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Victory! Sweden (mostly) free from Baltic cod

Activists mark Baltic cod products at an ICA store with "STOLEN FISH" stickers. Enlarge Image

Cod, lies and videotape

Two Swedish supermarkets, ICA and COOP, have been caught red-handed selling Baltic cod despite our recent revelation that a third of it is illegally caught. To make matters worse, ICA is even running an advertisement campaign to sell Baltic cod.

Greenpeace activists handing over the illegal gillnet to a Polish fisheries inspector and the owners of the net, onboard the fishing Vessel Kol-79. Enlarge Image

Dodgy and dodgier: pirate fishing around the world

Both the Esperanza and the Arctic Sunrise are working with law enforcement agencies to battle pirate fishing on different sides of the planet. The story is the same from the Pacific to Poland, along with a lack of government resources to tackle the problem. At least the pirate excuses are amusing, ranging from “our nets must have moved” to “my reporting system is faulty”. But for fish stocks, it's not so funny.

Cod found in a pirate fishermen's net. Enlarge Image

Captain Birdseye

IGLO/Birds Eye Frozen Foods is the Number one frozen food player in Europe, operating mainly in the UK under the Birds Eye brand, and in Germany and Austria under the IGLO brand. Birds Eye proudly proclaims it makes, "enough fish sticks every year to stretch around the equator!" What they don't tell you is that over a third of their cod fish sticks could be stolen, the fish plundered illegally from the Baltic and Barents Seas.

Activists scale the Swedish headquarters of frozen food giant Findus after a documentary exposed their dealings with illegal fisheries. Enlarge Image

Findus fires fishy suppliers

In a show of consumer power, Scandinavian frozen food giant Findus has agreed to stop selling illegally caught fish. The people at Findus immediately responded when their company's dealings with pirate fisheries were exposed on Swedish national TV.

Shy youth Young Baltic cod hiding on the seabed behind floating seaweed. Cod are severely over fished in the northern European seas and most are caught before they are two years old and have even had a chance to reproduce. Enlarge Image

3 retailers cut back on cod

Major Scandinavian food retail chains Netto Sweden, Lidl Sweden and Axfood (Willy's/Hemköp) have promised to quit buying cod from the Baltic Sea. At least a third of the cod caught and landed in the Baltic is stolen, and pirate fishing is making the recovery of certain populations impossible.

It's time to cut down on fish sticks: Greenpeace 'codheads' at Norway's royal palace to demand an end to overfishing. Enlarge Image

Threatened codfish seek Swedish asylum

Slow-swimming, tasty and healthy to eat, codfish are an easy to catch and immensely popular food species. As with so many of the world's important fisheries, popularity has sent stocks reeling toward collapse. With northwestern European cod stocks headed for destruction, a group of codfish decided to take their message to a king and some high officials.

The Arctic Sunrise Enlarge Image

A third of cod from the Baltic Sea stolen by pirates

As our ship the Esperanza heads to the Pacific to tackle pirates and overfishing, the Arctic Sunrise heads north to battle another case of piracy. Our new report reveals that 30 percent of the cod caught in the Baltic Sea is stolen, bound for European supermarkets. Are there stolen goods in your refrigerator?

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