Stores to sell throwaway fish to end shocking waste at sea

SUPERMARKET chain Iceland is becoming the first in Britain to sell fish which is usually thrown back into the sea as waste.

Until now, whiting and pouting have been rejected as the two members of the cod family considered too small by supermarkets.

Now Iceland says megrim and grey gurnard, white fish which are rejected by some stores, will be packaged up and sold with cod to be used for dishes such as curry and fish pie.

Forty per cent of all fish caught worldwide is captured unintentionally and returned to the ocean – sometimes dead or dying.

The shocking waste is also hated by fishermen.

The unwanted fish, known as bycatch, is a major issue for the fishing industry because it has a massive impact on sustainable stocks in the seas.

Iceland’s bycatch will be sold in a new What The Fish? range.

Richard Walker, the supermarket chain’s managing director, said: “The more that supermarkets can do to encourage customers to try new options, the better for the planet.

“We are also helping to improve the sustainability of UK fisheries by not discarding good, edible fish as waste, or racking up more miles of transport by sending it to markets overseas.”

The announcement comes in the wake of the supermarket’s recent pledge to go plastic-free on its ownlabel products by the end of 2023.

Off the back of the bycatch decision, Iceland commissioned research of 2,000 UK adults to explore their attitudes to fish, and it’s sustainability. The results show that seven in 10 think that UK food retailers need to reduce bycatch or make greater efforts to sell non-target fish.

It also emerged one third admit they are worried about the sustainability of fish. The same proportion on average eat fish twice a week, spending £303 a year.

The most commonly consumed fish among those polled was cod, with 72 per cent revealing this as the fish they typically eat.

After cod, haddock, salmon, tuna, and plaice are favourites on the nation’s dinner table.

Mackerel, sardines, trout, kippers, and pollock are also popular.