There is a real hierarchy developing with fish. To reiterate what I’ve said before, your order of choice should be
- wild, sustainable (preferably line-caught) fish, then
- organically farmed, followed by
- farmed fish
“Aha” you say. “But how do I know what is wild or sustainably farmed in my local shop?” Well, good question. I have discovered the answer for you. Simply go to www.msc.org and click on the Where To Buy button, then look for your local store. It will then give you a list of all the products labelled with MSC accreditation. Stick to those and you know you’re doing it right!
Organic farmed is a bit easier – it will be labelled as organic farmed and, as yet, there isn’t a lot of it about. Amazingly (probably because of the price), I often see these marked down as they approach their sell-by date. I buy it and stick it in the freezer to save pennies!
Lastly, don’t forget to try more unusual fish. North Sea stocks of cod are particularly depleted, but Pollack is just as nice, as are Hoki, Barramundi and Coley.
A good online fish store is www.fishworks.com (whose strapline says it all: ‘from shore to door in 24’), but try to find local suppliers and ask them to get in whatever you want.