The Grocer – 24 August 2019

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buying & supplying fresh

North Sea cod off the

menu as stocks slump

North Sea cod has seen a sharp decline in spawning stock

Kevin White
A combination of climate
change and a failure to
reduce fi shing pressures
on stocks is thought to
be behind the collapse in
North Sea cod numbers,
industry commentators
have suggested.
Just over two years
aft er the fi shery regained
MSC certifi cation as sus-
tainable, independent
auditors are expected to
suspend its accreditation
on 24 September follow-
ing a steep fall in spawn-
ing stock biomass.
The fi shery’s recovery
had been touted as a suc-
cess story back in 2017
and an example of indus-
try collaboration, with a
series of quota limits and
fi shing ground closures
helping stocks recover
from a low of just 43,739

tonnes in 2006 to 167,711

tonnes in 2017 [ICES].

However, fi sh num-

bers had since fallen

to an estimated 136,231

tonnes for 2019, said

ICES. This prompted

the body to issue new

advice at the end of June

showing the fi shery had

fallen below the point at

which recruitment – the

addition of young fi sh to

the mature population –

had a high likelihood of

being impaired.

The fall in numbers

represented a “harsh les-

son” for the industry,

said Marine Conservation

Society head of fi sheries

Samuel Stone.

Stock size had also ini-

tially been overestimated

by ICES, suggested

Scottish Fishermen’s

Organisation CEO John

Anderson, with “quotas

being subsequently set

higher than they should

have been”. This had

been compounded by the

eff ects of climate change

on the stock, he added.

The sector was work-

ing with government,

scientists and NGOs to

develop “ measures that

will ensure stock is har-

vested sustainably and

allowed to rebuild to the

point where certifi cation

will once more be achiev-

able”, Anderson said.

The process of cre-

ating a fi sheries

improvement project

was already under-

way, said the Scottish

Fisheries Sustainable

Accreditation Group.

Yeo Valley has expanded

its Little Yeos yoghurt

range with two new big

pots.

The products (rsp:

£1.50/340g) went on sale

in Tesco and Ocado ear-

lier this month in natural

and strawberry fl avours.

The natural vari-

ant contained no added

sugar and “milder cul-

tures”, which Yeo Valley

said would be more

enjoyable for “little taste

buds”. Its strawberry var-

iant contains real fruit

purée and concentrated

grape juice.

Little Yeos Big Pots are on

sale in Tesco and Ocado

Big Pots for

Little Yeos

kids’ yoghurts

No-deal ‘poses a greater

challenge than BSE crisis’

A no-deal Brexit could

wipe out almost a fi ft h

of profi ts from UK farm

businesses, costing the

sector as much as £850m

within a year of the UK

leaving the EU, new

research has suggested.

The combination of

increased competition

from cheaper imports,

higher input costs for ser-

vices such as vets and an

expected surge in export

tariff s for some agrifood

products would all con-

tribute to an 18% slump

in profi tability, warned

agricultural consultancy

The Andersons Centre.

No-deal Brexit to cost farming

sector up to £850m, says report

The eff ect of such a

drop would represent a

greater challenge than

both the BSE and foot

and mouth crises, said

Andersons’ partner

Michael Haverty, who

compiled the research on

behalf of the BBC.

W i t h m a n y f a r m s

already struggling to

break even, the projected

hit to profi tability in some

cases was likely to signif-

icantly surpass industry

averages, the report said.

This would place the via-

bility of many farming

businesses in jeopardy.

The Andersons report

follows similar warn-

ings by former NFU chief

economist Sean Rickard

last week. In a separate

report , Rickard said up to

half the UK’s growers and

livestock farmers could

be driven out of business

by the mid-2020s.

Viva filming allegedly
shows pigs being abused

Tesco and Red Tractor
have suspended a pig
farm aft er undercover
footage appeared to show
“distressing and unac-
ceptable” animal abuse.
Filming by cam-
paign group Viva at
Hogwood Pig Farm in

Tesco severs links

with Hogwood Farm

Warwickshire showed

pigs squealing as workers

hit them with metal rods

and slammed gates into

them.

Red Tractor said

Hogwood’s certifi ca-

tion “has already been

suspended pending

further investigation”,

while Tesco said it had

asked its supply partner

Cranswick to “stop all

supply” from the farm.

Viva, which said it has

investigated Hogwood

three times since 2017,

described the farm’s

suspension as a “huge

victory”.

Picture Credit: MSC

A HARSH LESSON

North Sea cod quotas were set higher than they should

have been – John Anderson, CEO, Scottish Fishermen’s

Organisation