Five Rules for sustainable fish shopping:

1. Bone up on fish before you buy.

Review current supplies

Play Stockwatch

Choose fish caught using sustainable practices or those in good supply.

Check with FishOnliine which fish to avoid. USe their search engine to find out about any species.

Best: Fresh or smoked mackeral, herring (& kipper), whitebait, pilchard are in good supply and have high content of omega 3 fatty acids, particularly good for nerve cells.

According to Sustain, the top ten for fish that we can eat which are healthy to people (high in omega-3s & generally free of contaminants) and are sustainably caught and available in the UK are herring, kippers, pilchards, sardines, sprats, trout (not farmed), whitebait, anchovies, carp (farmed) and mussels. More in Like Shooting Fish in a Barrel (pdf)

Canned salmon comes from wild, unfarmed sea stocks..

Investigate feasibilty of offering customers alternative species

2. Never buy fish blind. Question fish supplier as to where stocks are from. Read the label to find out how it was caught.

3. Support Eco Labelling Schemes. MSC, Soil Association Organic or Handline Fishermen's Assocation

4. Dont buy undersized fish.

5. Try to avoid buying fish during their spawning season.

For more on these 5 Rules - River Cottage Fish Book

Possible Policy Statement "We will only supply fish caught or farmed from sustainable sources." Suggested Indicators: Species of wild fish sourced from grounds within safe biological limits. Farmed fish sources registered to recognised national standard.