IrishWildlifeTrust’s

GuidetoSustainableSeafood

WrittenbyPádraicFogartyandDeirdreHoare

IllustrationsbyChelseaMacClanahanPhotographsbyMarkThomasandMikeBrown

Thesefishwereoncedinnertimefavouritesbuthavenowbeenover‐fishedtothepointwhererecoveryintheshorttomediumtermintheIrishSeaishighlyunlikely.

The Marine Institute considers that the stock in the Irish Sea hascollapsed. Urgent management action is required to rebuild thewhiting stock in this area. Scientists stress that the cornerstone ofany rebuilding of whiting stocks should be measures thatsignificantly reduce or eliminate the discarding of whiting in theDublinBayPrawnfishery.

ThestateoftheWestofScotlandandCelticseastocksareuncertain,withlackofdataandarehighlevelsofdiscards.

Whiting

Theseprawnspredominantlyarriveonourshoresfrozenafteralongjourney,probablyfromSouth‐EastAsia.Theretheyhavebeenfarmedinintensivefisheriesthatareclearingvaluable coastal Mangrove forests, causing marine pollution, anddamagingoff‐shorecoralreefs.Theyarehighin‘carbonmiles’andtasteoflittle.

TigerPrawns

ThenorthAtlanticcodislistedas‘threatened’bytheInternationalUnionfortheConservationofNature(IUCN).Quotaforcodcontinuestobegiventofishermenbecauseofmassivepressurefromthefishingindustry.Thisinturnisduetotheenormous consumerdemand for cod,which also results in considerable scopefor illegal landingsof this fish.Mostcod thatarecaught todayare juvenile fishthat have not had a chance to breed. Cod is a top predator in the sea and itsabsencehasresultedinanimbalancefurtherdownthefoodchain.ParadoxicallyfishermenhavebenefitedfromthissincethenumbersofDublinbayprawn–thesecond most important commercially exploited species in Ireland – haveexploded.

IntheIrishSeatheMarineInstitutestatesthatstocksofcodarenow ‘severelydepleted’.

The loss of cod in the sea around Canada has possibly altered the marineecosystem there permanently. Despite a moratorium on Cod fishing since theearly1990’sthestockhasnotrecovered.

Addedtothisconsumersarebeingdupedsincerecentresearchhasshownthatavarietyofotherfisharebeingpassedoffascodinrestaurantsandfishandchipshops.

Cod

DublinBayprawns‐orNephrops‐arethesecondmostvaluableresourcetotheIrishfishingindustrywithanestimatedvalueof€31.5millionin2011.

Theyare limited tomuddy habitats, and require sedimentwith a silt and claycontent of between 10–100% to excavate its burrows. This means that thedistributionofsuitablesedimentdefinesthespeciesdistribution.

AdultDublinBayprawnsonlyundertakeverysmallscalemovements,(afew100m),butlarvaltransfermayoccurbetweenseparatemudpatchesinsomeareas.This makes some stocks, particularly those with lower average density,vulnerable to localised depletion. Catch rates and composition vary daily andseasonally between different areas and sexes due to different emergencepatterns andunderlyingpopulationdensities.After theonsetofmaturitymaleDublin Bay prawns grow faster and attain a larger size than females. DensitylimitsgrowthandgroundswithhighDublinBayprawnsdensity(>0.7/m2)havesmaller average size that those with low density. Scientific advice is for noincreaseincatches.

There is amajorby‐catchproblemof juvenile,whitingandhaddockaswell asmanyothermarineorganisms.

DublinBayPrawns

The mackerel is the most important commercial fish to Irishfishermen,estimatedtobeworthover€56millionin2011.

Itisahighlymigratoryfishthatiscaughtinwatersover200mdeep.Becausetheyarepelagic,(i.e.theyswiminthewatercolumn)fishingfor themdoesnotdamage the seabedor result in a lotofby‐catch.However, concern has been raised that by‐catch of Atlantic Salmonsmolt(youngfish)isasignificantconcern.

Quotashavenotbeen issued formackerel since2008asagreementcannotbereachedbetweentheEUandIceland/FaroeIslandsonthedivision of the catch. In the absence of this agreement the stock iscurrentlybeingover‐fished.

