UK authority Seafish has responded to Greenpeace’s latest report which calls for UK seafood companies to stop buying cod from the Barents Sea or risk having it tainted with ''arctic destruction'', describing it as a ‘peculiar statement.’
The report suggests that UK seafood suppliers are unwittingly purchasing seafood from a vulnerable region of the North Barents Sea.
Seafish says that during the development of the Greenpeace report, it was asked by key suppliers to investigate the issue using the scientific data available on fishing activity in this region. In response, Seafish has produced its own report 'Fishing Activities in Ecological or Biologically Sensitive Areas in the Barents Sea and adjacent waters' to inform on the extent of the sea ice and fishing grounds in the North Barents Sea and any trends in northward migration of fish.
Seafish’s analysis of the fishing data found that there is very little fishing activity happening in this region apart from a small area to the North East of Svalbard as the fish do not appear to be expanding their range northwards at the present time. However, this means there is an opportunity to develop protective measures to ensure there is environmental management in place for the future.
The Barents Sea is one of the most well managed regions in the world with several MSC certified fisheries, including cod, and for Greenpeace to suggest otherwise is unwarranted, says Seafish.
“The UK seafood industry has worked hard to ensure the fisheries they source from have been sustainably managed and we will continue to work with them to ensure they have the information they require to make informed purchasing decisions, such as through our RASS (Risk Assessment for Sourcing Seafood) tool and the Responsible Fishing Scheme (RFS)”, said Seafish in a statement.
