Fishing industry faces increasingly muddied waters

Mackerel has been making the headlines this week after a warning not to buy too much because of fears of overfishing - but few words have been written about "ugly fish, tasty dish" gurnard.

It, too, has become a casualty of the Marine Conservation Society's latest Fish to Eat and, like mackerel, it has recently been a very popular dish on restaurant menus.

But MCS fisheries officer Bernadette Clarke said a lack of data on stock levels, scientific advice to reduce catches and concerns about fisheries management has led the charity to move the fish off its list and on to its cautionary listing.

She added: "Gurnard, specifically red and grey, are now classified by scientists as 'data-limited stocks' meaning there is little information available on stock levels and how much is being fished.

"Because gurnard have historically been taken as bycatch - accidentally caught when fishing for other species and are not targeted by commercial fishing interests - there are no catch restrictions or minimum landing sizes."

However, the fish is part of a another general problem - Clarke says red gurnard, like many other species, is also a victim of high rates of discarding.

This is when fish that are not required are thrown back dead.

Clarke said: "Discarding is common due to low market demand. A preliminary analysis by International Council for the Exploration of the Sea scientists has shown that over half of red gurnard caught in the English Channel are discarded.

"We had hoped that increased consumption and demand for the species would have alleviated the need to waste fish like this but that has clearly not happened."

MCS has, of course, removed mackerel - oily and packed with omega 3 - from its Fish to Eat list and is recommending it should be eaten only now and again.

But in the melee over who's catching what in the north-east Atlantic there is talk the European Union is considering sanctions that could include a ban on Icelandic fishing boats landing any catch at EU ports.

Scottish - and Norwegian - skippers are generally backing the sanctions threat in this latest phase of the so-called "mackerel war" which has been raging since 2008.

It started when Icelandic fishermen, who up until then caught little of the fish, found Atlantic populations of mackerel had moved north west into Icelandic and Faroe Islands waters.

Clarke said: "The stock has probably followed their prey of small fish, crustaceans and squid. As a result both countries have begun to fish more mackerel than was previously agreed.

"Negotiations to introduce new catch allowances have so far failed to reach agreement."

However, Ian Gatt, chief executive of the the Scottish Pelagic Fishermen's Association, said the MCS reacted too quickly in taking mackerel off the list.

He said: "Mackerel is still being sustainably caught and it is important that the consumer is made aware of this.

"The north east Atlantic stock is in robust health and the sustainable fishing practices of our fleets have actually led to an increase in abundance in the stock in recent years."

Paul Williams, chief executive of seafood industry body Seafish, said: "It is important to recognise that science and the fishing industry are in agreement on this one - stocks of mackerel are plentiful.

"What we are all looking at though is the future of the stock and the cautionary advice now being received from some certification bodies if the dispute about the north Atlantic quota remains unresolved."

MCS said good alternatives to mackerel were herring and sardine, and if people wanted to continue buying mackerel they should ensure it is as sustainable as possible - for example, fish caught locally using traditional methods.

The Fish to Eat list shows herring stocks, coley and Dover sole from the English Channel are all good to eat with a clear conscience and whiting from the Celtic Sea also appears for the first time.

Cod stocks from the North Sea are still below recommended levels but a number of other popular wild fish are given the green light to appear on the dinner plate, including haddock and lemon sole.

And farmed species are on the list, including organic Arctic charr, sturgeon caviar from closed fish farming systems, mussels, tiger prawns, Atlantic halibut and salmon and rainbow trout.

Chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall said "politics and greed are getting in the way of common sense" in managing the mackerel fishery and agreed with the MCS that handline-caught mackerel from inshore boats was the best choice.

But talk of sanctions is ringing alarm bells in Grimsby, Britain's major fish-processing centre, because the Humber area relies heavily on Icelandic seafood, particularly cod.

Steve Norton, chief executive of the Grimsby Fish Merchants Association, said 4,000 jobs depended directly or indirectly on fish processing, which handled around 70-80 per cent of chilled seafood sold in Britain.

Grimsby's fishing fleet foundered as a result of cod wars in the '50s and '70s when Iceland extended its fishing zones and Britain sent naval vessels to protect its fishermen.

Norton said: "I am not scaremongering, but potentially we are at risk, if this was to go wrong and sanctions were imposed. It's a crazy situation we find ourselves in, not of our making."