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UK sustainable seafood sales on rise

News27 Jan 2026by Vince McDonagh

UK retailers enjoyed rapid growth in sales of certified sustainable seafood last year in the past year, says the Marine Stewardship Council.

MSC says there are now almost 1,000 MSC labelled fish products sold under supermarkets’ own brands.

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Sustainable mussels dish.

The £1.7bn consumers spent on 189,000 tonnes of MSC labelled products represents a 14% increase on the previous year, according to the www.msc.org/uk/for-business/msc-uk-ireland-market-report&source=gmail&ust=1769595795132000&usg=AOvVaw2gtWAe4Bw1IGNRqzQYEemv">MSC UK and Ireland Market Report which has just been published.

The primary driver behind this growth is the doubling of MSC certified skipjack tuna products available on shelves in the last year, a continuation of the upward trend that’s seen sales of canned and jarred MSC labelled tuna soar from £24.3m in 2020 – 2021 to £269.1m in 2024-25. Volumes have grown from 2,461 tonnes to 37,027 tonnes over the same period.

Cod remains a good news story as four fifths of the volume sold in UK supermarkets carries the MSC label, which is also true of other popular species like cold-water prawns and mussels.

The picture is even brighter for one of the UK’s most popular fish dinner staples – fish fingers, 88% of which bear the blue ecolabel.

The UK consumer’s desire for a broader range of sustainable fish and seafood is also being met by major retailers, brands and restaurants, with 49 different certified species sold last year.

Newly available species with an MSC ecolabel in the UK in 2025 included banana prawns, Argentine red shrimp and Chilean jack mackerel.

Two thirds of the growth in consumer spending on MSC products in 2024-25 was on preserved products. UK shoppers spent £339m on cans, tins and jars of MSC labelled fish, representing a 64% leap on the previous year.

Seth McCurry, MSC UK & Ireland Senior Commercial Manager, said: “With almost a quarter of UK consumers (22%) telling us they won’t buy fish unless it’s sustainable, it’s no surprise to see sales of MSC-labelled products continue to rise significantly.

“Retailers aren’t just listening to their customers either, they’re also working incredibly closely with the fishing industry to ensure there’s a greater range of MSC certified species on their shelves, including locally caught fish and seafood.”

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How has MSC certification impacted UK sustainable seafood sales growth?What role do supermarkets play in promoting MSC labelled fish products?Which finfish and shellfish species are most commonly MSC certified in the UK?How does MSC labelling influence consumer purchasing decisions for seafood?What environmental benefits result from increased sales of MSC certified seafood?

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