Premier Inn sets fish-friendly world record

Premier Inn has become the world’s largest Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified national hotel chain, with a total of 635 locations now serving fish with the blue MSC label

All Premier Inn restaurant brands, including Beefeater, Brewer’s Fayre and Table Table, will feature the MSC ‘blue tick’ on menus. And while the MSC label can already be found in a range of restaurants, fast-food outlets and fish and chip shops, the move by owners Whitbread PLC significantly widens the availability of sustainable fish dishes for UK diners.

Certified sustainable species appearing on menus will include prawns, pollock, haddock, whiting and cod in dishes such as fish and chips and the classic prawn cocktail. As a result an extra three million certified sustainable portions of fish and chips will be served across the UK. The news also means diners will now be able to order an MSC certified meal from hundreds more locations in the UK, an overall increase of 27%.

Every MSC certified fish dish served creates an increased demand for sustainable, fully traceable fish from ocean to plate. The result is that more fisheries choose to improve their sustainability to meet the MSC standard, helping to ensure the future health of fish stocks.

James Pitcher, Director of Sustainability for Whitbread, said: “It is becoming ever more important for the hospitality industry to operate a sustainable, traceable supply chain and it is something we have been focusing on for a while now. Our customers expect us to do the right thing, so we are immensely proud to have achieved MSC certification for our restaurant brands.

MSC labelled menus can be found in a range of outlets including McDonalds, Wahaca, Ikea, Hilton and over 80 fish and chip shops.