Sainsbury's fish counter (Photo: J Sainsbury plc)

Sainsbury's to give 7 tonnes of fish away this Switch the Fish Day

During Switch the Fish Day this week, Sainsbury’s will give away 7 tonnes of lesser known British fish -- lemon sole, mussels, Cornish sardines, coley fillets and loch trout fillets -- to customers to encourage them to switch from highly exploited species to alternative ones. 

When a customer approaches one of Sainsbury’s 495 fish counters and asks to buy one of the Big Five species (cod, haddock, tuna, salmon and prawns) on Switch the Fish Day, they will be able to try a lesser known alternative for free. This will be the third annual such event; the first was in 2011, when sales of fish soared by 12 per cent across fish counters on that day. Following the campaign, consumers boosted the sales of alternative species: rainbow trout by 42 per cent and coley by 11.4 per cent, while there were 8 tonnes of megrim sold even though 85 per cent of the population had never heard of it before, according to Sainsbury’s.

The Switch the Fish campaign launches alongside new company research showing that the top 25 cookbooks aimed at families and kids still encourage the consumption of the Big Five species. Sainsbury’s hopes that its campaign will better help educate consumers about making sustainable choices. 

“Sainsbury’s is committed to fishing responsibly and helping change UK fish eating habits. We know our customers care about responsibly sourced food and this is a great opportunity for them to try some alternative British fish for free,” Justin King, Sainsbury’s CEO, said.

Together with Switch the Fish Day, a new partnership with Fishermen’s Mission is also launched. It is a charity that offers support to fishers and their families in times of crisis. For three weeks starting this Friday, Sainsbury’s will donate GBP 0.05 (EUR 0.06) from every pack sold of the five alternative species to the charity, hoping to raise over GBP 13,000 (EUR 15,465) which will pay for the cost of the group’s efforts in the South West of England for over a month. 

“Until we can find more types of sustainable fish on the supermarket shelves, our old habits will remain, so I’m delighted that Sainsbury’s is encouraging consumers to try different species of fish with their innovative ‘Switch the Fish’ campaign,” stated Minister for the Natural Environment and Fisheries, Richard Benyon MP. “Consumers and retailers like Sainsbury’s have huge power through the choices they make to help us achieve healthy fish stocks and this is exactly the sort of initiative that will give people an incentive to buy differently in the future.”

Related article:

- Consumers now buying more abundant fish: study 

By Natalia Real
[email protected]
www.seafood.media

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