Supermarkets have been warned that the food labelling of fish is not going far enough to provide customers with the information they need to make informed choices on the type of fish to buy.
The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) says retailers need to provide further information than just the species, the ocean it comes from and the fishing method to help people discriminate between sustainable and unsustainable seafood.
In a bid to advise consumers on how to choose the most sustainable seafood, the MCS has published the Good Fish Guide, which includes top tips for buying fish, questions to ask at the fish counter and a traffic light-style system indicating the fish that should be eaten, fish to avoid and a list of fish only to eat occasionally.
The MCS argue that shoppers should be encouraged to buy less fashionable varieties of fish such as pollack, gurnard, coley, dab and sprats rather than the traditional choices which account for 90% of fish sales.
Sue Davies, head of policy at the consumer organisation Which? said: "Which? research has also highlighted how confusing it can be to make sure you're buying sustainably sourced fish, and there's a lot of confusion about the existing labelling scheme. It is important to move to a consistent, independently certified scheme."
