Young’s Seafood; Espersen; Iglo Birds Eye; Royal Greenland; Frosta/Copack; Aker Seafoods; Icelandic; Seachill; Pickenpack; and McDonald's have committed to steer away completely from using illegally caught cod from the Barents Sea.

The group asked Norway's fisheries and coastal affairs minister, Helga Pedersen, for an updated list over vessels that are catching cod illegally in the Barents Sea.

"This is an example for all to follow,” the minister said.

Pedersen told IntraFish she would be preparing an updated list, adding the companies’ initiative to steer clear of illegal catch fish was ”exemplary” and could play a part in undermining profitability in selling this fish to the market.

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