Waitrose has become the first UK supermarket to suspend the sale of mackerel because of overfishing and will start pointing customers toward herring and other species.
The Marine Conservation Society warned last year that stocks were at breaking point owing to overfishing, and it downgraded mackerel from a three to a four on its five-point Good Fish Guide sustainability scale.
Kerry Lyne, of the MCS, praised Waitrose’s move, saying: “To keep favourites like mackerel on the menu, we need support right across the supply chain with fishing kept within sustainable limits.”
A University of East Anglia study published in January urged supermarkets to encourage customers to expand their fish diet to include more environmentally friendly and locally caught fish, such as herring and sardines.
Last September, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) recommended that mackerel fishing in the north-east Atlantic be cut by 70% to help replenish numbers to a sustainable level following overexploitation.
Responding to the data, Hugo Tagholm, the executive director of the enviromental charity Oceana UK, said: “This a clear warning that we are risking the total collapse of this population and endangering countless other wildlife species in the process.”
In December, all the nations of the UK agreed to reduce mackerel fishing by 48%, well short of the cut ICES had called for.
In the same month, WWF voiced its concerns that the north-east Atlantic mackerel population was facing collapse, with catches exceeding recommended levels by an average of 39% since 2010.
The latest statistics show that from May, the mackerel catch in the north-east Atlantic will no longer meet the requirements set out by the Sustainable Seafood Coalition.
Tagholm called for administrative change: “The responsibility cannot lie entirely with retailers or shoppers. It is the government that sets catch limits, and the government that has failed, year after year, to devise a cogent strategy to end overfishing once and for all. Now, with staple fish like cod and mackerel on the brink of disaster, it must act immediately.”
Waitrose will promote the sale of herring, sardines and sea bass as sustainable and nutritious alternatives to mackerel.
The supermarket says it will suspend sourcing of fresh, chilled and frozen mackerel by 29 April, with tinned mackerel following once the current stock has sold.
Marija Rompani, the director of ethics and sustainability at the John Lewis Partnership, which owns Waitrose, said: “Sustainable food production must balance climate action; nature protection and responsible fish sourcing is fundamental to protecting our oceans.”
A spokesperson for the department for environment, food and rural affairs said: “We are working with other countries to reduce pressure on North-East Atlantic mackerel stocks while also protecting jobs in our fishing communities.
“Safeguarding the future of this crucial stock is a priority, which is why the UK is actively tackling overfishing to protect the long-term sustainability of our waters.”
