UK canned ‘mackerel’ now contains no mackerel

{"text":[[{"start":7.336,"text":"Many tinned mackerel products sold in British supermarkets no longer contain any of the oily fish, as concerns over sustainability have pushed retailers to replace it with a different species of lower nutritional value."}],[{"start":20.4,"text":"Tesco and J Sainsbury supplier Princes last year switched its branded mackerel range to Chilean jack mackerel, which, despite having a similar name, is an entirely different fish."}],[{"start":32.24,"text":"Jack mackerel is a Trachurus species belonging to a fish family known as Carangidae, while true mackerel are a species of Scomber or Rastrelliger and belong to the Scombridae family."}],[{"start":43.4,"text":"Princes’ jack mackerel contains roughly half as much omega-3 and about 100 fewer calories per 100g than true mackerel, according to its packaging."}],[{"start":54.04,"text":"Some customers have also complained about differences in taste and texture, including bigger bones and less oily flesh."}],[{"start":59.221,"text":"“It smells rather metallic . . . Ugh, just like cheap rubbish tuna,” said canned seafood reviewer Marcus Ansell, who has more than 650,000 followers on Instagram, in a recent video about Lidl’s jack mackerel."}],[{"start":72.533,"text":"Lidl has been transitioning to sustainably sourced Chilean jack mackerel. Waitrose stopped sourcing fresh, chilled and frozen true mackerel in April citing overfishing concerns, while canned products are being phased out as existing stocks are sold."}],[{"start":87.797,"text":"The shift on supermarket shelves comes after a years-long dispute over quotas, known as the “mackerel war”, involving the UK, Iceland, Greenland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, the EU and Russia."}],[{"start":100.372,"text":"The mackerel catch in the North-East Atlantic has been 39 per cent above the limits advised by scientists since 2010. Stocks have fallen by about three-quarters in the past decade, according to the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (Ices), an intergovernmental body."}],[{"start":117.732,"text":"That has left the fishery without Marine Stewardship Council certification, a sustainability badge required by many major retailers. Chilean jack mackerel, however, is certified."}],[{"start":127.12,"text":"“It’s a mess,” said Tim Gray, professor of political thought at Newcastle University who specialises in fisheries management. He added that the escalating quota claims had left the stock “in danger of collapse”, with little sign of a resolution to the dispute."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":142.045,"text":"British retailers are following a broader European retreat from true mackerel. In the Netherlands, supermarkets such as Albert Heijn and Jumbo have stopped selling the species, while Sweden’s Axfood began replacing its mackerel-in-tomato product with jack mackerel in February."}],[{"start":158.68,"text":"Tinned fish has enjoyed a renaissance in recent years as premium independent brands presented in attractive, colourful packaging have gained popularity, particularly with young consumers."}],[{"start":169.56,"text":"Until December 2025, under UK labelling laws, Trachurus species could be marketed as “horse mackerel”, “jack”, “scad” or “trevally”, but not as “jack mackerel”."}],[{"start":180.441,"text":"But weeks after Princes launched its new product under the name “jack mackerel”, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs changed its rules to permit the new labelling."}],[{"start":190.382,"text":"Defra said it was “committed to restoring our fish stocks to sustainable levels and supporting the long-term viability of the UK fishing industry”, adding that jack mackerel could not be marketed as “Atlantic” mackerel."}],[{"start":202.612,"text":"Critics say the move nonetheless risks confusing consumers and blurs the distinction between true mackerel and jack mackerel."}],[{"start":210.056,"text":"“It is a great pity that we will eat imported fish from a long way away instead of locally caught fish,” said Stewart Harper, former managing director of North Atlantic Fishing Company, which operates several trawlers in EU and UK waters. “The consumers will be suffering because pure mackerel is a much better species to eat than jack mackerel.”"}],[{"start":230.661,"text":"Industry figures reported by seafood market intelligence platform Undercurrent suggest wholesale Chilean jack mackerel costs roughly one-third of Atlantic true mackerel."}],[{"start":240.694,"text":"Despite this, several retailers are selling tins of the substitute fish at similar prices to the original product. At Tesco, for example, a tin of Princes jack mackerel costs £1.75, while Princes true mackerel costs £1.95."}],[{"start":258.02,"text":"Other retailers, such as Lidl, are selling “jack mackerel” products under large supermarket signs that simply signpost “mackerel”."}],[{"start":263.14,"text":"Lidl GB said it was “committed to sourcing fish and seafood from responsibly managed fisheries”."}],[{"start":271.614,"text":"It added: “Before our next purchasing window for smoked mackerel, we will review if north-east Atlantic mackerel continues to comply with our sourcing policies and scientific advice.”"}],[{"start":280.72,"text":"Princes said it had chosen MSC-certified Chilean jack mackerel “following extensive product and consumer testing” and that the species was “clearly identified” on its products."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":293.38,"text":"Brussels has singled out Russia for the decline of true mackerel stocks. The European Commission says years of overfishing, “particularly by the Russian Federation”, have pushed North-East Atlantic true mackerel into a critical condition."}],[{"start":310.2,"text":"The “mackerel war” reached a peak this year. Ices scientists recommended reducing the quantity of North-East Atlantic mackerel caught in 2026 by about 70 per cent, to a maximum of 174,357 tonnes."}],[{"start":325.8,"text":"But the UK, Norway, Iceland and the Faroe Islands made an agreement without the EU to set a provisional limit roughly 72 per cent above the scientific advice, at 299,010 tonnes. Brussels condemned the arrangement as unsustainable. An agreement over catch limits between these coastal states and the EU has still not been reached."}],[{"start":346.145,"text":"As warming seas have pushed mackerel stock farther north, more fish have also swum into Icelandic and Faroese waters. Geir Hønneland, a scientist at the Fridtjof Nansen Institute in Norway, said that had prompted those countries to demand larger quota shares and upset older arrangements centred on Norway and the EU."}],[{"start":366.64,"text":"Brexit added yet another layer to the dispute by turning the UK into an independent coastal state negotiating its own share of the stock."}],[{"start":373.692,"text":"“The lack of action from the coastal states to solve this is incredible,” said Aoife Martin, executive chair of the North Atlantic Pelagic Advocacy Group."}],[{"start":382.22,"text":"“This is no longer a fishing issue. Rather, it is a wider failure of international governance.”"}],[{"start":392.44,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1789170809_7726.mp3"}