Fish fingers containing Russian whitefish still on sale across UK

theguardian.com:

Fish fingers sold in most UK supermarkets use whitefish caught by Russian ships, despite many chains pledging to boycott Russian produce.

While supermarkets have taken steps to signal their solidarity with Ukraine, rebranding their chicken kievs as kyivs and taking Russian vodka off the shelves, they have carried on buying its fish.

Big brands such as Birds Eye and Young’s, as well as most major supermarkets, including Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Morrisons and Asda, still use Russian-caught fish.

When approached for comment, many deferred to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), which said the UK relied heavily on Russia for whitefish and that “complex supply chains” meant it was “difficult to find other sources”.

Of the major supermarkets, only Marks & Spencer and Waitrose said they had stopped using Russian-caught fish in their own products, though Waitrose still stocks brands that use it. Tesco and Asda have stopped buying directly from Russian suppliers.

The government announced in March it would introduce sanctions on Russian whitefish, with a 35% tariff on all imports, but the idea was put on hold after representations from industry.

A Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs spokesperson insisted the sanctions would be going ahead but that it was “subject to further work on the specific implications for the sector”.

Steve Trent, the chief executive of the Environmental Justice Foundation, said: “It is unacceptable that British consumers are being sold fish fingers caught by Russian vessels, unknowingly sending their hard-earned pounds to fund Putin’s war machine. The government should take urgent action to end the sale of Russian-caught fish in the UK.”

More than 30% of the whitefish on sale in Britain is caught by