FISH caught off Britain are being sent on gas-guzzling 10,000-mile treks to China and back before being sold in UK supermarkets.

Cod caught in the North Atlantic is sent to China for processing and then shipped back to Britain.

Workers are paid £2 a day to fillet and re-freeze the fish before it is shipped 5,000 miles back to Britain ten weeks later

Catches are shipped through the Channel, Med, Suez Canal, Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and Gulf of Thailand to China.

Workers are paid £2 a day to fillet and re-freeze the fish before it is shipped 5,000 miles back to Britain ten weeks later.

Tesco, Asda and Iceland all sell Atlantic, Pacific and Alaskan fish via Chinese plants.

They say Chinese workers are “expert filleters” and their British counterparts simply do not have the skills or facilities to match.

But eco experts have blasted the practice, which produces thousands of tonnes of harmful CO2 emissions each year.

Bob Ward, of the Centre for Climate Change Emergency and Policy at the London School of Economics, said the environmental damage was “huge”.

He blasted: “They send to China because labour is cheaper – about a pound a day.

“Frankly it’s damaging the environment and also disadvantageous to better paid workers who might be able to do the same job in the UK or in Europe.

“It makes no sense.”

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China produces a third of the world’s fish supplies.

Britain does not have the processing facilities to cope with demand, experts say.

An Iceland spokesman said European plants “currently cannot match China on either quality or price”.

A Tesco spokesman said: “Our aim is to provide our customers with affordable, healthy and sustainable food, including sustainably sourced fish.

“Some of our fish is caught in areas without the right facilities and skills to fillet and package fish efficiently, so it is sent elsewhere, helping to reduce food waste and ensure we can offer the best quality and value to customers.”

And Sainsbury’s added: “We’re committed to sourcing sustainably and a range of factors determine where a product is processed.”

Japanese sushi tycoon Kiyoshi Kimura pays $1.8million for one giant bluefin tuna fish