Professor Baukje de Roos makes keynote address at Marine Stewardship Council event
Sustainable seafood champions gave a warm welcome to an appeal for concerted action to unlock the potential of fish to improve public and planetary health.
Rowett Institute Professor Baukje de Roos used her extensive research into the benefits of eating more of our domestic catch to deliver a compelling case as keynote speaker for the 2025 Marine Stewardship Council awards.
Addressing around 150 champions from across the whole UK sector gathered in Edinburgh's historic Signet Library, she set out the "rare convergence" of so many positive outcomes from securing a single change in dietary habits.
And she put forward a number of starting points to address the current "disconnect" between supply and demand - such as working with schools to help foster a lifelong taste for home-grown seafood in young pupils.
"Fish offers a rare convergence of benefits: it’s good for our bodies, good for our planet, and good for our future. But to unlock its full potential, we need to increase consumer demand - make fish more desirable, more accessible, and more aligned with modern lifestyles," Prof de Roos told the packed room.
"This isn’t a supply issue—it’s a demand issue. Consumer preferences are driving trade and consumption patterns, and those preferences, mostly for fish that need to be imported into our country, do not match with national food security and global blue foods transition goals to make aquatic food systems more sustainable, inclusive and resilient.
"If we want to increase demand, especially for our local fish, we need to rethink how we present fish to the consumer."
Prof de Roos - who was joined at the ceremony by Dr Anneli Lofstedt, who played a key role in the Rowett's pioneering nutritional analysis of UK fish exports - struck a highly optimistic note about the potential for academic research to underpin a successful push to revive consumer demand for species such as herring.
You can read the full speech below:
Let me begin with a simple truth backed by science: eating fish is good for you. In fact, consuming just 2 to 4 portions of fish per week can reduce your risk of dying from heart disease by up to 20%. That’s why national dietary guidelines—here in the UK and across many other countries—recommend eating two portions of fish weekly, with at least one being oily.
But fish isn’t just good for your heart. It’s a nutritional powerhouse. It’s our most important source of omega-3 fatty acids, essential for brain and heart health. It’s also one of the richest sources of vitamin D, which supports bone health and immunity, and vitamin B12, vital for nerve function and energy. Shellfish, in particular, are packed with micronutrients like iron, selenium, and zinc—nutrients many of us don’t get enough of.
Importantly, fish are also an excellent fit for ‘net zero’ diets with a much lower carbon footprint than red meat. As we transition toward diets with less red meat, fish offers a way to maintain nutritional quality while reducing environmental impact. It’s not just a health win—it’s a climate win.
And yet, despite all these benefits, fish consumption in the UK has remained low for the past two decades. Promotion campaigns, dietary guidelines, and public health messaging haven’t been very effective. Demand for fish is low, despite us producing some of the healthiest fish in the world.
To understand the disconnect between supply and demand, we, at the University of Aberdeen, modelled what the UK produces, trades, and consumes—and what we should be consuming for optimal human and planetary health. We found that the greatest health benefits come from oily fish like salmon, mackerel, and herring. These species, caught and farmed in UK waters, could provide 73% of our daily omega-3 needs, 46% of our vitamin B12, and 7% of our vitamin D. Yet most of it is exported.
We also assessed 23 seafood species consumed in the UK, covering 122 supply chains from 39 countries, looking at sustainability, nutrition, and self-sufficiency. The best performers—locally produced mussels, salmonids, and small pelagics—are under-consumed and largely exported. Meanwhile, our plates are dominated by import-reliant species like cod, tuna, haddock, and farmed prawns.
This isn’t a supply issue—it’s a demand issue. Consumer preferences are driving trade and consumption patterns, and those preferences, mostly for fish that need to be imported into our country, do not match with national food security and global blue foods transition goals to make aquatic food systems more sustainable, inclusive and resilient. If we want to increase demand, especially for our local fish, we need to rethink how we present fish to the consumer.
One promising avenue may be processed seafood. While “ultra-processed” foods have earned a bad reputation, the problem isn’t the processing itself—it’s the fact that ultra-processed foods are often excessive in salt, sugar, fat, and lack texture. Processed foods can be healthy. Reimagining processed seafood—nutritious, tasty, and convenient—could rekindle our national appetite for fish.
INTERVENTIONS
To effectively increase seafood consumption, we must develop cost-effective and scalable interventions that are backed by scientific evidence, and that help us pinpoint what truly influences demand in different consumer groups—and what doesn’t.
Our research reveals that demand for fish is not driven by price. Instead, it’s shaped by household income and personal taste preferences. This means that in communities where incomes are lower and fish isn’t a regular part of the diet, simply making seafood cheaper won’t necessarily lead to increased consumption.
One effective approach to increase the demand for fish may be to introduce it to children early on—perhaps through school meal programs where it comes at no extra cost to families. Research has already shown that more fish in schools supports better academic performance and boosts vitamin D levels during the winter months. But it could also cultivate a lasting appreciation for seafood. When kids grow up enjoying fish, they’re more likely to carry that habit into adulthood.
Importantly, our research also shows that young people are more ‘ready-to-change', and more open to new experiences and trends. Just look at the rise of sushi—visually appealing, flavourful, and ready to eat. Or the viral “tinned fish date night” trend on TikTok, which made fish feel luxurious, fun, and accessible. These cultural shifts matter. If young people start eating local fish now, it could become a lifelong habit that supports both personal health and environmental sustainability.
We are currently running the Food Swap study in Aberdeen. This study uses an in-house Food Swap App to explore the personal and environment factors that influence young adults to swap the red meat in their diet for fish or plant-based alternatives. By the end of next year, we will have identified the most important facilitators and barriers to making healthier and more sustainable food choices—and ultimately, to increasing demand for fish.
In closing, fish offers a rare convergence of benefits: it’s good for our bodies, good for our planet, and good for our future. But to unlock its full potential, we need to increase consumer demand - make fish more desirable, more accessible, and more aligned with modern lifestyles. And let’s reach an agreement on the distribution of future fishing quotas for mackerel and herring stocks, so that we can keep promoting these as one of our most healthy and sustainable seafood choices for consumers in the UK, and elsewhere.
These are our challenges—and our opportunities—before us. So to everyone here tonight, with many working across the seafood supply chain – thank you for your vital role in keeping fish at the heart of a healthier, more sustainable national diet.