WILD COD STOCKS HEALTHY IN BARENTS SEA

25 October 2007

WILD COD STOCKS HEALTHY IN BARENTS SEA

The Frozen at Sea Fillets Association (FASFA) has, for many years, been promoting the consumption of its cod and haddock in the UK. The availability and quality of the fish is so good that is now used in 90% of the fish & chip shops in the UK. This is helping to maintain the dish as the nation’s favourite takeaway.

FASFA fishermen members are now mainly Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese and Spanish and they take sustainability issues very seriously. FASFA have just heard that the Joint Norwegian - Russian Fishery Committee have settled the Fish Catch Quotas for Year 2008 in accordance with the protocol signed in St. Petersburg , Friday, 26th Oct. 2007.

According to the committee ‘ The good news is that for the coming 3 years fish stock of Cod in the Barents Sea (also Haddock and Saithe) will grow according to the catch rules. This together with the good food supplies to the bigger fish - from capelin, blue whiting, polar cod and herring, makes us more confident of growing fish supplies without depleting wild stocks.’

FASFA’s Tim Cartwright-Taylor comments : “We are delighted to hear that supplies of Frozen at Sea Fillets of wild cod and haddock are in good health and coming from proven, sustainable stocks, safeguarding the nation’s favourite takeaway. With farmed cod proving very expensive for the fryer and Far Eastern new species being untried, FASFA feel we owe it to British customers to keep the supply of good value, top quality, healthy, wild cod and haddock on their plates. ”