North Sea cod stocks in danger of collapse
Friday 25 October 2002
Cod stocks in the North Sea have become so depleted that the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) is recommending a ban on catching cod in these waters, as well as the closure of haddock and whiting fisheries, which often catch cod as a by-product.
This situation is the legacy of a failed EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and successive EU fisheries ministers turning a deaf ear to the dire warnings of their own scientists. The EU's fisheries ministers have also collectively failed to agree a recovery plan for North Sea cod.
"Despite a recovery plan having been on the table for over a year, no action has been taken," said Heike Vesper of WWF's fisheries campaign. "This is the latest and perhaps final failure, following twenty years of inadequate fisheries management. Now we are seeing the consequences, with fears in Scotland and Denmark of the destruction of their 'white fish' fleet."
Friday 25 October 2002
Cod stocks in the North Sea have become so depleted that the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) is recommending a ban on catching cod in these waters, as well as the closure of haddock and whiting fisheries, which often catch cod as a by-product.
This situation is the legacy of a failed EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and successive EU fisheries ministers turning a deaf ear to the dire warnings of their own scientists. The EU's fisheries ministers have also collectively failed to agree a recovery plan for North Sea cod.
"Despite a recovery plan having been on the table for over a year, no action has been taken," said Heike Vesper of WWF's fisheries campaign. "This is the latest and perhaps final failure, following twenty years of inadequate fisheries management. Now we are seeing the consequences, with fears in Scotland and Denmark of the destruction of their 'white fish' fleet."