Consumers choose coley, dab, mussels, squid and sardines after species were championed by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s in Channel 4’s Fish Fight campaign.
Sales of “alternative†species of fish and seafood have soared after being championed in Channel 4’s new Fish Fight campaign, the UK’s leading supermarkets reported today.
Consumers are favoring coley, dab, mussels, squid and sardines over the staple salmon, cod and tuna following the program last week, which highlighted the wasteful use of “discard†in fishing practices while encouraging shoppers to take the pressure off popular fish stocks by being more adventurous in what they eat.
The cook and Guardian writer Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, credited with boosting demand for higher-welfare chicken three years ago, has taken the lead in the new campaign. Programs from fellow chef Jamie Oliver have shown consumers new ways of cooking less popular species such as mussels, squid and trout.
Sainsbury’s said sales of “bycatch†from its fresh fish counter had been “promising†overall, while sales of pollack had leapt by 167% week on week. It said customers had responded well to the fish featured in Jamie Oliver’s programs with sales of British and MSC-certified mackerel up 60% and mussels up 16%.
Sales of its sustainable “line and pole caught†canned tuna increased by 17% over the last week, while sales of organic salmon grew by 16% and normal salmon sales remained unchanged.
Tesco, the UK’s biggest fish retailer, said it had seen an increase in sales of between 25 and 45% for fresh sardines, coley, brown crab, sprats and whiting in the week since the first programs. It said in a statement: “We sell around 40 species of fish on our fresh counters and our staff are trained to advise customers on trying new varieties. Sales of fresh cod, herring, mussels, mackerel and canned tuna also increased compared to last week.â€
But the supermarket was singled out by Fearnley-Whittingstall for misleading labeling on its canned tuna, leading the company to pledge to catch 100% of its own-brand canned tuna using the “pole and line†method. Tesco last week came fifth out of the major supermarkets in a 2011 league table of sustainable tuna, compiled by Greenpeace.
Waitrose said sales of seafood overall were up by 15% – with most of this increase being attributed to species that have traditionally been less popular. Sales of frozen coley were up by 36%, frozen mackerel up 31% and Dover sole up 163%. A spokeswoman for Waitrose said: “There has also been strong demand for dabs, which we sell frozen. This week we are launching sprats (a fish that has almost been forgotten by UK consumers) and are looking at introducing dabs and coley on our service counters over the coming weeks. We are also introducing Welsh flounder - a species commonly discarded.â€
Ally Dingwall, aquaculture and fisheries manager at Sainsbury’s, said: “Fish Fight has had a direct impact on consumer behavior. It’s encouraging to see a positive shift towards less popular and bycatch fish, and if we can establish continued demand, fishermen will land and sell more of these species, and it may potentially become targeted species. In the last week, our fish sales have risen across the board: from fresh to counter to frozen fish.â€
Asda reported “really strong sales across the whole of the fish category in the last week, up 10% on the previous week†with particular growth in the sales of products included in Jamie Oliver's recipes. Sales of trout fillets, for example, rose by 56%, whole sardines 66% and whole mackerel up by 115%.
Marks & Spencer said it had ordered in over a third more stock than it did for its peak Christmas week. Richard Luney, M&S fish expert, commented: “We had our biggest ever week in the history of M&S on fish sales last week, sales were up 25% versus this time last year. One of the key highlights was on our line–caught tuna that had a record week – so the importance of avoiding purse seined [a large net that catches entire schools of fish] fishing methods obviously really hit home.â€
As part of the Fish Fight campaign, consumers have been urged to add their signatures to a letter to the European fisheries minister, Maria Damanaki, calling for the elimination of discards to be elevated to a top priority in the forthcoming review of the European common fisheries policy. Even before the programs were aired, the letter attracted over 35,000 signatories but this has now risen to well over 500,000. Today, Fearnley-Whittingstall urged consumers: “Please keep spreading the word. Half a million supporters today – less than a week after our shows went out! I wonder if a million sign-ups is a crazy dream ... what do you think?â€
