The plight of the mackerel was well documented in January when the advice
of the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) changed from ‘Best Choice’ to a ‘Fish
to eat occasionally’ throwing previously written sustainable menus into
turmoil. This decision was influenced by the actions of the Icelandic and
Faroese fishery councils who implemented a substantial increase of catch volume
(+23%) well beyond the previous agreed with Norway
and the EU. Initial predicted stock volumes and set Total allowable catches
were calculated without consideration of this additional fishing effort which
when exceeded the Total Allowable Catch by 200,000 tonnes and beyond the safe
Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) of the total stock. Although at the time the
decision by the MCS was heavily criticised by industry and woefully misreported
in the press (on many occasions mackerel were suggested to be endangered) I was
in total agreement with the precautionary approach as to continue to promote a stock
as sustainable whilst being heavily over fished would have been disastrous long
term for the stock status.
A couple of weeks ago it was announced by the MCS that after
lengthy consultation a further re grade of the mackerel rating had taken place
and was being implemented with immediate effect. Initial press reports, namely
by the Daily Telegraph, and then used by numerous agencies and wholesalers, was
yet again misleading. First reporting has suggested Mackerel caught from the UK is the
only sustainable option. The concise re grade has set a 2 (still
a good choice, although some aspects of its production or management could be
improved) for the Cornish hand line fishery, a 3 (based
on available information these species should probably not be considered
sustainable at this time. Areas requiring improvement in the current production
methods may be significant, or there is significant uncertainty associated
with its management or stock status) for the remaining fisheries within the
EU which includes all of the Scottish and Norwegian pelagic trawl fisheries and
a 4 (should
not be considered sustainable, and the fish is likely to have significant
environmental issues associated with its production. While it may be from a
deteriorating fishery, it may be one that has improved from a 5
rating, and positive actions are being taken. However, MCS would not
usually recommend choosing this fish) for Icelandic and Faroes caughtstock.
So the key question is “even though all these fisheries still pull
from the same stock how can they now all be rated differently? Unlike the
Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) whom certify fisheries sustainable by the
status of the stock alone the MCS use a number of weighted factors. Although
heavily influenced by spawning stock biomass they also consider management,
capture methods and ecological effects. Hand line catch methods result in
almost zero impact to the environment and yield minute by catch levels thus the
Cornish fishery is now considered ‘Best Choice’. The Cornish hand line fishery
quota allocation is currently set at 1750 tonnes per year or 0.83% of the UK quota.
However, one must be cautious when purchasing hand line mackerel as this
premium priced product will now continue to increase in value. A volume
of trawled South West mackerel are landed onto Plymouth and
Brixham markets each week and there will undoubtedly be increased volumes
finding its way into kitchens sold as a premium line caught fish! Unfortunately
there are rogue seafood traders who are happy to trade hand to mouth
instead of applying honesty and integrity.
Conversely, the Scottish and Norwegian pelagic trawl fisheries,
although not as selective as hand line, have excellent management systems in
place which consider by catch, total allowable catches and closed seasons to
coincide with spawning periods resulting in it being the ‘Best Alternative’
option.
Unfortunately the Icelandic and Faroese fisheries have been shown to
produce high levels of herring by catch alongside a disregard of previously set
stock quotas by other parties within the fishery and a refusal to enter a
long-term international management plan. As mentioned their actions may result
in the mackerel stocks potentially be over fished by 200,000 tonnes per year.
So where does this leave us as wholesalers, purchasers and chefs? We
would all love to have true Cornish hand line mackerel on our menus throughout
the year, but in reality this is impossible. When the initial January ratings
were announced one of the UK’s largest seafood wholesalers announced its “fresh Mackerel is
predominantly sourced from the Cornish hand line fishery or from the ring net
fishery off Chesil Beach in Dorset”. If you consider the volume of these fisheries it’s not hard to realise
the claim in this statement was simply unachievable. Sadly as chefs drive to
hit ever increasing GPs the cost price of Cornish Hand line mackerel may well
be moving further out of reach for many. For comparison the wholesale sell
price of Scottish mackerel the week of the announcement was around £5.80kg whereas the auction
price of Cornish hand line mackerel on Newlyn market hit £6.60kg!!
Fortunately the MCS have re classified the vast majority of the mackerel finding
its way onto our markets as a yellow 3 rating ‘Best Alternative’ giving license
to return them to the menu.
The unfortunate fall out from this whole fiasco will be convincing
diners, who three months ago were being told the species was endangered and
should not be eaten. My key piece of advice as always is be sure your supplier
is providing you with exactly what you think you are receiving and always
advertise it correctly on your menu.
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