Goodfish
'Supporting sustainable inshore day fisheries to help conserve the coastal environment, plus more!'
Eat all local fish campaign
Few or many species?
If we remain obsessed with eating only a few species of fish, these could eventually become extinct in terms of being commercially available. The current obsession by 80% of us is for Cod, Salmon, Tuna, Prawns and Haddock. We should now make greater efforts to consume lesser-known species. By using the whole catch, from smaller coastal boats, we could also reduce waste and keep fish stocks healthy. This means the public as consumers, chefs and restaurants, fishmongers, supermarkets and all those in a position to provide an improved market.
By making the choice to eat lesser known species you can also support vulnerable local fishermen who are part of our community and heritage whilst helping reduce pressure on threatened fish stocks. In short we can create a better market for all fish if we promote it, demand it and eat it.
To help do this we must be willing to pay a reasonable price for fish such as cuttlefish, dab, gurnard, megrim, mackerel, pollock, pouting and whiting so that they find their way onto our table, instead of being discarded at sea. Too much of this 'less valuable' catch is thrown back to the sea to make room for more valuable fish, so it’s up to all of us to help make a difference.
Local fish we should eat more often
By asking for or buying these fish you may create more demand and a market locally for fish that may otherwise be thrown away. Flounder, for example is a tasty fish, but you do not often find it at the fishmongers and often it is used as lobster bait because few people want to eat it. - so go on give these fish a try.
Red Gurnard (Aspitrigla cuculus) is a relatively plentiful fish available between August and March. It is fast growing and matures early. It is caught regularly but often discarded or sold for pot bait. This is a good tasting fish and potentially a future sustainable local species - Why not ask your fishmonger and give it or the other two types of gurnard a try?
Hastings has its own recipe for the gurnard. They roll the whole fish in flour and then draw them through melted lard or dripping, slash the skin, and grill. The same is done with the fillets. The flesh of the gurnard can have a tendency to dryness, so it is customary to serve it with melted butter, as is customarily the case in Hastings, or with a cream or cheese sauce.
(Taken from http://www.information-britain.co.uk/food/foodlegends/Hastings%20Gurnard/)
South East Food and Drink also have a recipe - Link
Dab (Limanda limanda) is the smallest member of the plaice family. It has a sweet taste and is also relatively plentiful, but under utilised by the public. It is available and best bought between July and February to avoid its spawning season.
Vic Fishers Sea Angling Journal (Web Site) has a suggestion for cooking Dabs with noodles.
Hastings MSC certified Herring Mackerel and Dover Sole; Certified as sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council.
Whiting (Merlangius merlangus) is the smallest member of the Cod family. It is supposedly plentiful in the English Channel and underutilised as a fish for the table.
Vic Fishers Sea Angling Journal (Web Site) has a suggestion for cooking crispy whiting
Pollock, Pouting, Megrim, Cuttlefish, Flounder, Squid and Crab are also underutilised
Channel 4s Fish Inspiration provides more details of species worth trying that are probably more sustainable than many others and includes some of the species described above.
By asking for or buying these fish you may create more demand and a market locally for fish that may otherwise be thrown away - go on give it a try
Recipes
The Goodfish recopes page has many links to suggested recipes and ways to cook the fish suggested above. Over time it is hoped to suggest recipes that are promoted by local chefs and that also use other local Sussex ingredients.
Goodfish suggested campaign
How many fishmongers are willing to buy the total catch from local small scale fishermen? They may if there was a concerted effort to create a better market, so there is a challenge there. Could a newspaper such as the Argus, take this a a Sussex campaign that they could champion and promote with local fishermen, fishmongers, conservation charities, sea anglers etc.
I say this could work - How do we make it happen? Goodfish suggests how below:
1. Inshore fishermen, local fishmongers, sea anglers and restaurants could create an alliance or cooperative to coordinate a campaign to make these fish available, market the benefits and develop great local recipes that people can use.
2. Restaurants fish and chip shops and other food outlets could make much more of the fish of the day / seasonal dish that uses locally caught species (Coast Friendly). The following article explains how one restaurant has done this; Jim serves up Gurnard
2. The Argus could provide the communications support to ensure this is a regular and well developed campaign that does make changes in peoples' purchasing and eating behaviour.
3. A brand could be developed (Based on the Coast Friendly proposal already suggested at www.coastfriendly.co.uk) that would provide a clear and consistent message and marque that provides confidence to the public that there is some environmental legitimacy to the fish. This would also be used to provide fair prices to fishermen.
If your business uses locally caught fish, from small boats that do not beam, pair or otter trawl, then the 'Coast Friendly' Initiative may be for you! Click here to find out about the trial that you could be part of.
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