Top Ten Swaps

The Sustainable Fish City: Top Ten Swaps have been devised with advice from expert organisations that contribute to the Sustainable Fish City working party (see the About page for more information). The top swaps are now also available as pdf downloads:

• Top ten swaps for shoppers
• Top swaps for chefs and restaurants

We have also included tips on where to buy more sustainable alternatives, from top supermarkets that score consistently highly in the Marine Conservation Society sustainable fish supermarket survey. Click on the name of a fish below to find out more
 

Why swap?

There are lots of different species of tuna, a few of which are critically endangered and some of which are caught in ways that damage other marine life.

Top swaps for tuna

Try Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified albacore tuna – hand-caught in the Pacific Ocean. Albacore has very light, firm and delicately flavoured meat, and is available canned and in jars. Most canned tuna is skipjack, the most resilient species of tuna, with all stocks currently healthy – choose pole and line, handline or troll caught.

Where you can buy top swaps for tuna

• Co-op: MSC certified albacore tuna is available in tins.
• Marks & Spencer: Pole and line caught tuna is used in tins, sandwiches, salads and ready meals.
• Sainsbury’s: MSC certified albacore tuna available in most stores in tins and jars. All own-brand tinned tuna is pole and line caught.
• Waitrose: MSC certified tuna is available in jars. All own-brand tinned tuna is pole and line caught.

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Why swap?

Salmon are sometimes farmed very intensively, leading to serious environmental problems. Also, farmed salmon have to be fed large quantities of feed made of wild-caught fish, and the fish used to make the feed can have conservation issues of its own.

Top swaps for salmon

Why not try MSC certified Alaskan wild salmon. It's much leaner than farmed salmon, so be careful not to overcook it. Alternatively, look out for certified organic farmed salmon or Freedom Food farmed salmon.

Where you can buy top swaps for salmon

• Co-op: Freedom Food farmed salmon is available.
• Sainsbury’s: All Sainsbury’s wild salmon is MSC certified, available pre-pack and in tins. All own brand Responsibly Sourced Scottish Farmed Salmon is Freedom Food. Organic farmed salmon is widely available pre-pack and on counters.
• Waitrose: All Waitrose's wild salmon is MSC certified, available chilled, pre-packed, frozen and in tins. Waitrose Select farmed salmon is Freedom Food certified. Scottish organic salmon is available on counters and pre-packed.

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Why swap?

Our love of this chip-shop favourite has led some haddock stocks to be over-fished. And haddock often swim with cod (see below), meaning that haddock fisheries may catch both fish.

Top swaps for haddock

Look out for MSC certified haddock from Scotland or Norway, or try a different firm, white fish such as coley (often sold as saithe), which has an undeserved reputation as something you feed to the cat but, when spanking fresh, is delicious.

Where you can buy top swaps for haddock

• Co-op: MSC Scottish or Norwegian haddock is available.
• Marks & Spencer: MSC Scottish haddock available in fresh fish and breaded ranges.
• Sainsbury’s: Line caught MSC certified haddock from Norway. Coley (fillets and marinated) on counters and fillets in frozen section.

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Why swap?

Many stocks of Atlantic cod are overfished.

Top swaps for cod

Give cod a break and try a different white, flaky fish such as the delicate pollack (line-caught from Cornwall is a good choice), or the similarly named MSC certified Alaskan pollock. Coley (see above) is also a great alternative. If only cod will do, go for MSC certified cod from the Arctic, Atlantic & Pacific oceans.

Where you can buy top swaps for cod

• Co-op: MSC Norwegian cod is available.
• Sainsbury’s: MSC certified Alaskan pollock and MSC certified cod is widely available.
• Waitrose: MSC certified pollock and line caught Cornish pollack is available in most branches.

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Why swap?

King or tiger prawns are usually farmed in the tropics, often very intensively and in ways which can seriously damage local communities and the environment.

Top swaps for prawns

Choose organic tiger prawns, or for a more local option, go for Scottish langoustines (also known as Dublin Bay prawns or scampi). Or look out for the smaller MSC-certified cold-water prawns from Canada. Like prawns, crab is as good with strong flavours like chilli as it is plain with lemon and mayonnaise.

Where you can buy top swaps for prawns

• Marks & Spencer: MSC cold water prawns and brown crab available.
• Sainsbury’s: Organic prawns and MSC certified Canadian cold water prawns in pre-pack section. Scottish langoustines are on counters and dressed crab is in pre-pack in some stores.
• Waitrose: Organic king prawns are available pre-packed, MSC certified Canadian cold water prawns are available from the frozen department.

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Why swap?

Left to their own devices, plaice can live for 50 years or more. They grow and reproduce very slowly, making them vulnerable to overfishing. Some beam trawl fisheries catch vast numbers of young plaice as ‘bycatch’, and throw them back into the sea, dead.

Top swaps for plaice

More sustainable flatfish choices include flounder, dab or lemon sole (ask for fish caught by otter trawl or seine net). Or go for MSC certified plaice, or (for posh) MSC certified Dover sole.

Where you can buy top swaps for plaice

• Co-op: All plaice and sole is MSC certified.
• Marks & Spencer: Sells lightly dusted dabs and lemon sole using otter trawl and twin rig methods.
• Sainsbury’s: Sainsbury’s sells lemon sole in pre-pack and on counters in most stores. Dab is on most fish counters, with plans to increase availability.
• Waitrose: Lemon sole is seine net caught. Dabs and dab fillets are available from the fish counter.

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Why swap?

Big, slow-growing 'game' fish like swordfish are particularly vulnerable to over-fishing.

Top swaps for swordfish

Nothing similar fits the sustainability bill, but jig-caught squid stands up to strong flavours and is delicious grilled or on the barbeque. 

Where you can buy top swaps for swordfish

• A good local fishmonger may stock jig-caught squid.

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Why swap?

Sea bass is commonly farmed in the Mediterranean, and is a carnivorous fish, raising the problem of fish-feed. Wild sea bass are often caught in pelagic trawls that can kill other sea life such as dolphins.

Top swaps for sea bass

Look for line-caught sea bass or organically farmed sea bass, or try line-caught black bream, porgy or seabream.

Where you can buy top swaps for sea bass

• Marks & Spencer: Line caught sea bass available when in season.
• Sainsbury’s: Line caught sea bass and black bream on counters when available.
• Waitrose: Line caught sea bass and black bream is available in some branches when available.

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Why swap?

Sadly, the once “common” skate is now critically endangered, and several other species of skates and rays are overfished.

Top swaps

Nothing really compares to the soft, fibrous texture of skates and rays, but the smaller starry, spotted and cuckoo rays are generally considered a more sustainable choice. Bizarrely, circles of skate wing are sometimes sold as fake scallops, so a luxurious alternative could be diver-caught scallops.

Where you can buy top swaps for skate

• Sainsbury’s: Dived scallops are available on fish counters in a limited number of stores.
• Waitrose: Starry, spottted and cuckoo ray is available from the fish counter. 

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Why swap?

Halibut is another slow-growing, long-lived species that has been overfished to the point of being endangered.

Top swaps

As an alternative, look for MSC certified Pacific halibut – or for something different but similarly meaty and very tasty, try Scottish farmed halibut or organic gilthead bream.

Where you can buy top swaps for halibut

• Sainsbury’s: Sainsbury’s sell farmed halibut as an alternative to wild.
• Waitrose: Waitrose does not sell wild halibut, but farmed halibut is available as an alternative.

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