Restaurateurs welcome fishing fleet cutbacks

Radical Government proposals to haul nearly half the UK fishing fleet out of the water have been met with approval by the hospitality industry.

In a report released last week, Number 10's strategy unit suggested scrapping 13% of the fleet and taking a further 30% out of service for four years to save fish stocks, in particular cod, from collapse.

Tony Allen, founder of the Fish! chain of restaurants, backed the plan and said: "It is clear that we must alter the way we catch and eat fish if the industry, and the oceans, are to survive."

Rick Stein echoed these concerns: "It is encouraging that the Government has taken proof of overfishing seriously."

The report also recommended decentralising fisheries management, establishing local managers, and tailoring quotas according to region, allowing quotas to be adjusted without slow applications to the EU. "Sometimes there are gluts of fish, and to throw it overboard dead is a terrible waste," said Stein.

Following a series of quota reductions and last year's downsizing of the white-fish fleet, only 3% of cod currently on sale in the UK comes from the North Sea. The remainder comes largely from sustainable fisheries such as those around Iceland and Norway.

However, environmentalists warn that North Sea cod stocks may already be beyond the point of no return. Brendan May, chief executive of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), which provides sustainability certification for fisheries and suppliers, said: "We have to give relief to these stocks over a number of years."

He added that chefs could help to improve the situation. "Always ask where the fish is from to make sure you are not serving fish that is at risk," he said. "Talk to us, and look at which fisheries are in the process of getting MSC accreditation."

The report called for all major UK fisheries and suppliers to seek sustainability certification by 2015 from the MSC or an equivalent certifying body.