LONDON (AA): Fish and chips, the dish most closely associated with British cuisine, has become more environmentally friendly after a rise in fish stocks, the U.K.’s Marine Conservation Society (MCS) said Friday.
In a statement, the society announced stocks of cod in the North Sea have grown enough for the species to be removed from the organization’s “fish to avoid” list.
As well as being a favorite for takeaway meals, cod was once one of the U.K.’s chief exports. But overfishing in the 1970s and early 1980s caused a collapse in stock to dangerously low levels, making cod the species most imported into Britain.
The MCS revealed numbers had now recovered sufficiently to allow a recommendation for cod to be eaten “very occasionally”.
Fisheries officer Samuel Stone said: “It’s fantastic to see this fishery finally off the red list. Years of sacrifice and a lot of hard work have led to population increases above dangerously low levels.”
The MCS warned while cod was recovering in the North Sea, located to the northeast of the Britain, stocks in other seas in the northeast Atlantic are still at critically low levels.