Only a few years agowewere delighted to promotemackerel as asustainableseafoodchoicebutoverfishingbyIcelandandtheFaroeIslands has resulted in the fish being stripped of its MarineStewardshipCouncilsustainabilitycertification.

Mackerel

PlaiceisoneofanumberofflatfishthatcanbefoundaroundtheIrishcoastanditspopulationappearstobestable.Becausetheyliveonthesandybottomofthesea theyare fishedbybeamtrawling–amethod thatdestroyscorals, sea fansandanythingelsethatisrootedontheseafloor.

Averyhighproportionofthecatchisdiscarded.Discardsamplingstudieshaveindicatedvariablediscardingratesupto80%bynumber.IntheeasternIrishSeaplaicearecaughtbythemixeddemersalfishery,largelyUK otter trawlers, and as a by‐catch in targeted sole beam trawl fisheries,dominatedbyBelgiantrawlers.A proportion of the catch is caught by beam trawl fisheries. Beam trawling,especially using chain‐mat gear, is known to have a significant impact on thebenthiccommunities,althoughlesssoonsoftsubstratesandinareaswhichhavebeenhistoricallyexploitedbythisfishingmethod(i.e.wherehabitatsarealreadydegraded).AccordingtotheMarineInstitutemoretechnicalmeasuresshouldbeintroducedto reduce discards. Also catches need to be reduced as the stock is currentlybeingover‐fished.

Plaice

The spawning stock in the Irish Seahasbeendeclining since2001.Sole are predominantly caught by beam trawl fisheries, often in amixed fishery with other flatfish as well as fish such as cod andhaddock.

Informationfromobservertripsindicatesthatthediscardingofsoleisbetween0and8%inweight.Althoughdiscardratesofsolearelowin these fisheries, discard rates of other (commercial and non‐commercial) species canbe considerable. Beam trawling, especiallyusing chain‐mat gear, is known to have a significant impact on thebenthiccommunities,althoughlesssoonsoftsubstrates.

Celtic sea stocks are being harvested sustainably according to the‘maximumsustainableyield’(MSY)andprecautionaryapproaches.

Sole

Thestatusofthisstockisuncertainduetolackofdatabutisthoughtthat this stock is being over‐fished. Based on precautionaryconsiderationscatchesin2012shouldbereduced,andthereshouldbefurtheruptakeoftechnicalmeasurestoreducediscards.

Discarding isaseriousproblemfor thisstock.Thediscardrates forallfleetsin2010were92‐100%forone‐year‐olds,22–96%fortwo‐year‐oldsand3–68%forthree‐year‐oldsbynumber.

Haddock

WildAtlanticsalmonisaprotectedspeciesundertheEUHabitatsDirectiveandthesaleofthisonceabundantfishisnowprohibited.TheendofdriftnettingforSalmonhascausedconsiderablehardshiptolocalcoastalcommunitiesthathavebeenleftwithoutalivelihood.

Salmonnumbershavedeclinedsignificantlysince the1970′sandthishasbeenattributedtopoorsurvivalratesatsea.Thisisthoughttobeduetotheeffectsofclimatechange.Thesalmonisnowclassedas‘vulnerable’intheRedListoffish(Kingetal.,2011).

Few people can now remember what wild salmon tastes like. Salmon insupermarketsandrestaurantsisnowfarmedandonthesurfacethisseemslikeaperfect solution to addressing problems of over‐fishing. However, fish farmsbringtheirownenvironmentalproblemsincludingpollutionwithfishfaecesandintroducing parasites, particularly Sea lice, to wild fish. There may also beproblems with genetic contamination when farmed fish cross with their wildrelatives.AddedtothatenvironmentalassessmentsrequiredunderEUlawhaveneverbeencarriedoutforfishfarmoperationsacrossthewestofIreland.

While farmed salmon today ismarketed as organic, the origin of their food isgenerally either unknown, or from stocks of feed that are known to be fishedunsustainably.TheIWTbelievesthat‘organic’isaninappropriatelabelfortheseproducts.

Salmon

TheMonkfish,orAnglerfish,isaferociouslookingpredatorthathasamouthabouttwiceasbigasitsbody.Whatispresentedtoconsumersisthefish’stail,whichcontainsthefirm,tastyflesh.

