Cod

Stocks in some areas are very low, bycatch is a problem, as is capture of immature fish.
TIP: Try line caught from Icelandic sustainable fisheries (but they are still whaling!)

Problems

All North East Atlantic cod stocks are overfished and in decline according to independent scientists. Stocks are heavily depleted and face extinction in the North Sea
Methods of cod fishing can have high levels of bycatch for immature fish and non-target species; most are thrown back to the sea dead.
Harvests were cut to 26,000 tonnes per year, however more than twice this figure is caught as bycatch in haddock, whiting, hake and plaice fishing. Cod that is accidentally caught has exceeded 50,000 tonnes in a year, which has been discarded as waste back to the sea.

Solutions

Scientists are recommending a ban on cod fishing in the North Sea to allow stocks to recover.
Asda has suspended sales of cod over the summer months in order to boycott the overfishing of cod.
In 2004 the EU developed a recovery plan, which limited the number of catches, and the amount of time boats could spend at sea. However, there was still no vast improvement on stocks.
The International Council for Exploration at Sea (ICES) are requesting for a reduction in pressure on stocks to improve sustainability. Also, increasing the use of line caught fishing avoids high levels of bycatch.
Buy cod from the North East Artic Sea and the Barents Sea around Iceland, stocks are at healthier levels. Also sustainable stocks of Pacific cod from a new green fishery in Alaska has achieved the MSC logo.

Photo of Rod the Cod courtesy of Wayne Bell