MSC UK Frozen
Fish Report 2016
The tip of the iceberg
Over the past decade, frozen seafood in the UK has gone
through a quiet transformation. What shoppers see on their
weekly shop may look the same – but beneath the surface a
revolution has taken place. Supermarkets and frozen seafood
brands have turned to MSC certification and its accompanying
blue label to show that the fish in their products meets the
strictest criteria for sustainability and traceability.
The UK frozen seafood market is worth around £686 million
per year and a fifth of the frozen seafood we eat is now MSC
labelled: from Birds Eye’s fish fingers to Lidl’s famous frozen
lobsters. The results of the frozen league table in this report
suggest two waves of top performers, but the percentages show
a different story. All of the top six have the MSC label on the
majority of their frozen products, with Aldi, Lidl, and Sainsbury’s
using the MSC label on over 75% of their frozen seafood range.
Out in front is Birds Eye as the first frozen food brand in the UK
to reach 100% MSC certified.
R Dacre / MSC
R Dacre / MSC
R Dacre / MSC
All of these leading companies have a long history of
engagement with MSC certified sustainable seafood. They are
also all responding to demand from their customers: the vast
majority of British shoppers recognise that we need to consume
seafood from only sustainable sources in order to save the
oceans. Furthermore, over two thirds of British shoppers want
to see a company’s sustainability claims backed up by an
independent organisation. For those at the bottom of the league,
the question remains, how long will they stay out in the cold?
The state of play
Birds Eye introduced its first MSC certified
frozen product, Omega 3 fish fingers, in
2007 and has worked hard since then
to increase its MSC certified sustainable
range. Four out of five fish fingers eaten
in the UK are made by Birds Eye and they
all bear the MSC ecolabel. Sainsbury’s has
the longest standing track record of MSC
certified frozen fish, with Tesco making
the most significant progress over the last
12 months: tripling their range of MSC
frozen seafood.
“Our partnership with the MSC is a key
part of our responsible sourcing strategy
because we know it is important to
our consumers and our business. We
take great pride in our longstanding
association with the MSC and being the
first UK brand to carry the MSC ecolabel
on all our products. We will continue to
work together to deliver a sustainable
future for fisheries.”
Peter Hajipieris, Director for CSR & External
Affairs, Nomad Foods Europe (Birds Eye)
MSC labelled products by brand
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
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MSC labelled products by brand
Next year the table could look very
different. Birds Eye has already reached the
coveted 100% mark with every Birds Eye
frozen seafood product now MSC labelled.
However both Sainsbury’s and Tesco are
still adding to their ranges. Tesco sells a
third (31%) of the frozen seafood sold in
UK supermarkets and has introduced the
majority of its MSC certified products in the
past year. If this performance continues,
Tesco may well join Birds Eye at the top of
the table next year.
Why label?
The vast majority (4/5) of British consumers recognise the
power they have to save the oceans by only choosing
sustainable seafood. This response is slightly stronger when
they’re buying frozen fish.
The vast majority (4/5) of British consumers recognise the
power they have to save the oceans by only choosing
sustainable seafood. This response is slightly stronger when
they’re buying frozen fish. There is a common misconception
in the seafood industry that shoppers buying fish that doesn’t
look like a fish (eg fish fingers) care less about marine issues.
The Globescan research (right) suggests that the opposite
is true with seafood buyers caring more, rather than less,
when they’re buying frozen fish. Not only do consumers want
reassurance on environmental issues but when frozen fish has
been heavily processed, traceability is also important. The MSC
label ensures that the contents of a fish finger, fish cake or
fish pie are exactly the species they claim to be on the pack.
More than 2/3 of British consumers want to see sustainability
claims backed up by an independent organisation. Shoppers
expect their supermarkets to ensure the seafood they sell is
sustainable, but they look to independent certification as a
proof point that the claims can be trusted.
To save the ocean, we
have to consume fish/
seafood only from
sustainable sources
Brands’ claims about
sustainability need
to be labelled by an
independent org.
Whenever possible I
prefer ecolabelled fish
and seafood
All Seafood
Frozen
Seafood
77%
80%
70%
80%
44%
44%
The economical option
…without sacrificing quality
Two separate studies have shown that frozen food is
approximately 1/3 cheaper than the fresh equivalent:
Fast-freezing techniques for seafood have changed enormously
over the past decade. Fishing boats can now routinely freeze
their catch at sea within hours of the nets or lines coming on
board. The result – when correctly defrosted – is fish that is as
fresh as the day it was caught.