ICESadviseson thebasisof theprecautionary considerationsthatcatchesshouldbereduced.Monkfishmatureatlargesizeandalargeproportionof the catch consistsof immature fish.Thismakesthe stock susceptible to ‘recruitment over‐fishing’, i.e. catching toomanyyoungfish,andmanagementmeasuresarerequiredtoensuresufficientnumberstosurvivetospawningsize.

Monkfish

These distinctive shellfish are considered plentiful in Irishwaters but unfortunately the method of harvesting, dredging, isindiscriminateanddamagingtomarinehabitats.

DunnesStoressellssustainablyharvestedscallopssoaskfortheseatthecounter.Thesearecollectedbydiversthathand‐pickthemfromthe seafloor and therefore cause no damage to other organisms orhabitats.

Scallops

There is currently amoratoriumon the fishingof seabassby Irishfishermenandit isprohibitedtosellwildseabass inIrishshopsorrestaurants. The sea bass that is sold in supermarkets is importedfarmedstock,probablyfromGreece,butitisnoharmtoaskjusttobesure.

Theissueoffishfarmingaddsanotherdimension,ashugequantitiesoffishneedtobecaughtasfeedforcaptivefish.Importedfishfromdistantlocationsalsoadd‘foodmiles’andisthereforecontributingtoclimatechange.

SeaBass

Theplightoftheblue‐fintunahasbeengivenalotofpublicityinrecentyears.Itspopulationhasplummeted as a result of mismanagement and a flagrant disregard for scientific advice. Thissituationcontinuesandsoblue‐finshouldnotbeeatenforthetimebeing.

IWTresearchhasshownthatmost fillet tuna in Irishsupermarkets isof theyellow‐finvarietyhoweverthis isdifficult totellsince labels frequentlyonlyrefertoageneric ‘tuna’.Thetunaincansispredominantlyskipjacktuna(althoughagainthespeciesoftunaisnotalwaysidentified)anditisacceptedthattherearestillplentyofthesetogoaround.Thereareproblemswithhowtuna are fished. This is done using amethod known as ‘long‐lining’where by huge lengths offishingline,perhapstensofkilometreslong,arebaitedandtrawledthroughthesea.Thehooksroutinelycatchnotonlytuna,butalsosharks,turtlesandavarietyofotherseacreatures.

Up to 90% of the world’s sharks and marine predators have been lost in the past 50 yearsresultinginadramaticman‐inducedalterationofthefoodchain.Recentlytunahavestartedtobecaughtusingrodandlineandthisvirtuallyeliminatestheby‐catch.Unfortunatelyconsumersarenottoldhowtheirtunaiscaught.

Look out for the ‘Fish For Ever’ logo in some supermarkets as their tinned tune comes fromskipjacktunathatiscaughtwithpoleandlineonly.

BluefintunawasproposedtobeaddedtoAppendix1ofCITESin2009(theConventionagainstTrade in Endangered Species). However this proposal was rejected. Appendix 1 designationcoversspeciesthatareconsideredtobethreatenedwithextinction.Trade inwholeorpartsofAppendix1 listedanimalswouldbepermittedonly inexceptionalcircumstances.HoweverthiswasblockedbyJapanandothercountrieswhocynicallyservedblue‐fintunaatareception!

Tuna

MostoftheswordfishtakenbytheU.S.fishingindustryarejuveniles.Recently,theUSgovernmenttookmeasurestoprotectjuvenilenorthAtlantic swordfish stocks by closing swordfish nursery areas tofishing. Coupled with an international swordfish recovery plan(1999), swordfish populations are on the road to recovery. Theswordfish is currently listed as data deficient with the WorldConservationUnion(IUCN).Thereisinadequateinformationtomakeadirect,or indirect,assessmentof itsriskofextinctionbasedonitsdistributionand/orpopulationstatus.

In the Atlantic, the Mediterranean stock is considered to beoverfished.ThestocksofthenorthandsouthAtlanticareconsideredtobewell‐managed(ICCAT2009).Globally,thisspecieshasshowna28%declineoverthreegenerationlengths(20years).Theonlystockthat is not considered to be well‐managed is the Mediterranean,which comprises less than 10% of the species’ global range. It istherefore listed as Least Concern, as it is below the threshold for athreatenedcategoryunderCriterionA1.

