One of the UK’s most important fisheries, North Sea herring, has now been certified as sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).

The blue MSC logo will shortly appear on six of Young’s herring SKUs including its best-selling Richly Smoked Scottish Kippers. Young’s is a pioneer in responsibly sourced seafood and has been a long-term supporter of the Marine Stewardship Council. It is committed to help secure the future of precious food fisheries under an initiative it calls Fish for Life.

Herring is a key species in the UK market and sales of herring products – particularly kippers – are starting to benefit from increased consumer understanding of the health benefits of fish naturally rich in Omega 3. The £8.5M UK chilled kipper market is currently growing at 8%

Young’s category director, Mark Ventress, says, “The MSC status for North Sea herring is particularly good news for the British seafood market - not only because it confirms sustainable practice in one of our most important domestic fisheries but because it is a perfect fit with the growing consumer appetite for fish naturally rich in Omega 3.”

Young’s buys its MSC herring from Scottish suppliers who are also certified by the Seafish Responsible Fishing scheme. All Young’s herring is traditionally prepared or smoked at its site in Fraserburgh.

Young’s Richly Smoked Scottish Kippers are already a UK best-seller with sales forecast to exceed £1.4M by September - more than half the total UK market for frozen kippers.

Six Young’s SKUs already listed in the UK market will soon carry the MSC logo:

• Young’s Richly Smoked Scottish Kippers (frozen)
• Young’s 2 Kipper Fillets (chilled)
• Young’s Herring Fillets (chilled)
• Young’s Herrings (chilled)
• Young’s Herrings with Dill (chilled)
• Young’s Kipper Fillets with butter (chilled)