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\n Spot the difference: mackerel and jack mackerel in a branch of Lidl this week. The Journal<\/p>\n
FANS OF TINNED fish may have come across a new addition to supermarket shelves \u2013 jack mackerel.<\/p>\n
Despite having a similar name and appearing alongside mackerel, jack mackerel is a different species.<\/p>\n
Lidl is stocking the two side-by-side and told\u00a0The Journal this weekend that it is \u201ctransitioning\u201d its tinned mackerel offering to jack mackerel from Chile.<\/p>\n
So what\u2019s going on?<\/p>\n
Plummeting Atlantic mackerel stocks, caused by severe overfishing, have sent retailers scrambling for alternatives, with several UK supermarkets and now the Irish arm of Lidl adding jack mackerel to their product list.<\/p>\n
\n Spot the difference: mackerel and jack mackerel in a branch of Lidl this week. The Journal<\/p>\n
The Journal<\/p>\n
Different species<\/p>\n
Jack mackerel, which has the Latin name Trachurus symmetricus and is also called \u201chorse mackerel\u201d, comes from the southern Pacific. The fish Irish people commonly refer to as mackerel, Scomber scombrus, comes from the north-east Atlantic.<\/p>\n
Atlantic mackerel is a very popular oily fish and often considered an affordable \u201csuperfood\u201d due to its healthy properties. It\u2019s very high in omega-3 fatty acids and in protein.<\/p>\n
Jack mackerel is lower in omega-3 and tastes different, having a much lower fat content.<\/p>\n
Lidl has somewhat confused matters by labelling its tinned jack mackerel as \u201chigh in protein\u201d, despite the fact that it contains 17g of protein per 100g, whereas its Atlantic mackerel contains 20.9g.<\/p>\n
It is charging \u20ac1.25 for jack mackerel in olive oil and 95c for Atlantic mackerel in sunflower oil.<\/p>\n
The Journal tried tins of each, and we thought the jack mackerel, while chewier and not as appealing looking, was quite nice, although some of us preferred the taste of the Atlantic mackerel overall.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\n Pacific jack mackerel (above) and Atlantic jack mackerel are different. Alamy<\/p>\n
Alamy\n<\/p>\n
There\u2019s another crucial difference that may attract consumers to jack mackerel: unlike Atlantic mackerel, it\u2019s certified as sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). This certification is prominently displayed on the Lidl tin.<\/p>\n
The MSC is a non-profit that promotes environmental sustainability in fishing. It removed its certification from Atlantic mackerel in 2019 due to overfishing.<\/p>\n
The NGO says<\/a> jack mackerel is \u201csimilar to the Atlantic mackerel in taste and consistency and is also high in omega-3\u2033.<\/p>\n Lidl Ireland said it was committed to sourcing fish from responsibly managed fisheries and all its mackerel meets its sourcing requirements because it was caught during a fishery improvement programme.<\/p>\n \u2018Like toast without butter\u2019<\/p>\n John Shine of Donegal-based fish supplier Shines Seafood, a fish supplier and tinned fish producer, said Atlantic mackerel is the \u201choly grail\u201d in terms of quality mackerel because of its high fat content.<\/p>\n He said eating jack mackerel, by comparison, is a bit like eating toast without butter.<\/p>\n Shines Seafood\n<\/p>\n Irish fishing is at the sharp end of the mackerel sustainability crisis.\u00a0The sector warned that it would be devastated by the EU slashing the mackerel quota by 70%<\/a> last December, in line with scientific advice.<\/p>\n However, after non-EU countries such as the UK and Norway<\/a>\u00a0set a catch limit well above the scientific advice<\/a>, the EU itself rowed back on its initial decision and set itself a more generous quota<\/a> in line with that of its neighbours.<\/p>\n When Greenland and Russia\u2019s catches are factored in, the estimated total mackerel catch for 2026 was 143% above the scientific advice, the\u00a0World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), an environmental NGO, said.<\/p>\n \u201cWith such an unsustainable catch level, coastal states are actively increasing the risk of biological collapse,\u201d the WWF told\u00a0The Journal this weekend.<\/p>\n Shine said Irish fishermen were getting the bill and the blame for overfishing by non-EU countries in international waters.<\/p>\n \u201cMost of these businesses involved in catching or processing [mackerel] are on their hands and knees,\u201d Shine said.<\/p>\n He said there should be a boycott of Norwegian salmon until it comes to the table and negotiates fair quotas.<\/p>\n![\"PastedImage-66374\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789873211_966_.png\")
\n John Shine. Shines Seafood<\/p>\n