Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) labelled products currently make up just 3.55% of all fish and seafood sold in the UK and Ireland’s foodservice sector, according to a new report published today.
This contrasts heavily to the UK retail sector where they account for 61% of the value and 58% of the volume of all wild-caught fish and seafood sold in UK supermarkets. This is up from 54% and 51% just two years prior, according to the MSC UK and Ireland Market Report 2024.
This has lead the MSC to call upon restaurants, pubs, and catering outlets to help close the gap between foodservice and retail. It is hosting a webinar on February 10th titled Serving up Sustainability to highlight how the foodservice industry can benefit from certification.
Seth McCurry, MSC UK & Ireland senior commercial manager, said: “The UK retail sector has been a global leader in recognising and rewarding fisheries that have met the MSC Standard for sustainable fishing. Meeting our ambitious goal of engaging over a third of the world’s marine catch in our programme by 2030 will require more collaboration and commitment from businesses across the seafood industry, including restaurants.
“The foodservice sector in the UK has the opportunity to use its market power, as the retail sector has done, to reward fisheries that are operating sustainably and encourage others to pursue certification. We would like to invite any foodservice businesses that would like to learn more about how they can use our certification programme to help achieve that goal join us for our webinar on February 10th.”
The adoption of MSC-labelled seafood in foodservice has been growing steadily, reports the MSC, with volumes climbing back to near pre-pandemic levels by 2023/24.
A number of key players in the foodservice sector have already demonstrated the value of sustainable seafood. McDonald’s, for example, serves its Filet-O-Fish and Fish Fingers with the blue MSC ecolabel, while Costa Coffee became the first major high street café chain in the UK to offer MSC-certified tuna. Meanwhile, double winner at the 2023 MSC UK Awards, Fish City in Belfast and The Pantry at Titanic Belfast have joined a growing number of independent outlets adding MSC-labelled options to their menus.
The MSC believes significant growth potential still remains, however, saying diners are increasingly seeking clarity about where their food comes from and are more likely to choose establishments offering certified sustainable options.
