Take wild halibut off menus, chefs urged
Direct Seafoods encouraged customers to use farmed fish sourced from both Scotland and Norway instead.
UK wholesale supplier Direct Seafoods is urging chefs to take wild halibut off menus, and has pledged to only offer the farmed variety to its customers.
The act is in response to increased concern about the sustainability of halibut caught in the North Atlantic.
"Halibut is an extremely slow growing species and is considered endangered. There is growing concern at the lack of co-ordinated and consistent management plans to rebuild stocks across the North Atlantic,” Direct Seafoods sustainability director Laky Zervudachi explained.
"This is particularly concerning as the true status is unknown, meaning that fishing continues to deplete potentially unsustainable stocks. We sometimes hear the excuse that that Norwegian Halibut is a by-catch species, but most halibut landed in Norway is from targeted longlines which, however well managed, are still targeting an endangered species.”
Direct Seafoods brings together ten hospitality-focused regional fish businesses from Devon to Scotland under a national brand within the Bidfresh group, supplying thousands of chefs in restaurants, hotels, pubs and other hospitality sectors.
