Seafood company Young’s have announced that they will no longer be purchasing Atlantic cod sourced from the North Sea.
The stock of cod in the North Sea is defined by ICES (International Council for Exploration of the Seas) as ‘outside safe biological limits’ and is at around one third of the precautionary level at which stocks are believed to be sustainable.
Young’s has not bought North Sea cod in any significant quantity for a number of years. However, small amounts (less than 2% of our overall cod purchases) were bought during 2005 - in order to fulfil customer specifications and in support of the fishing industry at some UK ports.
The company has stated that it now takes the view that it cannot support North Sea cod fishing whilst the current scientific view remains, and it has advised its customers to move to alternative species, or that Young’s supply them with cod from alternative fisheries such as the Barents Sea and Iceland.
