Tinned sardine shortages are on the horizon as fish levels in Moroccan waters are quickly drying up.
Importers have warned that sardine supply in the Atlantic off the Moroccan coast – where around half of the world’s canned sardines come from – is currently very poor, “to the point of being non-existent”, according to one source at a major British importer.
“Almost all of the UK [retailers] are reliant on Moroccan supply these days, so the likelihood is that all may be seeing shortages and gaps”, they said.
“The Moroccan industry is pretty transactional, and in my experience does limited planning. I would expect to see gaps in the coming weeks.”
Sardines are one of Morocco’s biggest exports, with around 60% of tinned sardines found in Britain coming from the north African country, according to stats shared by the UK embassy in Rabat.
Local media has been reporting that fishing boats have been returning empty from their trips for weeks now, which has been attributed to a series of factors, from overfishing by domestic and foreign boats to climate change impact on weather and fish feed levels.
The Moroccan government has also been holding crisis talks with the fish canning industry to tackle the challenges.
“Moroccan sardines production faced significant supply challenges in 2024”, confirmed Chris O’Rorke, sales & marketing director at Kingfisher Foods. Production in southern ports had fallen by as much as 60% compared with 2023, which “itself was already a challenging year”.
And while “it’s too early to say how 2025 will be”, O’Rorke noted the year hadn’t “started well, with poor weather affecting fishing”.
“We made a considerable effort at the end of last year to get as much product packed as possible,” O’Rorke said, which had meant Kingfisher had “been able to keep all customers in stock through the first quarter of 2025 and into the second quarter”.
“But we remain concerned about availability for the rest of the year”, he said, as suppliers in Morocco were “reluctant to take additional orders for 2025 with a significant backlog of outstanding orders”, which had bumped prices “significantly”.
Gaps on shelves
Grocer analysis of Assosia data shows that some gaps are already visible across the retailers. Some of Asda’s own-label tinned sardines sourced from Morocco appear to be out of stock since earlier this month. The supermarket said this was not related to the supply issues.
Tinned fish giant John West also said it was “aware of the industry-wide sourcing challenges in Morocco and continue to work with our suppliers across all fisheries to maintain the highest possible availability for our customers and consumers”.
A spokesperson added the company also sourced sardines from fisheries across Europe, including from the UK.
A Princes spokesperson confirmed Moroccan sardines supply “has been experiencing disruptions for some time now, with catch levels remaining below expectations in 2025 following the annual fishery closure”.
“While the exact reasons for the reduced availability are not fully understood, there are indications that climate change may be influencing fish migration patterns, moving them away from traditional fishing grounds and beyond the reach of the predominantly artisanal fleet”, they added.
Many UK branded and own-label suppliers are currently exploring sourcing alternatives over fears the situation in Morocco may not improve in the future, The Grocer understands.
“We’re proactively reviewing other sources, however options are limited,” Kingfisher’s O’Rorke added.
Princes was also “actively reviewing all sourcing options” in line with its ambition to source more MSC-certified “smaller pelagic fish such as sardines”.
Robert Wiltshire, the head of seafood sourcing and sustainability for LDH (La Doria) – which makes own-brand tinned fish for the retailers – warned that companies looking for complementary sourcing elsewhere “must be very mindful of the issues around sustainability, quality and factory capabilities”.
No comments yet