UK: Scottish fishing group calls out MCS advice to avoid eating mackerel
Frozen Mackerel
Seafood
United Kingdom
Published Apr 6, 2023
Tridge summary
Scottish fishing group calls out MCS advice to avoid eating mackerel, in the latest update to its ‘Good Fish Guide.’
Original content
Scottish fishing group calls out MCS advice to avoid eating mackerel. The Scottish Pelagic Sustainability Group (SPSG) – a seafood industry organisation dedicated to ensuring stock sustainability for mackerel and herring – has criticised the Marine Conservation Society’s (MCS) latest update to its ‘Good Fish Guide’, which has downgraded north-east Atlantic mackerel from ‘green’ to ‘amber’. While the ‘amber’ classification under the MCS traffic light system means that under its own definition mackerel is still an ‘OK choice’ for consumers to buy, the SPSG says that given the current scientific status of the stock, this is an overly harsh assessment and mackerel should have retained its green status. The most recent advice from the respected independent science body, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), states that the stock biomass is 3,769,326 tonnes which is 46% higher than the ICES Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) value of 2,580,000 tonnes. When the ...
By clicking “Accept Cookies,” I agree to provide cookies for statistical and personalized preference purposes.
To learn more about our cookies, please read our Privacy Policy.