A major UK supermarket has pulled mackerel from shelves nationwide amid growing alarm over dwindling fish stocks – in what campaigners are hailing as a landmark move.
Waitrose has become the first in Britain to halt sales of the popular fish entirely, scrapping fresh, chilled and frozen products in a dramatic bid to tackle overfishing.
Tinned versions will also disappear once existing stock runs out, meaning shoppers could soon struggle to find any form of mackerel in stores.
The decision follows mounting concern over the state of North-east Atlantic stocks, which experts warn are being pushed to the brink by years of excessive catches.
Conservation bodies have long sounded the alarm, with the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea warning that failure to stick to recommended limits could have a ‘long-term negative impact’ on both the species and the wider fishing industry.
Despite recent moves by coastal nations to cut catches, experts say the reductions do not go far enough.
Official advice had called for a drastic 70 per cent cut to allow stocks to recover to sustainable levels.
But with the stock repeatedly fished above sustainable levels, the recommendation for 2026 was equivalent to a 77 per cent reduction on the 755,143 tonnes the scientists estimated would be caught in 2025.
Waitrose has become the first in Britain to halt sales of mackerel entirely, scrapping fresh, chilled and frozen products in a dramatic bid to tackle overfishing
The supermarket said it could no longer justify selling the fish under its responsible sourcing rules, which align with industry sustainability standards.
Jake Pickering, head of agriculture, aquaculture & fisheries at Waitrose, said: ‘By suspending sourcing of mackerel at Waitrose we are reinforcing our ethical and sustainable business commitments, acting to tackle overfishing and protect the long-term health of our oceans and this crucial fish.
‘Our customers trust us to source responsibly, and we are closely monitoring the fishery.
‘We look forward to bringing mackerel back to our shelves once it meets our high sourcing standards.’
The retailer sources its mackerel from Scottish waters, but said current conditions mean it no longer meets required environmental benchmarks.
However, the move has also reignited debate about the wider fishing industry – particularly the role of farmed salmon in exacerbating these issues.
Patrick Holden, CEO of the Sustainable Food Trust, told the Daily Mail that if we want mackerel back on the shelves we will have to stop selling farmed salmon instead.
‘Very unfortunately, the reason why Waitrose have had no choice but to take mackerel off their shelves is because of our insatiable appetite for farmed salmon.
‘It is estimated that nearly half of the total annual ocean fish harvest, including countless thousands of tons of mackerel is now fed to farmed salmon.
‘The inconvenient truth is that open salmon farming is not only a highly inefficient use of fish that we could perfectly well be eating ourselves, but also an environmental disaster and a threat to the extinction of wild Atlantic salmon.
‘If we want Waitrose to put mackerel back on the shelves the best thing we could do is to encourage them to stop selling farmed salmon.’
To plug the gap, the chain is rolling out alternative products, including a new range of smoked fish such as herring and seabass – all certified as sustainably sourced.
It is also introducing frozen sardines as a replacement, with plans to sell only fully certified sustainable tinned sardines in future.
However, shoppers may be waiting some time before mackerel makes a comeback, as there is no timeline for its return.
