Supermarkets have been urged not to panic over an international crisis threatening the Scottish mackerel industry.
Three of the UK’s largest supermarket chains have revealed they will not buy Scottish mackerel until environmental certification governing its sustainability is reinstated.
The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) which certifies that fishing is sustainable, suspended certification at the end of March after Iceland and the Faroe Islands breached mackerel fishing quotas in the northeast Atlantic. Overfishing by the two countries meant quotas were exceeded by 25 per cent in the past two years.
Sainsbury’s, Marks & Spencer and The Co-op have all taken the decision not to source more of the oily fish until the situation is resolved.
However yesterday, Ian Gatt, chief executive of the Scottish Pelagic Fishermen’s Association, said mackerel stocks were healthy and called on supermarkets to rethink their policy.