A 2010 study by Manchester Metropolitan University found a
family of two adults and one child could save 33.12% of their
weekly shopping bill by swapping fresh for frozen.
A similar study by Sheffield Hallam University in 2011 found that
a family of four could save 34% off their shopping bill (at the
time equating to £7.80 a week) by changing the top ten items
from fresh to frozen.
Sheffield Hallam University also discovered that British
households waste less of their frozen food (5.9%) than their
fresh food (10.4%). They noted that while 80% of households
reported throwing away fresh vegetables and dairy products,
only 6% reported throwing away frozen fish.
Waste in many frozen fish products is produced further up the
supply chain. For example, when producing cut shapes of fish
fillets (rather than whole fish) trimmings and waste products
can be recycled into fishmeal. Domestic waste fish, in contrast
tends to go to landfill. Many of the larger frozen-at-sea vessels
now include fishmeal plants to deal with all waste fish. This is
good news for parents discovering that, for example, Sainsbury’s
MSC certified Basics fish fingers (65p at the time of going to
press) may have an environmental edge over the challenges of
persuading children to eat a whole fish.
Vessels like the newly-built Ramoen, pictured below, have stateof-the-art freezing systems on board. Catching cod and haddock
far out at sea in the Arctic waters of the Barents Sea, they fillet
all of their catch and quickly freeze them below -20C within six
hours of bringing the fish on board.
Katrine Florvaag, from Ramoen explains:
“Freezing our fish at sea guarantees our customers
receive a top-quality product with all of the ‘Arctic
freshness’ locked in. Our six new Teknotherm freezers
are the best technology to ensure our customers get the
freshest possible fish.”
The Ramoen company has a long history of using pioneering
technology at sea including the first sonar in the Norwegian fleet
and the first Valka x-ray filleting machine to ensure fillets contain
no bones. The majority of the cod they catch is eaten in the UK.
A growing market
Handled with care
42 years ago (1974) UK households bought an average of 19g
frozen white fish per week – less than a typical fish finger. That
has now more than doubled to 44g.* Nearly all shoppers buy
frozen food at some point, with nearly half (48%) putting it
in their baskets every week. The result is that the frozen food
market is now worth £5.73 billion annually, a figure that is
predicted to increase over the next few years.
Throughout the supply chain, from ocean to plate, MSC certified
fish and seafood is separated from non-certified. It is clearly
labelled and kept separate from non-certified seafood. The MSC’s
traceability programme is backed up by random DNA testing
which shows that MSC labelled products are correctly labelled.
This ensures that shoppers can trust that the fish really is what
its packaging or menu says it is.
*defra 2016
Why choose MSC labelled
frozen fish?
Where to buy MSC
labelled seafood
The MSC label ensures that the fish being bought has been caught
in an environmentally friendly way that ensures sustainability and
protects the marine environment for future generations.
There are 1,500 MSC labelled products in the UK, nearly 600 of
these in supermarkets. There are also 1,200 restaurants and takeaways, 79 MSC certified fish and chip shops, 53 hotels, 3,000
schools, 23 universities, and over 1,000 contract-catered sites
serving fish with the MSC label.
Only seafood from fisheries that meet the strict MSC standard
for sustainability can be sold with the blue MSC label. These
fisheries ensure that fish are caught at levels that allow fish
populations and the ecosystems on which they depend to remain
healthy and productive for the future. Every fish that bears the
MSC label can be traced back to an independently certified
sustainable source.
TRACE Wildlife Forensics Network
As more consumers, restaurants and retailers choose MSC
certified sustainable seafood, it encourages other boats and other
fisheries to work towards meeting the MSC Standard. Together,
we’re helping to make more and more seafood sustainable.
Food from the freezer: Iceland, Norway
and Greenland to the UK
Two thirds of the UK’s seafood (70%) is imported from abroad or landed by foreign
ships, amounting to just under 700,000 tonnes of seafood and the majority of the
UK’s cod.
That includes 57,632 tonnes of fish from Iceland (mostly cod and haddock), 36,739
tonnes of fish from Norway (mostly cod, haddock and prawns) and the majority of
our cold-water prawns.
