We sell fish, that’s our business, so why are we telling you about what we don’t sell?
Actually, we are pretty much shouting about what we don’t sell, and it is probably more important that telling you about the delicious and sustainable species we do offer. This is because there are certain species that are widely sold by fish and shellfish retailers in full knowledge of their dwindling populations or high vulnerability, or because of the wider impact of the fishing method used. For us, it’s like they are selling pandas. OK that’s a weird analogy, but you get the idea. In our view, it is basically immoral to be selling fish that are endangered, and we have a whole section on what is NOT FOR SALE on our website – we hope that by educating the consumer and calling out bad practice in the fishing industry we can help turn the tide on marine sustainability.
The most important concept to understand is that it is not just what species is being caught, but how it is caught that is so important. Some methods are much more damaging than others, either through the level of by catch or the impact on the sea floor or wider marine environment. You can read all about the different fishing methods here on our fishing techniques explainer blog. We work closely with the Cornwall Wildlife Trust’s Good Seafood Guide to check on species population health, and review the science on which fish we should and shouldn’t be selling every six months.
We use all this information try to educate our customers, nudging them away from overfished favourites, towards lesser-known but just as delicious local alternatives.
We know we are only small, but change starts small, by those who are brave enough to stand up, to call out bad behaviour, to show there is a better way. So here’s to healthy seas, thriving fishing communities and beautiful seafood for the future.
Check out what is NOT FOR SALE here and start telling everyone about it!
