The Bay joins seafood charity in highlighting local sustainable seafood for their summer staycation
Marine Stewardship Council launches digital map locating the UK and Ireland’s certified sustainable fisheries
The Bay fish and chip shop in Scotland has joined with sustainable seafood champions Mitch Tonks and James Strawbridge to urge British staycationers to try out the local seafood at their holiday spots this year and support the growing sustainable seafood movement.
The Marine Stewardship Council, global standard setter for sustainable seafood, has today launched an online map which showcases sustainable fisheries in the UK and Ireland, along with information about the different species, history and fishing methods.
Brits have a great range of sustainable seafood available in the UK, from cockles fished in the Burry Inlet when in South Wales and the Dee Estuary in north Wales, to sardines and hake in Cornwall, clams from Poole Harbour in Dorset, herring and mussels in Ireland and haddock, crab, scallops and mussels in Scotland. There are 17 brand new pages, with information about each MSC certified sustainable fishery from across the UK and Ireland.
Calum Richardson, owner of the Bay fish and chip shop in Stonehaven, Scotland, the first chippy to serve MSC certified Scottish haddock, said: “We wanted to offer our customers Scottish haddock and the fishery’s MSC certification reassured us that in doing so, we would be helping to protect fish stocks and the long-term livelihoods of Scottish fishing communities. Our customers are looking for sustainable, local fish and chips and I am proud to source from a sustainable, well managed fishery.”
Restaurateur Mitch Tonks, from Rockfish in Devon and Dorset and The Seahorse in Dartmouth, said: “I love to source local wherever possible across my restaurants and this map will make it easier for diners to find out about different sustainable species when on holiday this year. We’re very lucky that our restaurant at Poole Quay is so close to the MSC certified clam and cockle fishery.
“Clams have such a lovely meaty texture and a fresh salty sea taste that is packed with flavour, I like using the smaller ones for cooking with spaghetti and the larger ones in a simple chowder.”
Cornish chef, food photographer and author James Strawbridge said: “For me there is nothing better to cook with than local seafood; it’s healthy, fresh and delicious and makes a chef’s job easy. Whenever I travel around the coast of the UK, I always make a habit of asking after what the locals eat and this new map is such a perfect way to tap into local knowledge, pick up some fishy facts and learn more about sustainable fish from our UK fisheries.
“When friends and chefs visit me in Cornwall, I always point them in the direction of Cornish hake or some fresh Cornish sardines and now with this map you can make your way around the coast of the UK. I think this will massively change the way we buy fish and engage with suppliers around the UK.”
Katie Keay, MSC Senior Fisheries Outreach Manager, UK & Ireland, said: “We’re really excited to launch this map today, showing exactly where and how sustainable seafood across the UK and Ireland is fished.
“We hope it will encourage seafood lovers to try out different species when on holidays across the UK this year. Fishermen work extremely hard to ensure we have sustainable seafood to enjoy and it’s great to be able to support them by choosing the blue MSC label whether dining out or when shopping for seafood.”
Some 72% of UK seafood consumers believe we need to switch to only sustainable seafood sources, according to research conducted by insights consultancy GloobeScan for MSC.
Around nine in ten want better information so they can avoid making unsustainable choices, the study also found.
About the Marine Stewardship Council
The MSC is an international non-profit organisation which sets globally recognised, science-based standards for sustainable fishing and seafood traceability.
The blue MSC label on a seafood product means that: it comes from a wild-catch fishery which has been independently certified to the MSC’s science-based standard for environmentally sustainable fishing; it is fully traceable to a sustainable source. It can be found on more than 100 species of seafood in 100 countries. https://www.msc.org/uk/