Scottish Pelagic Sustainability Group calls out Good Fish Guide advice to avoid eating mackerel

The downgrading of Northeast Atlantic mackerel from a green to an amber rating in the Marine Conservation Society’s (MCS) latest Good Fish Guide has been condemned as “overly harsh” by the Scottish Pelagic Sustainability Group (SPSG).

The pelagic industry organisation said that while the amber classification under the MCS traffic light system means that mackerel is still an “OK choice” for consumers to buy, the species should have retained its green status given the current scientific status of the stock.