Cod bounce back - Ben Fogle's Country Travels: 'North Sea fishermen are acutely aware of the changes taking place in the ocean'

Here's an update from Ben Fogle following his two, not ten day trip in the North Sea chasing cod. 

"That the North Sea cod population has faced a problem is undeniable, but we need to keep the subject on the table 

  I’m baffled. According to a report two years ago, there were just “100 cod left in the North Sea”. As late as November last year, the Marine Conservation Society announced that the latest International Council for the Exploration of the Sea statement said that cod stocks were only just above what is considered sustainable, and its advice was to seek “alternatives to North Sea cod”.

The future is bright for cod!

For many, cod has become a fish to be avoided at all costs, the “dodo” of the maritime world, eaten to death in fish fingers. But my experience aboard a Scottish trawler last week couldn't have portrayed a more different scenario, where ton upon ton of cod was hauled aboard the relatively small fishing vessel.

We were not one of the mighty pelagic ships that suck hundreds of tons of live fish aboard, but a seven-man trawler. Apart from the skipper’s instinct and basic fish-finding equipment on board, we couldn’t have known where to find a lone shoal. Yet half the hauls were brimming with mature Atlantic cod, many 30lb-plus. My experience seems to correlate with what Scottish fishermen, those on the front line, have been saying for more than a year.

The Scottish industry has been working hard to ensure sustainability. The crew on our trawler relies on healthy, sustainable stocks of cod more than the consumer does. It is insulting to assume that fishermen don’t care. As in any industry, there will be cowboys, but the majority, like farmers, are the custodians of the environment in which they work. They are acutely aware of the nuanced changes taking place on the ocean. That the North Sea cod population faced a problem is undeniable, but the government decommissioning programme has had a huge effect as the number of fishing boats has declined. Apart from the other trawler with which we were working, we didn’t see another fishing vessel during my time at sea.

I've been one of the many consumers who have avoided cod over the past decade. While it’s hard to dispute scientific research, my recent experience on the front line does provoke the question of whether we should start eating North Sea cod again. Rather than yo-yoing between species, we should look at eating a greater variety. Pollock’s delicious, by the way.

Footnote:

It's a shame his glib comment about the big pelagic boats 'hoovering' up fish is there -  while the scale of operations and the quantities fished by the big pelagic boats can't be denied - they do operate within acceptable stock limits the fishery for mackerel and other pelagic fish is well managed and well policed these days.