The death of scampi? Shoppers and supermarkets are told to avoid scampi due to its ‘big environmental price tag’

• Open Seas charity is calling for major improvements to scampi-fishing process 
• Concerns over environmental damage associated with bottom-trawling method 
• But National Federation of Fish Friers says it’s caught in line with strict guidelines

Shoppers and supermarkets should avoid scampi due to its ‘big environmental price tag’, a charity warned today amid calls for major improvements to the fishing process.

The campaign, headed by Scottish organisation Open Seas, aims to highlight the hidden environmental damage associated with scampi caught by bottom-trawling.

Scampi are deep-fried langoustine tails, supplied by boats dragging heavy fishing nets across the seabed, which the charity said seriously harms other marine life.

Open Seas said that for every kilo of scampi caught in bottom-trawls, at least another kilo of marine life is killed and discarded. It is now asking supermarkets to avoid stocking scampi until the fishery process is sustainably managed.

But the National Federation of Fish Friers hit back, insisting that it was satisfied scampi is caught in line with strict guidelines to minimise impact on marine life. 

The Northern Ireland Fish Producer’s Organisation added that it was ‘ludicrous to suggest scampi isn’t sustainable’, adding that rules on catching langoustines were ‘informed by the best possible scientific advice’. 

The Scottish Retail Consortium also insisted that British firms were ‘dedicated to sourcing seafood products responsibly’ and regularly reviewed fishing practices.

And Seafood Scotland said reducing by-catch was a ‘high priority’ for the industry, but the techniques described by Open Seas were ‘not behaviours we recognise’.

Shoppers are being urged to avoid eating scampi due to its ‘big environmental price tag’ 

Launching the #SayNoToScampi campaign, Open Seas spokesman Nick Underdown said: ‘This bite-size food comes with a big environmental price tag for our seas.

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‘The mesh of the bottom-trawl nets used is particularly narrow, which means that large volumes of other sea life are caught, killed and wasted.

‘We think customers will want to know the hidden and unsustainable cost of scampi and take action.’

The campaign asks supermarkets to avoid scampi, also known as Nephrops, until a number of criteria are met.

These are that bottom-trawl vessels must be limited in the areas they can fish to avoid valuable coastal fish nursery and spawning areas, and that all fishing boats are effectively monitored so by-catch can be recorded.

The charity also wants to see the destructive by-catch of fish and other sea life reduced to a practical minimum.

Scotland is a world leading producer of langoustines and scampi.

Latest Scottish Government figures show 18,000 tonnes of trawled Nephrops were landed last year, worth £67million.

Open Seas said that because of the highly damaging nature of the fishing process, the seafood industry has put in place a Fishery Improvement Project which is meant to address these by-catch problems.

However it said that after nearly five years, there has been no effective change to the management of the fishery.

Mr Underdown urged supermarkets to ‘take genuine action for the environment’.

Scampi is the name for deep-fried langoustine tails, supplied by boats dragging heavy fishing nets across the seabed, which the charity said causes serious harm to other marine life 

He said: ‘Business as usual is no longer an option and improved management of this damaging fishery would greatly assist much-needed recovery within our seas.’

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But Andrew Crook, president of the National Federation of Fish Friers, told MailOnline: ‘The fish and chip industry takes its environmental impact very seriously throughout the supply chain.

‘The catching sector work to strict guidelines to minimise their impact on marine life and are constantly improving techniques.

‘The National Federation of Fish Friers works closely with all parts of the supply chain to ensure our members can make the correct seafood choices for their menus and sustainability is always a major consideration.

‘From our discussions on scampi we are satisfied that they are caught in line with the guidelines in place and are part of a Fisheries Improvement Project.’

And Harry Wick, chief executive of the Northern Ireland Fish Producer’s Organisation, told MailOnline: ‘Our langoustines are caught in within very strict rules, informed by the best possible scientific advice.

‘It is exactly because we take sustainability rules so seriously that these grounds are still bursting with life after 60 years of fishing.

‘That makes it ludicrous to suggest scampi isn’t sustainable.

‘The fact of the matter is that wild caught, British langoustine are among the healthiest, most sustainable and carbon friendly foods you will find in any supermarket.’

Donna Fordyce, chief executive of Seafood Scotland, said: ‘All Scottish vessels adhere to stringent legislation in terms of trawling and rightly so; the fisheries being described by Open Seas are not behaviours we recognise.’

Open Seas claimed one study in 2017 found scampi, also known as Nephrops, made up only 7.8 per cent of the volume of catch during normal fishing about 50 miles north of Fraserburgh

Ms Fordyce said reducing bycatch was a ‘high priority’ for the seafood industry and robust rules were in place governing commercial fishing.

She said the industry was ‘constantly evolving’ the way they catch to employ new methods and technology and are currently trialling ‘further innovations’ such as employing different nets.

‘They follow these rules because it ensures the long-term sustainability of Scottish seafood for the next generation of fishers.’

Ms Fordyce said vessels fishing off the east coast of Scotland were ‘deliberately’ targeting multiple species within their quota and said blanket-referring to non-langoustine species as ‘by-catch’ was ‘misleading’.

She added: ‘It’s important to understand that the calls to action being made by Open Seas are already being addressed.

‘Vessels are limited in terms of the areas they are allowed to fish, and secondary stocks are protected by the ‘maximum sustainable yield’ approach to fisheries management; in other words, only fish within the quota to protect species for future generations.

‘Vessels fishing for langoustines use highly selective nets, which include large escape panels in the roof.’

And Ewan MacDonald-Russell, deputy head of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said: ‘UK retailers are dedicated to sourcing seafood products responsibly, with the UK having some of the greatest coverage of independent, sustainable seafood certification in the world.

‘Our members work closely with stakeholders and suppliers to regularly review fishing practices in supply chains to ensure they meet the highest standards.’

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