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For the Love of God, Stop Eating Cod

As North Sea cod loses its sustainability accreditation, the U.K.’s predilection for boring fish does more and more damage

Landing the catch of cod in the harbour Martin Zwick/REDA&CO/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

North Sea cod loses MSC sustainability accreditation

North Sea cod could disappear from U.K. supermarkets because its population is declining more rapidly than expected, according to the Guardian. This fishery supplies only 6 percent of the 115,000 [checks notes] TONNES of cod that the U.K. eats each year, so in terms of those who love cod, it is not terminal, but losing its Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) “blue tick” means it this stock will be less readily available in U.K. supermarkets and it is no longer classed as a sustainable source of fish. For context: the latest population numbers for the North Sea fishery are just above 80,000, so that’s a 35,000 tonne cod “shortfall” were the U.K. to rely on the North Sea stock. It does not — that other 94 percent comes from the Barents Sea and Iceland, both of which are MSC-certified fisheries.

But... 115,000 tonnes of cod. There are other meaty, white fish that aren’t having sustainability credentials revoked: hake; pollock; coley, but there’s also the issue of supermarkets selling them at scale, which may make them less sustainable if demand grows. Right now? For the love of God: there’s more than cod. [Guardian]

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