By DIVE Staff
The Marine Conservation Society has released its latest Good Fish Guide ratings, together with a new ‘Seafood Checker’ tool to help consumers make more sustainable choices while shopping. The charity is also campaigning for the collection of more data to help protect the UK’s fish stocks.
The launch comes just before the two year mark since the UK Fisheries Act (2020) passed into law, and the Marine Conservation Society is calling for the UK’s governments to ‘hold strong on their promises’ in November’s forthcoming Joint Fisheries Statement (JFS). The charity wants to see the JFS deliver an ‘ecosystem-based approach’ to fisheries management, taking into account how the fishing industry affects the wider environment.
‘Early signs show some promising outcomes in the JFS, such as Fisheries Management Plans for bass and flatfish, but the devil will be in the detail,’ said Kenneth Bodles, Head of Fisheries & Aquaculture at the Marine Conservation Society. ‘The UK Government and devolved administrations must underpin future fisheries policies and decision-making with strong scientific evidence and robust data. This is crucial for achieving sustainable fisheries and protecting and restoring our marine environment.’
The effectiveness of the ecosystem-based approach has been proved successful by fisheries management body, Natural Resources Wales, which limited the catch of Dee estuary cockles to maintain local seabird populations. As a result, the cockles have been elevated to green status on the Good Fish Guide, and MCS is asking that this approach is used across the UK.
The charity is also working alongside WWF and RSPB as partners in the Future Fisheries Alliance, campaigning for better data to be collected at sea using Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM) cameras on fishing boats. The extra data would allow scientists and governments to make better-informed decisions about how much seafood to catch in order to reduce overfishing and bycatch.
‘Many of the ratings on the Good Fish Guide are negatively affected by a lack of data,’ said Charlotte Coombes, Good Fish Guide Manager. ‘If we knew more about what’s going on at sea, measures could be put in place to protect wildlife, and ensure we have a healthy ocean and a sustainable UK fishing industry.’
Around half of seafood produced in the UK is farmed, which has fared well in the latest Good Fish Guide update. Norwegian farmed halibut, for example, has moved from an amber rating to green due to stricter requirements for sourcing fish feed, while the guide rates wild halibut as red, as it remains listed on the IUCN Red List of threatened species. Farmed shellfish are also rated as green on the Guide, while their wild alternatives are often red or amber rated.
‘It is a common misconception that farmed seafood is not as responsible a choice as its wild-caught counterpart,’ said awn Purchase, Aquaculture Programme Manager. ‘However, this season’s update to the Good Fish Guide has shown that for some species it is often a more ocean-friendly option.’
The Marine Conservation Society has also announced the launch of its latest tool for the Good Fish Guide in the form of the ‘Seafood Checker’, a step-by-step guide for showing shopper what to look out for on packaging to make sustainable choices easier.
The latest sustainable seafood advice for wild-caught and farmed seafood on the Good Fish Guide, can be found at: www.mcsuk.org/goodfishguide. Try the new Seafood Checker at www.mcsuk.org/goodfishguide/seafood-checker/
