Danish fishermen throw cod overboard

Danish fishermen are throwing more cod back into the sea than before, even though cod stocks have never been smaller, according to a new report.

A report by DTU Aqua, Denmark’s Institute for Aquatic Resources, shows that in recent years, 65% of all cod caught in trawlers’ nets in lobster fishing have been discarded.

Most of the cod die when they are thrown back into the Kattegat.

“We see surprising and terribly large numbers from biologists when we know that cod is under historical pressure,” Fisheries Minister Rasmus Prehn (S) to Politiken.

But Svend-Erik Andersen, chairman of the Danish Fisheries Association, thinks the figures are misleading. He describes it as three small cod of half a kilo each that are thrown back after each trawling.

“It’s grotesquely manipulative to latch onto a percentage increase from 2019 to 2020 when the actual catches are no bigger than this,” he said in a press release.

He adds that so far this year, only a quarter of the cod quota has been fished.

But the minister does not think there are any excuses for throwing fish.

“When we’re down to as few cod as we are in the Kattegat, we have to say that every cod counts.