Buy Blue, Protect Fish & Chips – says the Marine Stewardship Council

Fish and chip shops across the country have been celebrating Sustainable Seafood September with a month of social posts, campaigns and instore activities

The Buy Blue, Protect Dinner campaign from the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) has a simple message: sustainable fishing helps keep your favourites on the menu. By choosing seafood carrying the blue MSC ecolabel, consumers can help protect the dishes they love, and the oceans they come from, for many dinners to come.

Joelle Bennett, from Weston Grove Fish and Chips, in Chester, said they have put their family at the heart of this year’s campaign, including photographs of her grandfather Alexander Henderson, known as Grandad Alex.   

She said: “As a family business, sustainability and the MSC are incredibly important to us. That’s why this year our campaign focused on members of our family, including my 97-year-old grandfather and my children who are all lovers of fish. We have been able to show that sustainable fish is wonderful for all ages to enjoy.  The family photographs used also promoted our long-term commitment to the MSC. This approach certainly strook a chord with our customers’ families too.”

Harbour Lights in Falmouth has also featured the MSC Buy Blue, Protect the Ocean message on its social channels.

Pete Fraser, owner of Harbour Lights and Frasers Fish and Chips, said: “Harbour Lights was one of the first fish and chip shops in the UK to become MSC certified and we have greatly valued that relationship for many years. Since 2005, we have made the commitment to only sell responsibly sourced fish and we regard MSC as the gold standard in terms of sustainability.”

Rowan Williams, MSC UK & Ireland Commercial Officer, said: “It’s wonderful to see so many chippies publicly celebrating their commitment to sustainable fish as part of MSC’s Sustainable Seafood September campaign. It’s vital that we all work together to protect fish stocks, so that coming generations can continue to enjoy this dish the British public all know and love.”

As part of this year’s campaign, top chefs have highlighted dishes they would like to protect for future generations. Cornwall-based chef and author James Strawbridge produced this year’s Dishes Worth Protecting collection of recipes which can be found on the MSC website.

Retailers and brands supporting the campaign include Waitrose, Whole Foods, Aldi, Asda, Ocado, Iceland and Princes.