Commenting on the decision by Waitrose to withdraw north-east Atlantic mackerel from its shelves by the end of April 2026, Robert Duthie, chair of the Scottish Pelagic Processors Association, said: “Mackerel is the UK’s most important fishery in terms of volume landed and value, and the Scottish mackerel fishery is particularly important to onshore employment in our coastal communities in the north-east of Scotland and Shetland.
“This decision by Waitrose to withdraw mackerel from its shelves is extremely disappointing and fails to recognise the significant work and leadership the UK Government has demonstrated in making genuine progress to resolve the complex issues among the coastal states staking a claim to the fishery. The Scottish pelagic industry remains at the forefront of leading a range of sustainability initiatives, including scientific data collection and mackerel tagging studies to further enhance our knowledge of what is a complex migratory stock.
“The Scottish mackerel fishery is already highly regulated and strictly monitored by the Government who are leading from the front with the recent introduction of Remote Electronic Monitoring in Scottish waters – a first amongst the Coastal States. “The UK Government has made clear its commitment to respecting responsible scientific management options for the mackerel fishery and has restated its intention to adopt a long-term management strategy as soon as feasibly possible to ensure a sustainable future for Scottish mackerel and for those who depend on the fishery for their livelihoods.”