Retailers are switching from Atlantic mackerel to a different species, jack mackerel from Chile, as Atlantic stocks collapse from overfishing. The change affects nutrition, price, sustainability labels and Irish fishing communities.
Data centres and corporate greed are ruining the country.
Despite having a similar name and appearing alongside mackerel, jack mackerel is a different species.
# What changed on supermarket shelves
# Two different fish
# Price and presentation At the time of reporting, Lidl priced tinned jack mackerel in olive oil at €1.25 and Atlantic mackerel in sunflower oil at €0.95. The Journal's tasting noted jack mackerel can look chewier and some tasters preferred Atlantic mackerel, though jack mackerel was described as acceptable by some reviewers.
# Sustainability labels matter
The MSC is a non-profit that sets standards for sustainable fishing. For consumers who use certification as a purchase signal, that label is a clear difference between the species on the shelf.
# Why Atlantic mackerel is in trouble Atlantic mackerel stocks have fallen sharply due to severe overfishing. The EU cut its quota dramatically in December 2025 based on scientific advice, but other fishing nations set higher limits. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) reported total catches for 2026 were far above scientific advice when catches by Greenland, Russia and other states are included. The WWF warned that such unsustainable catch levels increase the risk of biological collapse.
Irish fishermen are directly affected. John Shine of Shines Seafood described Atlantic mackerel as the "holy grail" for quality because of its fat content and said the industry is suffering economically as a result of the wider quota and catch dispute.
# Supply shocks beyond overfishing
# What shoppers should watch for
# Bottom line The switch to jack mackerel is a market response to collapsing Atlantic mackerel stocks and to sustainability certification differences. It affects taste, nutrition, price positioning and local fishing communities, and it makes the fisheries and supply-chain choices behind a simple tin of fish more visible on supermarket shelves.
Substitution with jack mackerel, a different species, because of dwindling stocks is criticised by consumer group Which? If you’ve recently opened a tin of mackerel and thought there was something fishy going on, you may have been right. An overfishing crisis means that instead of traditional mackerel, some now contain
The Chilean jack mackerel is of lower nutritional value and is imported from South America
Consumer group Which? has called the sale of jack mackerel, a cheaper, less nutritious species of fish, an example of "skimpflation".
Tesco and Sainsbury's shoppers may notice a change to a popular tinned fish after a major brand switched to a different species of mackerel.
NAPIER/DUNEDIN, Aotearoa New Zealand — In 2016, a scandal engulfed Aotearoa New Zealand’s fisheries regulator. Leaked documents showed that the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) had found, during investigative operations conducted in prior years, systematic illegal discarding of low-value fish as well as other viola
Fishing income has fallen to barely $20 a week for some of the families who depend on the river, while one veteran fisher told RFI he can earn about $80 a week collecting plastic and selling it to recycling companies. More than 60,000 tonnes of fish are caught each year in the Congo River, while millions of people depe
Loading more related stories...
Open the app view to save this story, compare related coverage, and continue from the same source.