Waitrose has hailed its fish sales as “fantastic”, with 14% growth for its service counter and 40% growth for pre-packed over the year.
Fish buyer Jeremy Langley said the strongest performers on the service counter had been organic salmon and trout, and Alaskan salmon certified by the Marine Stewardship Council.
Within pre-pack, ready-to-eat shellfish had grown by 91%, principally driven by coldwater prawns.
“We only sell raw shellfish because we believe they are much better for cooking than previously cooked material,” Langley said.
Waitrose has also boosted its seafood offering with value-added lines such as cocktails, crevettes and marinated king prawns. But Langley added that the old favourites cod and haddock were also doing well, with a 16% growth in sales.
He said Waitrose had for some years sourced cod only from Icelandic waters because of consumer concern at the pressures on domestic stock.