FISHERMEN have called on the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) to back down after the charity said haddock was no longer on a list of fish people are advised to to eat.
The MCS downgraded haddock caught in Scottish waters and the north sea over fears that stock are dwindling.
However, the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF) branded the MCS claims as "misleading", and insisted that fisheries are well-managed at sustainable levels.
SFF chief executive Bertie Armstrong said: “The MCS has completely misunderstood the position as far as haddock stocks are concerned and should withdraw its utterly misleading comments.
“The organisation is trying to alter consumer behaviour on completely false premises and should desist at once. Fish stocks are sustainable when the amount of fish caught is below the maximum sustainable yield (MSY).
“For haddock that has been the case since 2007, and only last year advice from fisheries scientists at the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) was for an increase in the catch of 30 per cent."
The MCS sought to downplay the row, saying that it had never intended for haddock to be taken off the menu completely.
But it stuck by its decision to downgrade the fish, a chip shop favourite and the basis of classic Scottish dishes such as Finnan haddie and Cullen skink.
Their spokesman said: "MCS has not called for haddock be taken off menus. MCS only actively asks this when a fishery or farming method is red rated (rated 5). The new ratings for North Sea and West of Scotland haddock are 3 and 4.
"The new ratings come after the latest scientific advice from ICES, which was released in November last year.
"This advice indicated that the levels of fishing that can be considered sustainable for this population are lower than previously thought, meaning a smaller proportion should be caught. This means that advice for catches in 2017 are 47 per cent lower than originally advised for catches in 2016."
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