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Cornwall Wildlife Trust urges the public to support local fisherman by buying local sustainable seafood!

Posted on: 11th October 2018

Cornwall Wildlife Trust urges the public to support local fisherman by buying local sustainable seafood!
New data supports changes to the Cornwall Good Seafood Guide’s list of recommended seafood and Cornwall Wildlife Trust urges the public to support local fishermen by buying local sustainable fish.
 
There is an array of different seafood landed to Cornish ports; it is healthy and affordable when in season yet current research shows that two thirds of the population are not eating the recommended two portions of fish per week.  Cornwall is fortunate to have some of the most sustainable seafood in the world, however much of it is exported, adding unnecessarily to the carbon footprint. With Brexit looming, now is a great time to get local seafood back onto the menu and the Cornwall Good Seafood Guide makes it easy for the public and those in the food industry to seek out local sustainable seafood.
 
There is increasing concern from consumers as to the origins and sustainability of our food, and it is a complex issue. However, Cornwall Wildlife Trust make this information readily accessible through the excellent Cornwall Good Seafood Guide website, featuring information on the best seafood choices to make, where to buy it and plenty of simple and inspiring recipes. 
 
Every six months the Cornwall Good Seafood Guide updates its sustainability ratings based on the latest evidence from international fisheries scientists, as well as local information on how fish is caught and managed in Cornwall’s waters. Following the latest data, published this summer, there are some changes to the recommended seafood list to announce, including great news for Cornish monkfish and megrim, both vitally important to the Cornish fishing fleet. 
 
News of the Trust’s work is spreading outside the county, and inspiring people elsewhere to buy ‘good’ Cornish seafood, and support our fishermen.  Last week, Cornwall Wildlife Trust’s Marine Officer, Matt Slater was invited to London to give a talk on the Cornwall Good Seafood Guide project to members of the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts, an audience that included many of the nation’s top chefs. We are very grateful to David Sharland, Flying Fish Seafoods, for nominating Matt Slater to speak at the event. 
 
 
 
Renowned seafood restaurant, ‘Hook’ at the Fish Hotel in Worcestershire, has also become the first restaurant outside Cornwall to sign up as business supporters of the Cornwall Good Seafood Guide project, pledging to provide at least two species from the recommended list on their menus, showing that the Cornish brand has high value outside the county. 
 
 
 
This is all cause for celebration and hopefully bodes well for a healthy UK market for Cornwall’s sustainable seafood for years to come.  Businesses across Cornwall, and further afield, are now being encouraged to become supporters of the project as a way of highlighting the great local seafood they sell, at the same time as educating the public on the best choices to go for. Over 90 businesses including big names such as Nathan Outlaw, The Eden Project, Fifteen Cornwall, Red Hotels, St Aubyn Estates and St Austell Brewery, are already supporting the project. Please check the ‘where to buy’ section of the website to find a seafood supplier near you! 
 
Matt Slater will be attending the Falmouth Oyster Festival on Thursday 11th October to showcase the Cornwall Good Seafood Guide, as part of National Seafood Week which runs from 5th to 12th October, co-ordinated by Seafish.  
 
www.cornwallgoodseafoodguide.org.uk
 
Contact: 
Matt Slater, Marine Awareness Project Officer, 01872 302251 matt.slater@cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk   
 
Photographs:
 
Matt Slater talks sustainable Cornish seafood at The Royal Academy of Culinary Arts
Cornish Megrim – recommended by Cornwall Good Seafood Guide, Photo by Matt Slater
Busy fish counter at Off the Hook Fishmongers Wadebrige with owner Jon Bernasconi, Photo Matt Slater
Recommended seafood at Off the Hook fishmongers Wadebridge Photo by Matt Slater
 
Cornwall Wildlife Trust
Cornwall Wildlife Trust has been protecting Cornwall’s wildlife, both on land and in our seas since 1962.
It is the county’s leading wildlife conservation charity, with over 17,000 members which includes over 4,500 junior members and 160 Business Supporters.
Cornwall Wildlife Trust has Local and Specialist Groups based around the county. All play an important role in the Trust’s work and are always looking for more volunteers.
 
 

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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