Fish Said Fred, Sainsbury’s and Lyons Seafoods are ASC winners

The annual Aquaculture Stewardship Council UK awards were announced last night, with accolades for Fish Said Fred, Sainsbury’s and Lyons Seafoods.

Fish Said Fred (team, pictured with their award) was the winner of the ASC Brand of the Year award, now in its second year. Sainsbury’s won the ASC UK Retailer of the Year award for an impressive third year in a row, recognising its commitment to source 100% ASC certified farmed seafood, and Lyons Seafoods bagged the ASC UK Retail Supplier of the Year award.

The awards were held in Plymouth, on the south coast of England, as a joint event with the Marine Stewardship Council, which also announced its own awards on the night.

ASC CEO Chris Ninnes said, “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.

“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.”

The UK Awards aim to promote companies that make the greatest impact in driving sustainability within the seafood industry and boost consumer demand for ASC labelled seafood. The ASC said the winning businesses met the strictest requirements for responsibly farmed seafood that has been produced with care for people and the planet.

Ruth Hoban, Head of Sustainability at New England Seafood International, said, “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”

“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 team with the ASC UK Award for Best

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 Managing Director Mark Newton said, “Lyons Seafoods is delighted to have received the ASC UK Retail Supplier of the Year Award 2024. This award acknowledges the amazing work carried out by our dedicated farming partners and the team at Lyons Seafoods towards responsible aquaculture for now and well into the future.

“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.”

Previous winners of the ASC UK Awards include retailers Sainsbury’s and Lidl, retail supplier New England Seafood International and the seafood brand MOWI.

Lyons Seafoods Managing Director Mark Newton, ASC UK Awards