Cod is out of the danger zone and back on the menu

NORTH Sea cod is back on the menu after strict limits on catch sizes over the last decade hauled numbers back out of the danger zone.

The Marine Conservation Society has taken the cod off its list of fish to avoid after “years of sacrifice and a lot of hard work” led to population increases. But the charity warned that it should be eaten very occasionally, perhaps once a week, and that more efforts were needed to keep levels sustainable.

Decades of overfishing, along with the warming of the seas, had reduced populations and the size and age of cod. A survey of catches at European ports found that fishermen did not land a single cod over the age of 13 in 2011.

Several supermarkets, including Marks & Spencer, Waitrose and Asda, removed the fish from their shelves in response to the collapse in stocks.

More recently, the industry has begun to show signs of recovery after decades of reduced fishing and efforts to avoid catching cod in mixed fisheries. But the Marine Conservation Society warned that levels might never return to their pre-collapse glory days.

The charity’s fisheries officer, Samu- el Stone, said: “It’s fantastic to see this fishery finally off the red list. Years of sacrifice and a lot of hard work have led to population increases above dangerously low levels.

“While this is certainly a milestone for North Sea cod, the job is not done yet. Efforts of recent years need to continue.”

Nine smaller cod fisheries in the North East Atlantic remain red-listed by the conservation charity, including those fished from the Irish Sea, Celtic Sea and West of Scotland.

The body urged consumers to ask exactly where their cod was from and businesses to check their supply chains to avoid endangered fish.

Some 50,000 tons of cod are thought to be eaten in UK fish and chip shops each year, the vast majority of which is caught in Arctic waters.

The FishOnline website, which advises consumers on eating sustainable seafood, warns that all wild caught sea bass is now on the “fish to avoid” list as its stocks face collapse.

Whiting from the Irish Sea has also slipped on to the red list. Its population is severely depleted because high numbers are landed as by-catch in scampi fisheries.