Swordfish

ColeyisanothernameforPollockorSaithe.

Pollockhasapreferenceforwrecksandrockybottom,makingitdifficulttocatchwithtrawlsandthereforepoorlysuitedformonitoringbyresearchsurveys.Dataon growth and maturity, as well as more information from the fisheriesareneeded.

Juvenile Pollack are found in shallow coastal waters and may therefore beprotectedfromfisheriesintheearlylifestages.Pollockisfoundmostlyclosetothe shore over hard bottom. It usually occurs at 40‐100mdepth,but is founddownto200m.Amaximumsizeof130cm,amaximumweightof18.1kgandamaximumageof15yearsarereported.

MostPollock in theCeltic Sea is caughtby trawlsandgillnets, andothergearscometocomplementthelandings,suchastrollingline,seinenetsorbeamtrawl.Morestudiesneedtobedonebeforethestatusofthisstockcanbedetermined.TheMarineInstitutethereforeadvisesaprecautionaryapproachtofishing.

The status of the Coley stock is unknown and there is no ICES advice for thisstock.TheMarineInstituteadvisesthatthereisnoscientificbasisforthecurrentTAC (total allowable catch), which is far in excess of recent annual landings.Landingshavebeenindeclinesincetheearly1990s.StudiesneedtobecarriedouttoevaluatetheexploitationstatusandstockstructureofColey.

Ireland,asthemainparticipantinthisfishery,hasanopportunitytodevelopandimplementamanagementstrategyformixedfisheriesinthisarea.

Coley

Musselsarenowfarmedbuthavenotbeenassociatedwiththe environmental problems of salmon farms. In fact Irishmusselsarelabeledwithasustainabilitymarkmeaningtheycanbeeatenwithaclearconscience.Musselsareexceptionallygoodvalue,tastyandeasytocook.

Mussels

In2001anemergencyrecoveryplanwas introducedtorebuildstocksofhake.To‐dateitappearsthatthisplaniseffectivewithnumbersincreasing.Hake,likecod, is a predator that feeds on other fish, so its decline has been linked tochangesintheecosystemthathaveseenincreasesinthepopulationsofspeciesfurtherdownthefoodchain.

Thenorthernhakehasbeenmanagedforseveralyearsbymeansofarecoveryplanin2004(EC811/2004).ArevisedassessmenthasbeendevelopedbyICES,giving a newperspective of historical stock trends and invalidating previouslydefinedprecautionaryreferencepoints.Rulesintherecoveryplanarenolongerimplementable so there is a need to develop a newmulti‐annual plan for thisstock.(Stockbook2011)

The total allowable catch (TAC)was overshot considerably between2001 and2005butsince2006landingshavebeenbelowtheTAC.

Hake

In1994a schemewas started inGalwayBay tomarkthe tails of young female lobsterswith a notch. Theywerethrownbacksotheycouldcontinuetobreed.Thishasbeenremarkablysuccessfulandhasresultedinbigger,andmore,lobstersinthepot.

Since lobsters are caught in pots, collecting them does noharmtoseafloorhabitatsorothermarinelife.

Lobster

Herringwasonceamainstayof the Irish fishdietbutarenowveryuncommonatthefishmarket.Theyareanimportantpreyspeciesinthe ecosystem and also one of the dominant plankton‐eating fish.Theyarethereforeavitallinkinthemarinefoodweb.

Activitiessuchasaggregateextractionanddumpingofdredgespoildisturb or pollute herring spawning beds.The MarineInstituteadvises that such activities should not take place inspawninggroundsduringthespawningperiod(OctobertoFebruary)andshouldonly takeplaceatother timesof theyear if theycanbeshownnot to have a negative impact on stock dynamics and larvalproduction of herring. Placement of fish farm cages in spawninggroundsshouldonlybepermittedifitcanbeshownthattheydonotimpactonindividualspawningbeds.

Theremayalsobeproposalstobuildwindfarmsonknownspawninggrounds. Other negative impacts may include benthic fishing andmarineenergyconstructionprojects.

In 2012 Celtic sea herring received Marine Stewardship Councilsustainablefisheriescertification.

Herring