A COMPLETE ban on cod fishing is the only way to prevent the species from dying out in the North Sea, scientists said last night.

The much-trumpeted European rescue plan for cod is failing, the official committee of European fisheries experts will tell governments on Friday. Stocks of cod — Britain’s favourite fish — are still so depleted in the seas around the UK that there should be a complete ban on catching the fish throughout next year.

The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) will also give warning that fishing of other species of fish, including haddock and plaice, will have to be severely curtailed if cod is to be protected.

Concern over cod has prompted a growing number of supermarkets and restaurants to boycott the fish, with Asda suspending sales of North Sea cod during the summer.

The report, based on detailed research in the seas around Europe, is a severe blow to national governments and the fishing industry, which had hoped that the draconian measures that had been implemented in recent years to cut the cod catch would be enough to boost stocks.

A recovery plan for cod was adopted by the EU in 2004, limiting catches and the amount of time that boats can spend at sea. Scottish fishermen have already had to accept a 15 per cent cut in quotas this year.

However, Gerd Hubold, the general-secretary of ICES, which provides scientific advice to the EU, told The Times: “The bad thing is that we have a rebuilding plan, but the stocks are not rebuilding. It is not getting better despite all the effort we are putting in. There has not been the improvement we expected.”

ICES has recommended a ban on cod fishing for the past few years, but has been over-ruled by governments concerned about the effect on fishing communities.

The main problem is that although cod catches have been cut to 26,500 tonnes a year, more than twice that amount is being caught in bycatches by fishermen chasing other species such as haddock, whiting, hake and plaice. Fishermen accidentally caught about 50,000 tonnes of cod last year, and have to throw the dead fish back in the sea because it is classed as an illegal catch.

The bycatches are difficult to avoid because cod are bigger than the other fish and no method has been devised to catch the other fish without scooping up cod in the process.

However, Mireille Thom, the European Commission spokeswoman for fisheries, said: “If we want to avoid all catches of cod, all these fisheries will have to be stopped. We have not discovered the fishing gear that can catch haddock or whiting but not cod. It is not for lack of trying — it is a very tough assignment.”

Mr Hubold said: “The problem of bycatches is stopping recovery. We must limit bycatches wherever possible.”

The ICES report will be presented to European governments, who must decide at a meeting of fisheries ministers in December what action to take. However, the governments are unlikely to heed the calls for a total ban. A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs declined to say if the UK would back the ban, but admitted: “Further measures to protect cod may be needed.”

Bertie Armstrong, chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, said the industry understood the need to protect cod. However, he said that a ban was unrealistic, and the measures that had already been taken were having the desired effect. “There are some helpful and encouraging signs. We believe the recovery has started. We all want the same thing. Both the scientists and fishermen want sustainable fishing. But we need a flat playing field for everybody,” he said.

Among the optimistic signs are reports from fishermen and divers of seeing codling in record numbers and growing numbers of juvenile cod. However, a spokeswoman for the Marine Stewardship Council, which encourages sustainable fisheries, said that the ICES warning should be heeded: “It’s the best scientific advice people can get.”

Explore UK News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• Should Knox’s trial even have reached the courtroom?
• All that glitters is not sold in Wright’s world
• Believe it or not, Big Brother is your friend