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Season's greetings

Posted on: 14th December 2023

Season's greetings

On the first day of Christmas, the Seafood Guide said to me – buy sustain-ably.

We’ve got an array of tasty, seasonal and, crucially, sustainable species here in the southwest. If in the build up to Christmas, like many at this time of year, you’re thinking of having a seafood dinner to treat yourselves, please remember to shop for Cornish seafood!

You may well have your favourites already, but we’d like you to consider swapping for more sustainable options. Have a browse of the recipes on our website to give you some ideas, featuring sustainable species that taste as good as (or better than!) what you may normally buy. As always, ask where and how your seafood was caught.

Swap:

  • Cod - for - MSC Certified Cornish Hake
  • Lemon sole - for - Cornish Sole (Megrim)
  • Brown/edible crab and crawfish - for - Pot-caught Cornish King Crab and Lobster
  • Farmed smoked salmon - for - Cornish smoked Mackerel
  • Imported, farmed, tiger/king prawns - for - Pot-caught Cornish prawns
  • Dredged King Scallops - for - sail and oar caught Fal Estuary Queen Scallops

Other sustainable favourites include:

  • Monkfish
  • Native and Pacific oysters
  • And rope-grown Cornish Mussels

 

Rope-grown mussels are our most sustainable recommendation. They require zero feeding input, improve water quality, and help create habitats for juveniles and mini-species.

They are also delicious!

 

What's new?


There’s been a lot of changes during 2023, notably, we’ve seen zero catch advice for pollack, a new trial Bluefin Tuna fishery, and the first round of the new FMPs to replace the EU Common Fisheries Policy.

As the UK begins to restructure its fisheries management, now is more important than ever to make your voice heard.

Policy makers and politicians rarely hear from members of the public and the principles behind management in the first instance are often diluted in negotiations and consultations. Fisheries management should serve to protect, preserve, and increase fish populations for the benefit of long-term economic opportunities, and the health of the marine environment. The new FMPs should be ambitious in setting out to achieve this but are largely lacking in effective management proposals.

That is why this year, we are asking you to support our mission, by writing to MPs and prospective candidates as we approach a general election, Defra, Fisheries Minister, Mark Spencer, and the new Secretary of State, Steve Barclay to let them know that the public care and are invested in appropriate fisheries management.

Please see our How can you help? page for specific issues and demands to include when writing to MPs.

 

Donate to the Cornwall Good Seafood Guide & Cornwall Wildlife Trust
 

 

As always, keep your eyes peeled for our winter ratings update, which will go out for consultation in January with some more major changes...

 

In the meantime, keep shopping locally and sustainably and help us advocate for better fisheries management!



We hope you have a great Christmas and New Year and look forward to more sustainable Cornish seafood in 2024!



The Cornwall Good Seafood Guide
 
Matt Slater, Oscar Miller, and Ruth Williams, and the rest of the Cornwall Wildlife Trust Marine Team

 

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Cornwall Good Seafood Guide
Cornwall Wildlife Trust
Five Acres, Allet
Truro, Cornwall, TR4 9DJ

+44 (0) 1872 302251 seafood@cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk

Cornwall Good Seafood Guide is underpinned by the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) Good Fish Guide. The first UK consumer guide to sustainable seafood. For more information visit www.fishonline.org

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