Ten fish to eat to help the Brexit transition
The Good Fish Guide suggests consumers move away from cod and salmon and onto more unusual choices including hake and Dover sole
![Fish, fishmonger](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/KxpipDYeT4ieEADU6cxBN7-415-80.jpg)
Consumers in the UK have been urged to move away from eating popular fish including cod and tuna after Brexit, instead choosing more sustainable species to help the UK fishing industry.
The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) updated its Good Fish Guide this week, which lists best and worst fish to eat in terms of sustainability, including a new “post-Brexit top 10”.
The Society says it wants consumers to wean themselves off the “big five” of cod, haddock, salmon, tuna and prawns, and instead try out fish like dab, mackerel, megrim, Dover sole and pollack.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The guide says that choosing from a broader range of fish “takes pressure off individual fisheries” and “encourages demand for the most sustainable and local seafood”, reducing the amount of fish exported in favour of developing UK markets, the MCS said.
“UK consumers tend to stick to their tried and tested top five – both in taste and familiarity but not always sustainability,” Good Fish Guide programme manager Bernadette Clarke said.
“Cod, tuna, salmon, haddock and prawns from the right sources are all OK, but there’s so much more to explore.
“We are currently exporting around 75% of fish caught and landed in the UK, but we’re the ninth largest importer of fish in the world with around 70% of the seafood value entering the UK fish supply chain coming from overseas. By choosing more sustainable sources and keeping it local, it will help reduce wasting wild caught fish that are discarded dead because they have less value.”
The MCS's post-Brexit top ten is as follows:
- Dab, seine-netted in the North Sea
- MSC (Marine Stewardship Council)-certified hake from Cornwall
- MSC-certified herring from the Irish, Celtic and North seas, south-west Ireland and the eastern English Channel
- Mackerel handlined in the south-west of England
- Megrim from the northern North Sea and west of Scotland
- British rope-grown mussels
- Brown crab from Devon inshore potting area
- Queen scallops from the Fal estuary
- Pollock handlined from the Celtic Sea
- Dover sole from the western Channel
The site also suggests that conservation-minded consumers avoid these species at risk of over-fishing:
- Eel
- Grouper
- Halibut from the Atlantic
- Blue Marlin from the Atlantic
- Mullet
- Non-certified King or Tiger Prawns
- Atlantic Salmon
- Seabass
- Common and Longnose Skate
- Bigeye and Bluefin Tuna
- Whitebait
- Wolffish
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Why is China stockpiling resources?
The Explainer The superpower has been amassing huge reserves of commodities at great cost despite its economic downturn
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
Paraguay's dangerous dalliance with cryptocurrency
Under The Radar Overheating Paraguayans are pushing back over power outages caused by illegal miners
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
The Week contest: Tattoo prediction
Puzzles and Quizzes
By The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The Tamils stranded on 'secretive' British island in Indian Ocean
Under the Radar Migrants 'unlawfully detained' since 2021 shipwreck on UK-controlled Diego Garcia, site of important US military base
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Britain's Labour Party wins in a landslide
Speed Read The Conservatives were unseated after 14 years of rule
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Will voter apathy and low turnout blight the election?
Today's Big Question Belief that result is 'foregone conclusion', or that politicians can't be trusted, could exacerbate long-term turnout decline
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Will Aukus pact survive a second Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question US, UK and Australia seek to expand 'game-changer' defence partnership ahead of Republican's possible return to White House
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
It's the economy, Sunak: has 'Rishession' halted Tory fightback?
Today's Big Question PM's pledge to deliver economic growth is 'in tatters' as stagnation and falling living standards threaten Tory election wipeout
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Stormont power-sharing in sight: 'good news' for Northern Ireland?
Talking Point Unionists vote to end two-year boycott after agreeing legislative package to address post-Brexit trading arrangements
By The Week UK Published
-
Why your local council may be going bust
The Explainer Across England, local councils are suffering from grave financial problems
By The Week UK Published