Sainsbury’s is to give away seven tonnes of lesser known British fish, including lemon sole, mussels, Cornish sardines, coley fillets and loch trout fillets, in a bid to encourage customers to eat alternative species.
Part of the retailers ongoing commitment to sustainable fishing, ‘Switch the Fish Day’ this Friday (25 January) will see customers offered a lesser known alternative for free when they ask for one of the Big Five – cod, haddock, tuna, salmon and prawns – at the fish counter.
As part of the larger ‘Switch the Fish’ campaign Sainsbury’s hopes to better educate customers about making sustainable choices and experimenting with alternative varieties of fish in a risk free way.
The supermarket chain has also trained counter colleagues across its 495 fresh fish counters as through specific sustainability training at the supermarket’s food colleges as part of the initiative.
Sainsbury’s CEO, Justin King, commented: “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.
“This year Switch the Fish is set to be bigger, together with our colleague training and partnership with Fishermen’s Mission, we are working towards sustainable fish for the future.”
Also launching on ‘Switch the Fish Day’ is a new partnership with Fishermen’s Mission, a charity offering support to fishermen and their families in times of crisis. For three weeks from Friday 25 January, Sainsbury’s will donate 5p from every pack sold of the five alternative species to the charity, hoping to raise over £13,000 to cover the charities work across the South West of England for over a month.
Minister for the natural environment and fisheries, Richard Benyon MP, added: “I’m delighted that Sainsbury’s is encouraging consumers to try different species of fish with their innovative ‘Switch the Fish’ campaign.
“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.”