Wylde Market runs the UK’s online farmers’ market, connecting the UK’s best independent food producers with consumers across England, Wales and Scotland
Wylde guarantees full traceability on every fish — back to the boat and landing port.
Supermarkets can’t say the same: new EJF report reveals more than a quarter of UK seafood imports may be linked to illegal fishing and slave labour.
08/09/25, Twickenham, London: Most UK shoppers have no idea where their fish comes from and neither do the supermarkets that sell it. A new report from the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) warns that more than a quarter of the country’s seafood imports may be linked to illegal fishing and even slave labour. With imports making up 81% of Britain’s supply and government checks collapsing to “alarmingly low levels,” the information needed to guarantee provenance simply isn’t there.
Wylde Market is different. Every fish on the platform is traceable back to the boat and the port it landed in, so customers know exactly what they’re eating and who caught it. That transparency is why more and more people are choosing Wylde over supermarkets: producers on the platform are up 77% this year, the subscriber base has doubled to more than 25,000 households, and customers can order traceable British fish direct to their door every Friday.
Wylde co-founder Ella Cooper said: “Supermarkets are selling mystery fish. We can tell you the name of the fisherman and the boat. If you care about what you eat, and who you support, buy your fish through Wylde. That’s how you fix food — and give the supermarkets the finger while you’re at it.”
The EJF report highlights that over a quarter of the UK’s seafood imports come from countries with a record of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. Verification checks on catch certificates have plunged from 28 in 2019 to just five last year with none on imports from China, the top global offender.
Cooper said: ““When people buy fish through Wylde, they don’t have to worry about mystery imports linked to slave labour in the South China Sea or endangered sharks being passed off as something else. They’re backing real British fishermen doing things the right way. That’s the future of food — and you can choose it today.”
Launched in September 2023 by entrepreneurs Nick Jefferson, 48, and Ella Cooper, 29, Wylde has set out to revolutionise the UK’s food system by making the country’s best regenerative, organic and biodynamic produce available direct to households nationwide. Today, it brings together scores of farmers, fishermen, foragers, hunters, artisan makers, brewers, bakers, wine importers and more, delivering to homes across Great Britain (excluding Highlands and Islands).
As well as championing sustainable producers, Wylde uses its platform to campaign for food system reform and show how the UK’s supermarket-dominated model can be challenged.
Notes to Editors
• Wylde is the UK’s online farmers’ market connecting customers directly to farmers, fishermen and artisanal food producers.
• All fish sold on Wylde Market is traceable back to the vessel and landing port.
• The EJF report Criminal Catches is available here: https://ejfoundation.org/news-media/uks-weak-seafood-checks-risk-imports-tainted-with-human-rights-and-environmental-abuses-new-report
• Wylde was launched in September 2023 by entrepreneurs Nick Jefferson and Ella Cooper.
• Since launch, producers on the platform have almost quadrupled, from 20 to more than 75. The average order value has jumped from £55 to over £95.
Media contact
James Lumley
James@wylde.market | 07968 730092