Waitrose to suspend mackerel sales due to overfishing concerns

Waitrose is to suspend sales of mackerel products due to concerns about overfishing.

The supermarket said it would stop sourcing fresh, chilled and frozen mackerel by 29 April, as well as tinned mackerel once the current stock sells out.

Marine groups have recommended a cut in the amount of North East Atlantic mackerel being caught to prevent a collapse in stocks.

Waitrose said it was the first UK supermarket to suspend mackerel sales, adding it would only start restocking the fish "once it meets our high sourcing standards".

In September, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) recommended that catches should be cut by 70% to allow the fish to reproduce.

In December, the UK, Norway, the Faroe Islands and Iceland agreed to cut mackerel catches by 48%, but Waitrose said this was not enough.

All Waitrose mackerel is sourced from Scottish waters.

The grocery chain said that from May 2026, North East Atlantic mackerel would no longer meet its own responsible sourcing requirements.

Jake Pickering, head of agriculture, aquaculture and 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."

Waitrose, which is owned by the John Lewis Partnership, said it would replace its mackerel products with "responsibly sourced" alternatives in order to "make a stand against overfishing and support long-term health and sustainability of fish stocks".

All of the new products are Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified.

Last year, the Marine Conservation Society said mackerel was "under immense pressure from fishing activities across multiple nations, and the stock will soon be no longer able to sustain itself".

The society welcomed Waitrose's announcement. Kerry Lyne, its Good Fish Guide manager, said: "To keep favourites like mackerel on the menu, we need support right across the supply chain with fishing kept within sustainable limits."

Charles Clover, co-founder of conservation charity Blue Marine Foundation, said overfishing was a "crisis" that has been "ignored for too long".

"The plight of the mackerel is part of a wider failure to take scientific advice intended to keep stocks healthy and able to recover from fishing pressure.

"We hope that this action by Waitrose sends it to the top of the political agenda," he said.

"Last year more than half of UK catch limits were set above sustainable levels."