Several major fishing companies, including Birds Eye, alongside fast food chain McDonald’s and British supermarket chain Tesco have signed a deal to protect fish in the North Pole area.
Area twice as large as France
Greenpeace mediated in the new deal, designed to limit companies from expanding their fishing area into a part of the North Pole that was previously covered by ice. Greenpeace says it is the first time fishing companies voluntarily limit their range of operations in the North Pole area. On top of that, McDonald’s will no longer serve fish caught in the Barents Sea or the Norwegian Sea.
“We see the growth of an important sentiment, when global fishing companies start to say “no” to the further degradation of the Arctic area and start to say “yes” to protecting an area twice the size of France”, Greenpeace campaign manager, Frida Bengtsson, said.
The deal came through once Greenpeace discovered an increasing number of fishing companies ventured into areas they previously could not enter because of the ice, areas scientists consider to be “ecologically important”.
