Britons urged to avoid Scottish crab and lobster as items red listed by conservation society

Scottish crab and lobster are among some of the fish consumers are being urged to avoid eating by the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) in its updated “Good Fish Guide”.

The Good Fish Guide is a traffic light system which ranks the sustainability of seafood. Green is the “best choice”, amber is “OK to eat but improvements are needed”, and red indicates “fish to avoid”.

The latest guide assessed 656 species and areas where they were caught, with 148 now on the best choice list, but 161 rated as seafood to avoid.

A total of fourteen species of fish and seafood have joined the MCS’s red list.

This includes monkfish sourced from the North Sea and west of Scotland – which were previously classed as “OK to eat” – due to the sharpest decline seen in numbers since 2013.

Some species of skates and rays have also been red listed. The news comes after a 2021 study found that one-third of all sharks, rays, and chimaeras are at risk of extinction because of overfishing.

Experts are also worried that crab and lobster populations are suffering as a result of poor management of fisheries.

Additionally, in Scotland there is concern that whales are getting entangled in ropes attached to pots used to catch the crustaceans.

The charity said that while potting positively has minimal impact on the seabed, implementing innovations like rope-less posts could remove the risk entirely.

Under the updated guidelines, Shetland brown crab is the only green rated option in the UK.

The MCS said the changes illustrate an “urgent need for more rigorous management and effect policies” across the fishing industry if the UK wants to maintain healthy oceans.

Clara Johnston, fisheries policy manager at the charity commented: “The latest Good Fish Guide ratings – where all new UK ratings are either amber or red rated – illustrate the urgent need for transparency and better management if we’re to recover fish stocks in UK seas.”

The charity has also warned that Celtic cod and whiting populations are “at dangerously low levels” and this is having a negative effect on reproduction rates. Experts have recommended that cod from Celtic seas should not be caught at all.

While Celtic haddock populations are currently at healthy levels, the level of fishing is exceeding recommended limits.

Additionally, as cod, haddock and whiting tend to swim and feed together, the more haddock that is caught, the more cod and whiting are caught alongside it.

The updated guide comes as UK governments are consulting on new legislative framework for managing local fishers, known as the Joint Fisheries Statement.

The Future Fisheries Alliance, a coalition between the MCS, WWF and RSPB, has called on the framework to be strengthened to better protect the UK’s seas.

They want to see the Joint Fisheries Statement include commitments to recover depleted fish populations, a firm commitment to roll out camera monitoring on fishing vessels and urgent and effective action to tackle bycatch in UK waters.

Environmental groups have long been calling for improvements to fishing practices and greater awareness of how consumer choices impact fish populations.

The UN estimates that nearly a third of all monitored global fish stocks are overfished, and more than 60 per cent are fished to the maximum sustainable yield.

The MCS has published some key tips consumers should think about when buying seafood to ensure they are making sustainable choices.

The charity encourages the public to be more adventurous with the fish they choose. As it stands, 80 per cent of seafood consumed in the UK is made up of cod, haddock, salmon, tuna and prawns.

It recommends farmed shellfish, such as clams, mussels and oysters which don’t need any feed and actively clean the water they are grown in.

Additionally, it encourages customers to look out for “eco-labels”. The Marine Stewardship Council’s blue tick indicates a sustainable option that has come from a healthy wild fish population.

Another label to look out for is the Aquaculture Stewardship Council logo, which certifies sustainability of farmed seafood.