This report examines the dynamics of the fish and seafood industry, combining the previous Fish and Seafood reports.

The fish and seafood industry is enjoying strong growth, benefiting from the consumer’s focus on healthy eating, convenience, and the increasing ‘sexiness’ of home cooking as consumers replicate recipes from eating out and foreign travel at home.

However, there are threats on the horizon and pre-empting these will be paramount in continuing the success of the fish and shellfish industry. These threats centre on concerns for the health of fish stocks as well as the damage that some invasive methods of fishing cause. More and more retailers are setting sustainable sourcing policies, and if suppliers cannot conform to these, their future looks bleak.

There are also opportunities to use related trends like food miles to boost the sales of local produce, when traditionally most of the UK’s catch has been exported, turning a potential negative into a positive.

Consumers are hungry for fish and seafood and are more open to substituting meat with fish more often. Creating an offer that meets consumer needs will tempt those who like fish but rarely buy it outside of restaurants to increase consumption as well as encourage those that eat fish frequently to eat it more often.