful places.

Haddock picture Crown copyright
reproduced with the permission of Fisheries
Research Services (FRS Marine Laboratory, Aberdeen)