Good Fish Guide calls for consumers to move away from cod, haddock, salmon and prawns in favour of more sustainable choices

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Less popular species such as dab, hake, herring and mackerel should be Britons’ fish supper of choice in order to support the UK fishing industry and help the seas, a conservation charity has recommended.

The Marine Conservation Society wants consumers to wean themselves off the “big five” staples – cod, haddock, salmon, prawns and tuna – in favour of more sustainable, lesser-known, choices.



On Thursday it updated its Good Fish Guide, detailing which are the best fish to eat in terms of sustainability.



For the first time it is suggesting a “post-Brexit” UK top 10 including species of fish that are not household names. The organisation says that as the UK prepares to leave the EU and tries to secure a bigger share of the fish market, now could be the time to consider new options.

A series of campaigns – including those promoted by the chefs Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Jamie Oliver – have helped boost consumer awareness of fish stocks and sustainability. But latest industry figures show that 80% of fish bought by British consumers is from the “big five” species.

“UK consumers tend to stick to their tried and tested top five – both in taste and familiarity but not always sustainability,” says Bernadette Clarke, the charity’s Good Fish Guide programme manager. “Cod, tuna, salmon, haddock and prawns from the right sources are all OK, but there’s so much more to explore.”

The green-rated “best choice” top 10 includes dab, seine-netted in the North Sea, Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)-certified hake from Cornwall, and MSC-certified herring from the Irish, Celtic and North seas, south-west Ireland and the eastern English Channel. Also on the list are some types of sustainably caught mackerel, megrim, UK rope-grown mussels, Devon brown crab, traditionally caught queen scallops, pollock and Dover sole.

Clarke added: “We are currently exporting around 75% of fish caught and landed in the UK, but we’re the ninth largest importer of fish in the world with around 70% of the seafood value entering the UK fish supply chain coming from overseas. By choosing more sustainable sources and keeping it local, it will help reduce wasting wild caught fish that are discarded dead because they have less value.”

Elsewhere in the Good Fish Guide updates, red mullet, wild seabass from Biscay and Atlantic bigeye are among the fishes sliding down on to the red list of fish to avoid, while undulate ray from the English Channel, albacore from the Mediterranean and bigeye from the western central Pacific have moved off the red list.

The Marine Conservation Society’s top 10 “best choice” fish

1. Dab, seine-netted in the North Sea

2. MSC-certified hake from Cornwall

3. MSC-certified herring from the Irish, Celtic and North seas, south-west Ireland and the eastern English Channel

4. Mackerel handlined in the south-west of England

5. Megrim from the northern North Sea and west of Scotland

6. British rope-grown mussels

7. Brown crab from Devon inshore potting area

8. Queen scallops from the Fal estuary

9. Pollock handlined from the Celtic Sea

10. Dover sole from the western Channel