UK consumption of seafood is well below health guidelines yet global stocks are hugely overfished. How can the circle be squared? By Nick Hughes.
“How can we feed ourselves in a way that nourishes both our bodies and regenerates the earth’s ecosystems – restoring and enhancing the natural environment for generations to come?”
That was the question posed by Henry Dimbleby in his foreword to a newly published insights report by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), the certification body for sustainable wild-caught seafood.
Dimbleby’s challenge cuts to the heart of the paradox around seafood consumption – the need to balance the nutritional benefits with environmental sustainability.
Overfishing has reached record levels globally, with more than a third of marine stocks now fished beyond biologically sustainable limits, according to the latest data from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). Yet here in the UK, health experts would have us eat far more seafood than we currently do. The NHS recommends a healthy, balanced diet should include at least two portions of fish a week, including one serving of oily fish such as sardines and anchovies, which has specific benefits for heart health.
Only 21% of UK consumers currently hit their weekly quota based on a GlobeScan survey commissioned by the MSC. Total UK seafood consumption, meanwhile, is in long-term decline, falling 22% from 2006 to 2022, according to trade association Seafish.
This runs contrary to the global trend, which in part helps explain why stocks are in such a perilous state. Global human consumption of aquatic animal foods has more than doubled from 9.1kg per capita in 1961 to 20.7kg per capita in 2022, according to the FAO.
In an effort to understand more about local variations in fish consumption habits, the MSC asked 27,000 adults around the globe if they had made changes to their diet in the past two years. Results for the UK show that regular seafood consumption is higher than in France, Sweden and Belgium, but still significantly behind the traditional fish-loving nations of Spain, Portugal and Italy.
UK consumption habits are dynamic, according to the survey, giving hope to those like Dimbleby who wish us to eat more aquatic protein and less land-based animal protein (seafood tends to have a lower carbon footprint than red and white meat and doesn’t compete for land in the same way animals do). Almost two thirds (65%) of UK consumers say have changed their dietary habits in the past two years for health reasons and 45% for environmental reasons.
This shift has not been to the benefit of seafood, however. An average of 35% of people have reduced their consumption of red meat over the past two years, 39% say they are eating more vegetables, 20% are eating more beans, legumes and plant-based alternatives to meat and dairy protein, while just 13% are eating more seafood. This compares with one in four who say they are eating less fish than two years ago.
MSC says the survey results suggest that, despite an overarching concern with health, seafood is often seen as too costly by many consumers (Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has contributed to higher fish prices).
More positively, a significant proportion of people say they would consider eating more seafood if they knew it cost less (52%) and was produced in a way that doesn’t harm the ocean (29%).
The MSC ends its report with a number of asks, including for policymakers to take a holistic approach to dietary recommendations by including sustainability considerations. It also wants greater evidence-driven, sustainable management of fish stocks (citing estimates suggesting that if all global fisheries were sustainably managed, 16 million tonnes more seafood could be harvested every year) and a joined-up approach to communicating the benefits of seafood as a nutritious, sustainable source of protein.
On this last point, perhaps there’s a role for the hospitality and foodservice sector in helping reduce some of the barriers to eating seafood? The British public has historically favoured the so-called ‘big five’ species of tuna, cod, salmon, haddock and prawns, which between them dominate consumption volumes despite the likes of herring, mackerel, scallops and nephrops (lobster) being by far the most common species caught around the British Isles.
Previous campaigns calling on consumers to broaden their seafood eating horizons have largely fallen on deaf ears, but restaurants and caterers are in a unique position to encourage customers to try something new, free from the anxiety of having to cook an unfamiliar species for themselves.
Dimbleby concludes his foreword by calling for “a global effort to rethink how we produce and consume food from the sea”. Seabass for Christmas dinner anyone?
