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Oceans campaigner Ida Udovic said, “A legitimate company would never
dream of buying or selling a car where they knew a third of the parts
where stolen goods. But large distributors and manufacturers of fish
products ignore that their raw material could be totally illegal, and
look the other way while our seas are being destroyed."
Poland, which is the centre for cod filleting across the region, last year supplied Western Europe with an amazing 41 000 tons of cod filets. The sheer amount of stolen cod, added to catch quotas that way above those recommended by scientists, mean the recovery of some cod populations is impossible. The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES: the scientific advisory body for the northeastern Atlantic region) and the European Union (EU) are calling for a drastic reduction of quotas, or even for a cessation of cod fishing in waters of the eastern Baltic Sea. The eastern Baltic cod stock has been reduced to only a tenth of its size during the ‘Golden Ages’ of Baltic cod fishing in the 1980s.
To make matters worse, the situation in the Baltic Sea is disastrous: overfishing, pollution, eutrophication (nutrient enrichment of the water caused largely by agricultural run-off), climate change, oil spills, bottom trawling and destruction of habitats have made a catastrophic situation, further threatening the survival of cod and other species. The last thing we need on top of this is pirate fishing.
How can companies let this happen? Unfortunately it’s hard to tell exactly where the illegal cod from the Baltic ends up. This means that the company making your box of fish fingers can’t tell you if they come from stolen stocks.
Among the companies that buy cod from Baltic catches, usually fresh fillets bound for restaurants, are Pickenpack and Frosta (Germany), Fjord Seafood (Netherlands), Västkustfilé (Sweden) and Royal Greenland (Denmark). Danish company Espersen has a key role in processing and distributing frozen fillets sold under various brands such as Euroshopper, and even in fast food restaurants. With a turnover of over 130 million euros, Espersen is regarded as the largest cod processing company in the world.
Despite the clear problem, the Baltic Sea states routinely fail to take action. The maximum average fine recently imposed anywhere in the region for illegal fishing has been a mere 538 euros.
The Arctic Sunrise is in the Baltic as part of the Defending Our Oceans campaign and will be highlighting the issue of pirate fishing throughout the region. We are demanding a network of marine reserves to shut down the pirate trade and allow vital cod stocks to recover. In addition all fishing vessels in the Baltic should have a device onboard enabling electronic surveillance, controls ashore and off shore should increase and a black list for all vessels caught cheating should be established.
Read the report.
Overfishing out of control
Poland, which is the centre for cod filleting across the region, last year supplied Western Europe with an amazing 41 000 tons of cod filets. The sheer amount of stolen cod, added to catch quotas that way above those recommended by scientists, mean the recovery of some cod populations is impossible. The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES: the scientific advisory body for the northeastern Atlantic region) and the European Union (EU) are calling for a drastic reduction of quotas, or even for a cessation of cod fishing in waters of the eastern Baltic Sea. The eastern Baltic cod stock has been reduced to only a tenth of its size during the ‘Golden Ages’ of Baltic cod fishing in the 1980s.
To make matters worse, the situation in the Baltic Sea is disastrous: overfishing, pollution, eutrophication (nutrient enrichment of the water caused largely by agricultural run-off), climate change, oil spills, bottom trawling and destruction of habitats have made a catastrophic situation, further threatening the survival of cod and other species. The last thing we need on top of this is pirate fishing.
Cod laundering
How can companies let this happen? Unfortunately it’s hard to tell exactly where the illegal cod from the Baltic ends up. This means that the company making your box of fish fingers can’t tell you if they come from stolen stocks.
Among the companies that buy cod from Baltic catches, usually fresh fillets bound for restaurants, are Pickenpack and Frosta (Germany), Fjord Seafood (Netherlands), Västkustfilé (Sweden) and Royal Greenland (Denmark). Danish company Espersen has a key role in processing and distributing frozen fillets sold under various brands such as Euroshopper, and even in fast food restaurants. With a turnover of over 130 million euros, Espersen is regarded as the largest cod processing company in the world.
Despite the clear problem, the Baltic Sea states routinely fail to take action. The maximum average fine recently imposed anywhere in the region for illegal fishing has been a mere 538 euros.
Making Piracy History
The Arctic Sunrise is in the Baltic as part of the Defending Our Oceans campaign and will be highlighting the issue of pirate fishing throughout the region. We are demanding a network of marine reserves to shut down the pirate trade and allow vital cod stocks to recover. In addition all fishing vessels in the Baltic should have a device onboard enabling electronic surveillance, controls ashore and off shore should increase and a black list for all vessels caught cheating should be established.
Read the report.
Read the weblog
