Pollack, a white fish caught in UK waters has been renamed with a French name, Colin, to boost the sale of it. Sainsbury’s is trying to push sales of pollack as a more sustainable alternative to cod, but says shoppers are not buying it. Some stores will now stock it in new packaging designed by Wayne Hemingway, and inspired by artist Jackson Pollock.
Colin is a French word for hake. Pollack is far more popular in France, which is one of the biggest customers for UK fish, than it is here. Sainbury’s says sales of cod increase by nearly a third during Easter weekend. It is recorded that in March cod outstripped sales of pollack by 52,904 to 3,947. But haddock was even more popular than cod, with 98,722 units sold.
Alison Austin, environment manager at Sainsbury’s, notified that if British consumers bought more pollack it could make a big difference to cod stocks. Fisheries policy officer, Melissa Pritchard, commented that if it encourages consumers to try pollack then it can only be a good thing, as long as it is sustainably sourced. The seafood industry body, Seafish, has expressed doubt about the initiative. It says consumers can continue to eat cod with confidence, adding that 92 percent of the cod eaten in the UK is imported from sustainable stocks, much of it from Iceland.
The National Federation of Fish Friers (NFFF) expects cod to remain the most popular choice for its members and the public. Bill Crook, the NFFF general secretary, mentioned that most fish and chip shops use sustainable Icelandic cod which is frozen at sea.
