Social Media is Hooked on Pricey Imports, But Sustainable Cornish Catches Are the Real Deal
While social media gets in a tin over pricey imported fish, sustainable Cornish catches prove that the #sardinemaxxing trend doesn’t have to cost the earth.
The internet is currently awash with a rather peculiar trend. Dubbed ‘#sardinemaxxing’ on platforms like TikTok and Instagram, it involves influencers eating massive quantities of tinned sardines in the pursuit of glowing skin and supercharged health. It has driven UK sales up by 30% over the last year, but a closer look reveals that this sudden obsession with trendy tinned fish is missing the bigger picture.
Up in London at places like Borough Market, shoppers are now happily shelling out up to £14 for a single, beautifully branded tin of imported sardines. They treat it like fine wine, paying top whack for the aesthetic. Yet, out on the water, the reality is starkly different. Recent reports following Portuguese fishing crews show that the men hauling the nets at three in the morning are not the ones seeing the profits from these premium prices. The big money sits firmly with the middlemen and the marketing.
This is exactly why the Cornish Sardine Management Association (CSMA), along with Seafish and the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), are urging consumers to look beyond the viral hashtags. While stocks and management methods fluctuate wildly around the globe, the Cornish sardine fishery remains a massive success story.
Boats have been catching sardines off the Cornish coast for over 500 years. Today, the local ring-netting fleet operates a highly sustainable, MSC-certified fishery that boasts record-high biomass levels. Instead of paying inflated prices for imported tins, shoppers can simply look for tins of Cornish Sardines to know they are supporting a healthy, locally managed stock. What many people won’t know is that every tin labelled Cornish Sardines’ means that the fish are MSC Certified by default!
As Gus Caslake, Chair of the CSMA, rightly points out, it is crucial to understand where seafood comes from. The message is straightforward: enjoy the health benefits of sardines, but check the provenance and support the crews catching them sustainably.
For anyone wanting to see how it is really done, the Great Cornish Sardine Festival takes place in Newlyn Harbour this weekend (29 and 30 August). It offers a proper chance to meet the people behind the catch, appreciate the local fishing heritage, and enjoy a brilliant fish without having to pay London prices for a fancy tin.
Tonight, the Newlyn fleet are out catching MSC Certified sardines, one with a camera crew on board to record the action ahead of the Sardine Festival.
