Last week ASDA announced it was withdrawing monkfish from its shelves, and launched a campaign to get monkfish off the menu in British restaurants, citing its increasing scarcity.

Now, fish industry heads are striking back with a vengeance.

Nathan de Rozarieux, Seafood Cornwall project director, said: “It’s a cynical cheap shot, which sends out the wrong message and Asda should really have checked their facts as statements like this can be quite damaging.”

Asda’s initial statement called on leading chefs Rick Stein, Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay to support the move. Chris Brown, Asda’s sustainable and ethical sourcing manager said:

“Monkfish is still a favourite dish on the menus of top restaurants all over the UK – which is why ASDA believes that leading chefs also have a pivotal role to play in helping to conserve dwindling stocks.

“We would like to see celebrity chefs take monkfish off their menus until the long term viability of this species is clearer. Top chefs can drive sales of ingredients sky high over night simply by using them in their TV programmes or mentioning them in interviews.

“Now we would like to see them use this power to encourage people not to buy monkfish, or any other vulnerable species, so that we can protect stocks for generations to come.”

Restaurants named as environmental ‘sinners’ by Asda included Gordon Ramsay’s The Savoy Grill, La Noisette and Claridges, Rick Stein’s restaurants, Jean Christophe Novelli’s A touch of Novelli and Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen.

Philip MacMullen, head of environmental responsibility at Seafish, said he was disappointed at Asda’s decision to pull monkfish off its shelves as there is no scientific evidence supporting such a decision.

“There is no doubt that this decision will have an impact on many sectors of the fishing industry and we’re disappointed that Asda has not taken into account that several different methods are used to catch monkfish,” he said.

The announcement has also baffled scientists and other fish industry experts as, it seems, there is only a preceived scarcity of monkfish in British waters through Asda’s green-tinted glasses. The company seems intent on improving its reputation as a champion of all things sustainable and perhaps over-fishing seemed like a good idea at the time.

However, let us not be quick to judge and wait until comment from the top chefs comes in. It could well be indignation. Nathan de Rozarieux says:

“People like Stein and Oliver source their monkfish from sustainable sources in Cornwall and there is no shortage of the fish in the area.”

It remains to be seen how the monkfish scenario pans out – with scientific evidence scarce or possibly not forthcoming.