UK supermarkets have been branded "truly shameful" after thousands of tonnes of Russian-origin seafood was found to be sold by retailers last year.
Major grocers including Aldi, Lidl and the Co-op continue to sell fish “originally produced” in Russia, according to fresh data.
The Ocean Disclosure Project (ODP) says that Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Asda were also found to be stocking Russian-origin seafood, including pollock, cod, haddock and pink salmon.
Mike Cohen, chief executive of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations, which represents the UK’s fishing industry, said: “Retailers have been willing to turn a blind eye to the true source of fish ‘processed’, however minimally, in a third country, in order to obscure its origins in the Russian fishing fleet.
"It is truly shameful.”
The findings come despite UK supermarkets pledging to remove Russian-made products from their stores in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Cohen said continuing to buy Russian fish raised both geopolitical and environmental concerns.
“Aside from the obvious point about not trading with a country under sanction for the repeated commission of atrocities, Russia is notorious for its atrocious track record in fisheries management,” he said.
“All of this is well documented; no commercial buyer of fish can pretend to be ignorant of it.
"If any British retailer is still choosing to support the continued abuse of workers and destruction of the marine environment, rather than pay a little more to buy sustainable fish from our domestic fleet, it is a disgrace.”