Brands and retailers have a vital role to play in protecting small pelagic fish stocks, according to the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), as demand continues to grow for both human consumption and feed meal markets.

Herring, blue whiting and mackerel in the North-East Atlantic have lost or had their MSC certifications suspended following disagreements on quotas between fishing nations. These three key stocks have only had international agreements in place for four of the last 25 years up to 2024. The result is that over the last seven years these species have exceeded the scientists’ advised catch by 31%.

Photo: Edouard Dognin

This has impacted the availability of certified sustainable products in the UK and Ireland. Between 2017 and 2020, small pelagic species consistently accounted for more than 10% of consumer spending on MSC labelled products in these two countries, but due to these suspensions, this figure has shrunk to below 2% since 2022.

There are, however, alternative sources of certified sustainable small pelagic species. In some European countries, for example, some brands and retailers have switched to sourcing MSC certified Chilean jack mackerel, but this species has yet to be sold with a blue MSC ecolabel in the UK and Ireland.

According to the MSC’s Small Pelagics Yearbook 2025, just published, the small pelagics species group is the second most engaged in the MSC programme with more than 3 million metric tonnes certified globally in 2024, representing 12% of global small pelagic catch.

Ensuring that supplies of small pelagics are sustainable is critical as demand is increasing for several reasons. Firstly, there’s a growing market for sustainably sourced fish oils destined for human consumption. In 2008, there were only four fish oil supplements carrying the MSC ecolabel available. By the 2023/24 financial year, 475 MSC certified supplement products were available.

Secondly, projections indicate aquaculture will continue to grow, and with it the demand for small pelagic fish, a key source of fish meal and fish oil for feed.

Nicolas Guichoux, MSC’s Chief Program Officer, said: “Retailers and brands have a huge role to play in driving momentum towards greater availability of certified small pelagic fish in the supply chain. In addition to species that are in the pipeline towards certification, the necessary changes to quota setting for stalwart species such as Atlantic mackerel, blue whiting, and Atlanto-Scandian herring need to be made to allow their return to MSC’s programme.”

“These species are vital in servicing important global markets that are reliant on these fisheries as a critical source of protein, ensuring certified availability for both industry and consumers. In the longer term, this could affect prices and volumes of product for the market.”