‘Don’t buy’ advice makes national headlines
16th October 2024
New Good Fish Guide only recommends two out of 54 crab and lobster fisheries
The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) chose UK crab and lobster stocks as its route to generating publicity in the mainstream media last week, when launching its latest Good Fish Guide.
Bewilderingly for consumers, the guide contains 26 different ratings for buying brown crab, and 28 for lobster! Only two of these 54 were ‘recommended’ and given a full green rating.
Lobster and crab from the West of Scotland remain on the ‘avoid buying’ list, with most other stocks rated as amber – ‘needs improvement’ – although scores for many fisheries had dropped from last year.
Among the other stocks in the guide – which also assesses imported fish – bluefin tuna caught with rod and line is given amber status. UK-caught cod from the Viking substock – there are ratings for the different cod populations around the British Isles – was shifted from red to amber, based on the continued expansion of the stock.
Commenting on crab and lobster management, the NGO singled out Shetland, where the MSC-certified fishery is managed by the Shetland Shellfish Management Organisation, and Jersey as ‘well managed, and they pave the way for what sustainable practices could look like across the UK’.
The MCS said: “We are really concerned about the picture of crab and lobster across the UK. If managed well, crab and lobster could be a flagship species for sustainable fishing in the UK, supporting local people whose communities have been built on fishing for these iconic species.”
The NGO also called for a biannual assessment of crab and lobster stocks around the UK, management measures that are ‘responsive’ to changes in stock size, and capture methods that ‘minimise habitat damage and impact on vulnerable species’.
A number of mainstream media outlets ran with the press release issued by the MCS – none that FN saw had made any effort to contact representatives from the crab and lobster industry, or to go beyond the headlines presented to them.
Defra responded to press enquiries by saying: “This government will always back our UK fishing industry, while making sure stocks are healthy and sustainable.
“We continue to work closely with industry to ensure we have the most productive and sustainable sector possible.”
This story was taken from the latest issue of Fishing News. For more up-to-date and in-depth reports on the UK and Irish commercial fishing sector, subscribe to Fishing News here or buy the latest single issue for just £3.50 here.
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