UK shoppers rarely venture beyond the ‘big five’ fish - salmon, tuna, cod, prawns and haddock - but with sustainable, seasonal favourites like lobster, crab and caviar on sale for less than a fiver, Christmas is the ideal time to broaden their horizons, says the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).
A YouGov survey for the seafood ecolabel found that nearly seven in 10 UK adults (69%) had bought fish to eat at home within the last month, but more than two thirds of those shoppers (69%) had stuck to three species or fewer, despite the wide range of fish and seafood available.
Salmon was most popular in the south and east of the UK, while cod was top choice in the north, west,* Wales and Northern Ireland. Haddock was most likely to be put in Scottish shopping baskets (see table below for full regional breakdown).
Toby Middleton, Programme Director for MSC in the UK, said: "Your favourite fish may depend on which part of the UK you come from, but what shoppers across the UK have in common is that they tend to put the same few species in their shopping baskets. Yet it's easy to be a bit more adventurous - there's a huge variety of seafood available on the high street, and if you look for the MSC ecolabel you can expand your repertoire with confidence, knowing that your fish has been sourced sustainably and is traceable from ocean to plate.”
New sustainable seafood on sale for Christmas
The festive period is an ideal time for shoppers to broaden their horizons, with many high street retailers selling seasonal favourites that have been MSC certified. These include whole lobsters at Lidl (£4.99, 350g), Waitrose (£6, 400g) and Tesco (£6, 400g), and lobster tails with garlic butter or thermidor butter at Aldi (£9.99, available from 21 Dec).
This Christmas, UK shoppers can buy MSC certified caviar for the first time (John West Lumpfish Caviar, retailers including Sainsbury’s, £2.50 for 50g) and John West Dressed Crab has also become MSC certified as sustainable (retailers including Waitrose, 98p, 43g).
"Lobster, crab and caviar have long been considered luxuries, but for the last couple of Christmases we’ve seen UK retailers selling them at lower prices. What’s different this year is that more of these products have been MSC certified, so now they’re sustainable and affordable,” added Middleton.
Year-round, UK shoppers can choose from 25 different fish and seafood species that have been MSC certified as sustainable, including white fish such as pollock and plaice, oily fish like herring and sardines, and shellfish including scallops and mussels, as well as less familiar species such as redfish.
By choosing products that carry the MSC ecolabel, shoppers reward the fisheries that are committed to sustainable sourcing, and incentivise others to improve their practices, helping to ensure that our oceans are safeguarded for the future.
Notes to editors
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2,146 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken from 9 - 10 November 2015. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+).
UK adults who bought most popular species to eat at home in previous month:
|
Region |
Salmon |
Tuna |
Cod |
Haddock |
Prawns/ shrimp |
Didn't buy fish |
Bought 3 or fewer species |
Bought 5 or more species |
|
All UK |
34% |
27% |
31% |
20% |
21% |
31% |
69% |
16% |
|
England |
34% |
26% |
31% |
19% |
21% |
32% |
68% |
15% |
|
Wales |
37% |
34% |
39% |
19% |
19% |
24% |
74% |
14% |
|
Scotland |
32% |
30% |
19% |
36% |
22% |
28% |
74% |
14% |
|
Northern Ireland |
25% |
29% |
42% |
16% |
23% |
19% |
Sample too small |
Sample too small |
|
North East |
19% |
17% |
24% |
13% |
22% |
33% |
86% |
10% |
|
North West |
28% |
23% |
33% |
16% |
18% |
32% |
76% |
8% |
|
Yorkshire &Humber |
29% |
25% |
30% |
27% |
17% |
34% |
73% |
16% |
|
East Midlands |
33% |
25% |
32% |
25% |
20% |
30% |
70% |
13% |
|
West Midlands |
30% |
22% |
33% |
13% |
16% |
45% |
70% |
13% |
|
East of England |
41% |
28% |
32% |
16% |
23% |
29% |
60% |
20% |
|
London |
45% |
29% |
32% |
17% |
20% |
28% |
60% |
17% |
|
South East |
37% |
32% |
30% |
22% |
31% |
29% |
64% |
21% |
|
South West |
32% |
28% |
33% |
17% |
19% |
33% |
71% |
16% |
Regionalised figures are also available for pollock, mackerel, trout, sardines, sole, plaice, crab, herrings/kippers, other species.
*West refers to North West, South West, West Midlands