Shopping Tips
DIVERSIFICATION AND SUSTAINABILITY
There's a lot to remember when it comes to diversification and sustainability.
To make it easier for you, here's a few simple pointers to bear in mind when you're next shopping for fish:
ALTERNATIVES TO COD
Good old cod. The UK’s favourite fish supper only has one natural predator (humans) and is our perennial default choice in fish and chip shops up and down the country.
Such is cod’s runaway popularity that some stocks are currently seriously overfished. You could of course try and choose other white fish with good stock levels more often. These can compete with cod on flavour, texture and value.
For example, anything you can do with cod, you can do just as well with pollack or coley. Pollack and coley are members of the cod family, can taste every bit as good as their more popular cousin, and better still, both have healthy stock levels around the UK.
Pouting (or bib) is another good choice. Pouting is relatively fast growing and has a shorter lifespan than cod, making it less vulnerable to over-fishing. Another high quality white fish is black bream: firm, moist and full flavoured, it is very likely one of Britain’s most underrated sea fish.
As an alternative to cod, why not try some sustainable fish recipes here?
If it simply has to be Cod….
Many people believe that eating cod, wherever it’s from, is bad news right now; this isn’t strictly the case. There are several distinct stocks of cod around the UK and in the North East Atlantic, and some are healthier than others. Their sustainability depends on how they are caught and whether they come from an overfished stock.
If you want to buy cod The Marine Conservation Society recommends that you look for cod labelled North east Arctic or Eastern Baltic.
Find out more information in the MCS downloadable Sustainable Fish Guide here...
The MCS has also rated rod and line or handline caught Icelandic cod as currently sustainable. For more information about the Icelandic cod fishery visit www.responsiblefisheries.is, or you can look for the Marine Stewardship certified blue tick logo on seafood products.
LOOK OUT FOR BYCATCH ALTERNATIVES
It’s crazy, but tasty fish are often discarded from trawlers’ nets due to lack of consumer demand. Try looking out – and making a point of asking - for dab, flounder, megrim and gurnard.
Dab, flounder, and megrim are all bottom-dwelling flat fish. Dab and flounder are plentiful and caught easily around the British Isles. Megrim makes a good alternative to both plaice and Dover sole: it tastes just as good, stocks are in better shape, and it can be easily substituted in recipes for either.
The gurnard is a meatier, chunkier fish. Gurnard is a fantastic meal for anyone who dislikes dealing with bones, as the meat falls easily and cleanly from the skeleton. It’s tasty, easy to cook and gets the thumbs up for sustainability from the MCS.
LOOK AT THE LABEL
Another option is trying to choose fish from a certified sustainable fishery – especially those certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).
These certifications are a good guarantee that the fish you are eating was caught sustainably.
The MSC label 
is not exhaustive and not all sustainable fish will be labelled - it is, however, a good place to start.
The MSC should not be confused with the similarly named MCS (Marine Conservation Society). Where the MSC is a certification body, the MCS is a UK charity working to protect the marine environment.
GET BETTER HEALTH BENEFITS
Eating small oily fish such as mackerel, herring and sprats is a great choice environmentally: they grow fast, breed like rabbits and tend not to congregate with other types of fish, so bycatch is usually low.
Choosing smaller, oily fish is also excellent for your health. Oily fish is an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids, which can help reduce the risk of heart attack and type-2 diabetes, and contribute to lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
There is also mounting evidence that omega-3s are vital for optimal brain function. Studies have suggested that the likelihood of depression is significantly lower among people who regularly eat oily fish, and that consuming enough of them can lead to significant improvements in children’s learning capacity and behaviour.
CHOOSE POLE AND LINE TUNA
Pole and line caught tuna is a better choice than purse-seine netted tuna, as it has close to zero bycatch of other species such as turtles, sharks and rays. A ‘purse seine’ is a large net which can be drawn closed like a purse, trapping everything inside.
The problem with purse seining is the Fish Aggregation Devices (FADs) often used to lure in tuna attract many other species into the nets. Pole and line caught tuna, in comparison, has little-to-no bycatch.
Pole and line caught fish should usually be marked as such on the tin. Another option is to choose MSC certified tuna, which is guaranteed not to be caught using FADs. A ‘dolphin friendly’ label on a tin of tuna does not necessarily mean it has been fished well, as it does not account for bycatch of other species. While a dolphin-friendly label may mean the tuna is friendly to dolphins, it does not necessarily follow that it has been friendly to sharks or turtles.
