Dutch fish staple mackerel is under threat and should no longer be fished, according to Good Fish, a campaign group promoting sustainable fishing that is affiliated with the Worldwide Fund for Nature.

Mackerel has now been added to the organisation’s “red list” of fish due to over-fishing in the Atlantic. This is because there has been no international agreement on quotas for fishing for mackerel since 2010, and the total catch is now higher than experts recommend, the organisation says.

However, the Dutch fishing industry – including processors and wholesalers – told broadcaster NOS the organisation has not taken the most recent scientific data into account. The Visfederatie also points to Norway and the Faroe Islands as being primarily responsible for the over-fishing.

Adding mackerel to the red list is likely to affect the Dutch fish sector and could lead to empty shelves in supermarkets, according to trade publication Distrifood.

Supermarkets have committed to sourcing fish sustainably, and if they follow their own guidelines, they will stop selling mackerel, Good Fish spokeswoman Margreet van Vilsteren told the magazine.

Mackerel sold in the Netherlands has not carried the MSC sustainability label since 2019, but it continued to be available because it was not previously considered an endangered species.