Swedish shrimp red-listed by WWF

Due to overfishing, the popular west coast delicacy has been deemed an endangered species. 

  • A delicacy it is, the shrimp from the Swedish west coast. But now it’s been red listed by Swedish WWF. No worries though: Norwegian shrimp from the Barents Sea (deemed to be fished more sustainably) is still for sale in stores.
  • WWF (the World Wildlife Fund) has red listed the shrimp commonly fished on Sweden’s west coast, and deemed it an endagered species. According to WWF, overfishing and then dumping the small shrimps back into the sea has led to its scarcity.
    The shrimp found on the red list are the ones from Skagerrak, Cattegat, the North Sea and the whole of the Atlantic Ocean. However you will still be able to purchase shrimp in Swedish stores, according to news on Swedish Radio, since much of the shrimp sold in Sweden are Norwegian shrimps from the Barents Sea, which according to WWF is fished in a sustainable manner.

  • Next time you're visiting the Bohuslän fishing villages along Sweden's west coast the shrimp will be Norwegian - shrimp from the Swedish west coast were red listed as an endangered species.
  • Lumpfish roe has also been placed on the red list. The WWF fish guide "Fish for dinner?" has been published since 2002 and gives detailed information about many consumer favorites. When it comes to the popular cod, the kinds that come from the Barents Sea or the eastern parts of the Baltic Sea are on the green list: It is OK to eat them; but the cod from the North Sea is still on the red list.

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