Chippies champion sustainable seafood to win top industry accolades
Fry Magazine / By Helen Edmonds / 23 October 2025
Two fish and chip shops were honoured alongside retail giants including Tesco and Sainsbury’s at last night’s Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) UK Awards, recognising their outstanding commitment to championing sustainable seafood.
Fish City in Belfast was named MSC UK Marketing Champion 2025, while The Scrap Box in York received the MSC UK Newcomer of the Year 2025 award at a ceremony held at the Signet Library in Edinburgh.
The judges chose Fish City as their winner due to its creative and effective efforts to promote awareness of sustainable seafood amongst its staff and customers, launching in-house training and developing and running a Kids Club which has seen more than 150 young students participate in an immersive educational experience. The restaurant’s social media channels have carried a regular stream of engaging posts championing sustainable seafood consumption, and the kitchen team developed several popular new MSC certified dishes.
On receiving the award, Fish City owner John Lavery said: “In this current climate and difficulties in the fish and chip industry, it’s never been more important to introduce other species to alleviate the pressure on what the public regard as the ‘go to’ such as cod and haddock. Being MSC certified means that the public can trust what is on their plate and can contribute to the mission we are on.”
The seafood and fish and chip restaurant picked up a second award when its social media manager, Aaron Norton, was awarded MSC UK Foodservice Champion for his efforts in masterminding the restaurant’s social media campaigns and ongoing activities.
After receiving his award, Aaron said: “It’s a huge honour to win an MSC award. As an individual and speaking on behalf of Fish City, we take sustainability so seriously. It’s part of who we are. We partner with MSC to ensure sustainable seafood is there for future generations.”
Another fish and chip winner on the night was The Scrap Box in York, named MSC UK Newcomer of the Year 2025, in part for a video series, Will It Fry?, designed to explore MSC-certified species in a creative way. The series achieved over 200,000 views across social media. Judges were also impressed with Saithe September, launched in Sustainable Seafood September, to encourage customers to try a lesser-known species.
Taking to the stage to collect his award, owner Aman Dhesi said: “We’re so proud to win the newcomer of the year. We’ve only been MSC certified for a year, but, in that time, this has become one of the foundations that’s allowed The Scrap Box to be trusted when it comes to fish and chips.
“Hopefully we’ve shown that even in challenging times, independents can thrive — and that sustainability and tradition really can go hand in hand. We’re proud to champion that future.”
Recognising the chippies’ accomplishments, Rowan Williams, MSC UK & Ireland commercial officer, said: “Restaurants have such an important role in influencing consumer behaviour. Both Fish City and Scrap Box have taken that responsibility and run with it – changing their customers’ buying habits for the better while also taking their workforce on their sustainability journey with them.”
Other notable winners on the night included Tesco, awarded Gold in the Supermarket of the Year category for the excellent progress it’s made in increasing the number of its MSC labelled products and volume sold, and Sainsbury’s, awarded ASC UK Retailer of the Year for its 100% commitment to sourcing ASC-certified seafood and for offering the highest share of responsibly farmed products both in-store and online.
Meanwhile, Poole Harbour Clam and Cockle Fishery won the Marine Stewardship Council UK (MSC) Ocean Leadership Award for its innovative use of drones to protect stocks, the livelihoods of permitted fishermen and its unique marine environment.