Iceland case study:
Following the collapse of the herring stocks in the 1960s,
the Icelandic government introduced Iceland’s Fisheries
Management Act, and in 1983 set quotas for the catch of fish
in its waters.
These quotas, informed by scientific research, set the
amount of fish (by weight) that each company can catch.
Quotas can be traded and sold between companies,
but the total amount caught per year cannot exceed the
government target. The quota system was controversial at
first, but has ultimately led to more profitable, efficient and
environmentally sound fishing.
“You have two ways to control fishing. The first is time: If you
have one day, what do you do? You catch as much as you can
on that day. The second is the amount of fish you can catch:
If you’re told you can only catch 10 tonnes it changes your
entire way of thinking. You start to think ‘how little oil can I
use? How few vessels can I catch it with?’” Pétur Hafsteinn
Pálsson, CEO of Visir, a major MSC certified Icelandic fishing
and processing company.
Despite fish never being far from politics in Iceland, the
government abides closely to scientific advice when setting
quotas. And as stocks recover, they have been able to slowly
and carefully increase the amount that can be caught.
These increased catches mean boats can spend less time
fishing, using less fuel and helping to reduce carbon
emissions in the process. The quota system also means
Iceland’s fishermen no longer fish to fill their boats, now they
fish to order.
James Morgan / MSC
Iceland’s first inhabitants brought with them a seafaring way
of life which, along with the island’s pristine environment
and rich fishing grounds, has allowed them to prosper. Today
fishing remains one of Iceland’s main sources of income - and
pride.
Norway case study
The fishing boats store their catch in large frozen holds at
-25c so that they can work further away from land, reducing
pressure on coastal stock and giving the UK market access to
the larger Barents Sea cod.
Ulf Berglund / MSC
Norway supplies around 60% of the UK’s cod and haddock.
The fish are caught by a combination of small line-catch
vessels along the Norwegian coast and long-line vessels and
trawlers further north into the Barents Sea. Much of the catch
is fast-frozen at sea within hours of being caught. By freezing
the fish quickly soon after they are caught, Norwegian cod
and haddock arrives in the UK in good condition, for use in
our supermarkets and in the UK’s 10,500 fish and chip shops
– many of whom use frozen fish to provide a high-quality
product and reduce waste.
Norwegian fishermen: James Morgan / MSC
Fish is Norway’s most valuable export, more than its vast
oil fields. As many in the fishing industry are keen to point
out, fishing will still be going strong long after the oil is
gone. “With that importance comes responsibility,” explains
Jack-Robert Møller, UK Director for the Norwegian Seafood
Council. “Norway recognises that we need to protect fishing
as a viable industry for the future. That means looking after
the fish stocks, looking after the fishermen and looking after
the environment.” Norway has a well-deserved reputation for
its fisheries management, consistently achieving the highest
scores of any country in MSC assessments.
Greenland case study
Further out at sea, they use larger factory trawlers which
can sort, cook and freeze the prawns onboard within hours.
However, at least a quarter of the catch is processed on the
land – a requirement of Greenland’s fishing laws – so they
regularly deliver catches to factories in Ilulissat or Sisimiut.
Freezing the prawns – either at sea or in the land-based
factories – ensures that they reach UK supermarkets and
sandwiches in the best possible condition. Early freezing
improves the consistency of the prawns, plus it reduces the
environmental impact as the frozen prawns can be transported
by sea.
Royal Greenland A/S
Greenland supplies the majority of the UK’s cold-water (wild)
prawns. The fishery includes a mix of smaller inshore boats
and larger trawlers. Prawns can be caught all year round,
but fishing in the far north is limited by the icy conditions,
especially in Ilulissat when the Disko Bay freezes. Close to
the shore, local fishermen catch prawns in a variety of small
vessels. They use small trawl nets and store their catch on ice
before they land them at one of the 40 local landing factories
around Western Greenland, Quebec and Newfoundland. The
distance from fishing grounds to factory is short so that the
fishermen can deliver their fresh catches directly to the factory
for processing and freezing.
For further information, please contact
James Simpson,
Marine Stewardship Council
1-3 Snow Hill, London,
EC1A 2DH
[email protected]
0207 246 8913