Fish Said Fred, Sainsbury’s and Lyons Seafoods win UK aquaculture awards

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Recognising responsible seafood farming in the United Kingdom, the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) held its fourth annual UK Awards in partnership with the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) at The Box in Plymouth, on October 16. Now in its second year, the ASC Brand of the Year award was picked up by Fish Said Fred. With a commitment to source 100% ASC certified farmed seafood, Sainsbury’s won the ASC UK Retailer of the Year award for a third year in a row and Lyons Seafoods bagged the ASC UK Retail Supplier of the Year award.

Fish Said Fred ASC 2024

Fish Said Fred, a company owned by New England Seafood International, was crowned the UK Brand of the Year at ASC’s 2024 awards

“Congratulations to Sainsbury’s, Fish Said Fred, and Lyons Seafoods for their well-deserved wins! These awards acknowledge the significant effort it takes for a retailer, brand, and supplier to deliver 100% commitment to only sell responsibly produced seafood in the UK every single day,” ASC CEO Chris Ninnes said.

“As ASC grows within the UK, I hope that these commitments become the norm in the UK as they are in other markets and will encourage more local processors, farmers and retailers to join us in this journey to transform the seafood farming sector towards more sustainable practices.”

New England Seafood International-owned Fish Said Fred was crowned the ASC UK Brand of the Year for its range of ASC-labelled seafood products, and for their active promotion and involvement in the ASC programme.

“Fish Said Fred is delighted to receive this recognition. We continuously strive to go above and beyond across our organisation and the ASC certification supports us to do that,” New England Seafood International Head of Sustainability Ruth Hoban said.

“We are proud to promote responsibly sourced seafood products to seafood lovers who are increasingly aware and concerned about the provenance, ethics and sustainability of the food they buy. Taking care from sea to plate, we also thank our dedicated farming partners to consistently deliver responsibly sourced seafood to the tough standards of the ASC.”

Sainsbury’s, meanwhile, was recognised for having the largest share of ASC-labelled seafood products in store and online.

David Parker, Head of Aquaculture and Fisheries at Sainsbury’s, said, “We’re very proud to have won this award for the third-year in a row. Responsibly sourced seafood is something we are passionate about and it’s fantastic to get this recognition for the range of ASC-labelled products available in our stores. We look forward to continuing our work with the ASC to expand this range even more, as it means a lot to us to offer responsibly farmed seafood to our customers. It’s a huge team effort to make this possible, so this award is really for everyone involved.”

Lyons Seafoods’ award was based on nominations by UK retail. It recognises the winner’s role in expanding the availability of certified responsible seafood and meeting growing consumer demand.

“It is fantastic to be recognised by UK retail for the work we do in aquaculture. Partnering with long-term suppliers, we are able to continuously drive improvements in the industry which are acknowledged through the standards set by the ASC,” Lyons Seafoods Managing Director Mark Newton said.

ASC General Manager for the UK and Benelux Maud van den Haspel said the awards are “a fantastic opportunity for us to acknowledge and reward the hard work that our winning partners have put in over the past year to offer a growing range of ASC labelled seafood to seafood lovers in the UK.”

According to the aquaculture certification programme, demand for ASC-labelled seafood has continued to grow in 2024. There are now 744 such products available across the UK – a 17% increase since October 2023.

Reflecting this growing demand, 76 farm sites in the UK are now ASC certified – representing a 55% increase since October 2023. Five more farms are in the initial audit stage, with the aim of being certified by the end of this year.