Find out which fish to avoid and try something new
As someone who loves cooking and eating fish, the rate at which fish stocks are falling is a worry so it’s important that we try and eat fish in a responsible way. While the top sellers in the UK are still the old standbys, cod, haddock, farmed salmon, prawns and tuna, there’s plenty more out there that's just as good to eat (and more sustainably fished) if you know what to look out for.
Cod and haddock are by far the most consumed fish in the UK, so my first suggestion is to try and eat other species. By shopping for other fish species – herring, mackerel, gurnard or grey mullet, for example – we can help take the pressure off cod and haddock stocks.
Secondly, try to find local fish such as sole, sardine or pilchard from Cornwall, Pollack from Scotland and common mussels. Look for organically farmed oysters, trout and salmon. Or from further afield look for Arctic prawns, red mullet from the North Atlantic or Spanish mackerel. And thirdly, try to shop for fish from sustainable sources. Ask your fishmonger where the fish has come from and how it has been sourced. The more customers ask about sustainability, the more important this issue will become to the fishing industry.
How do you know whether the fish on the fish counter has been sustainably sourced? Well, the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) works with the fishing industry to promote sustainably sourced fish. Have a look at the MSC’s website www.msc.org which lists fish being sustainably fished. You could also read the Marine Conservation Society supermarket survey. The Marine Stewardship Society (MSC) runs a food labelling scheme so you can look out for the blue MSC eco-label on fish and seafood.
Marine Stewardship Council fish to eat
Marine Conservation Society
