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Danish cod factory to close: not enough cod

Activist labels Baltic cod "STOLEN FISH" in an ICA supermarket. Enlarge Image

Birds Eye/Iglo still linked to illegal fishing

Last week the European Fish Processors Association (AIPCE) met in Dublin to discuss how the industry would handle the increasing amount of illegal cod ending up in our burgers and fishsticks. The good news: they made some promising recommendations. The bad news: these are only "guidelines", and not binding. Two of the biggest brands – Birds Eye and Iglo – have remained silent in public about their commitment to these guidelines.

Activists mark Baltic cod products at an ICA store with "STOLEN FISH" stickers. Enlarge Image

Cod, lies and videotape

Two Swedish supermarkets, ICA and COOP, have been caught red-handed selling Baltic cod despite our recent revelation that a third of it is illegally caught. To make matters worse, ICA is even running an advertisement campaign to sell Baltic cod.

Cod found in a pirate fishermen's net. Enlarge Image

Captain Birdseye

IGLO/Birds Eye Frozen Foods is the Number one frozen food player in Europe, operating mainly in the UK under the Birds Eye brand, and in Germany and Austria under the IGLO brand. Birds Eye proudly proclaims it makes, "enough fish sticks every year to stretch around the equator!" What they don't tell you is that over a third of their cod fish sticks could be stolen, the fish plundered illegally from the Baltic and Barents Seas.

Greenpeace confiscates illegal fishing nets. The net is registered to a Polish vessel fishing illegally in the Baltic Proper. Enlarge Image

Baltic piracy confronted

Yesterday, the Arctic Sunrise crew found illegal nets set for cod in the eastern Baltic. But the pirate fishermen are in for a surprise when they return. Our crew has confiscated the nets, but helpfully left a note on a buoy with a phone number the pirates can call to get them back.

Shy youth Young Baltic cod hiding on the seabed behind floating seaweed. Cod are severely over fished in the northern European seas and most are caught before they are two years old and have even had a chance to reproduce. Enlarge Image

3 retailers cut back on cod

Major Scandinavian food retail chains Netto Sweden, Lidl Sweden and Axfood (Willy's/Hemköp) have promised to quit buying cod from the Baltic Sea. At least a third of the cod caught and landed in the Baltic is stolen, and pirate fishing is making the recovery of certain populations impossible.

The Arctic Sunrise Enlarge Image

A third of cod from the Baltic Sea stolen by pirates

As our ship the Esperanza heads to the Pacific to tackle pirates and overfishing, the Arctic Sunrise heads north to battle another case of piracy. Our new report reveals that 30 percent of the cod caught in the Baltic Sea is stolen, bound for European supermarkets. Are there stolen goods in your refrigerator?

 
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