From Farming to Fishing: 

You obviously know us at The Organic Butchery, and it's fair to say that we know a thing or two about sustainably managing the land. However, we are admittedly less of an expert when it comes to the production of fish. We do however think that it makes up a very important part of our diet - despite championing meat, we believe less is more and that a diet should be a flexible balance of protein from sustainably sourced meat, fish, and vegetarian sources too.

So, we have set about structuring our fish offering so that we can provide you with plenty of choice if you’re casting your net further than meat alone. 

How Does Sustainable Fishing Work?

Working with a carefully chosen supplier from the small, historical tidal fishing ports of Looe and Polperro, we have focused on providing a small and consistent range of sustainably sourced, delicious fish that we are able to keep in stock throughout the year. Day boats land their catch after a long, hard day at sea, typically between 6-11pm - dependent on the tides. The team arrive at work for 5am, where they grade the catch, and carefully select the best fish for our order. Their expert fillets get to work preparing the fish, it is then vacuum packed and frozen – this locks in all the freshness, flavour and nutritional value and means you get the longest possible shelf life at home. 

How Does Sustainable Fishing Support Communities?

By working with small day boats (there are just 12 left working out of Looe), we can ensure that our fish range not only sustains the fish populations, it also supports a traditional way of life in these communities as each boat remains family, not company, owned. Over the decades fishing boats have got bigger to catch more fish, but these boats couldn’t fit in the port or get as much from Looe as required by their quotas, leading to the collapse of Looe Fish market. Local fishermen were concerned that they would have no option but to fish in in the fiercely competitive ports of Plymouth, selling their fish at auction where they would lose 12% of their earnings. The Cornish Fish Co was set up to support them and, thanks to customers like yourselves, fishermen now keep up to 98% of their earnings from their daily catch.

How Do the Cornish Fish Co Fish Sustainably?

The Cornish Fish Co. have vast local knowledge and experience in the local fishing industry, as well as a passionate team who are invested in all things fish. They have established fantastic working relationships with local fishermen, buying most of their fish directly from them. These relationships enable them to make specific requests to the fishermen i.e. to target and also avoid certain species when they are not in season. Being just 20 metres from the quayside means they are able to buy and process fish within 12 hours of being caught, sometimes just 6 hours if the tides allow. 

Fishing in a tidal harbour in small boats is more sustainable because the boats can be out for just 12 hours a day, and there is only so much fish that can be stored on a 14m boat. Compare this to larger, company owned boats which can be out for days and days at a time to save on fuel, carrying much heavier fishing gear and catching much larger quantities of fish at a time. There are various methods for catching fish with varying degrees of sustainability.

Which Sustainable Fishing Methods Are Used?

The most sustainable method is hook and line, typically used for catching fish like pollock, whiting and bass. Netters like gill nets are also used which rely on fish swimming in, also slowing smaller fish to swim through. Trawling is a method of fishing that involves pulling a fishing net through the water behind the boat. This principle requires netting bags which are towed through water to catch targeted species of fish at different times of year. 

• Hook & Line where possible

This is always their preferred method of fishing, as the fish are completely untouched and don't have a scale missing. This involves quite literally 1 man and 1 fishing rod, usually much smaller inshore boats than normal, under 8 metres in length. Species such as Mackerel, Pollack, Bass & Whiting are usually targeted by the Line fishermen.

• Static Nets

Also called Drift Nets, these are a line on Gill Nets, with large meshes to allow small fish to swim through, fishermen will shoot their nets over for example a wreck, where fish will be. The nets lie on the seabed for just a few hours at a time before being hauled. Species typically targeted are Monk, Bass, Pollack, Cod, Plaice, Turbot, Lemon Sole, Mackerel, Herring, Brill & Skate.

• Otter Trawl

This is the most common method of fishing known as trawling, which involves dragging a net along the seabed. The nets can be 100m wide and our local boats will typically use 100mm Cod End Mesh (The Cod End is the piece of net at the end which gathers all the fish). By using a larger mesh it allows the small fish to swim through. While trawling can be seen as unsustainable, it is often given a bad reputation by Super Trawlers, which come from afar with nets hundreds of metres wide, and scoop up anything in their path. When buying trawled fish, it is important to buy from a 'Day Boat'. Typically the fishing gear used on these smaller boats is alot lighter, and much less damaging to the seabed. 

Why Is Sustainable Fishing So Important?

Of course, it is paramount that fish is sustainably sourced - for the management of our marine ecosystems, to respect fish stock levels and ensure overfishing does not occur. Overfishing to meet the demands of the consumer have meant certain stocks of fish have gone into decline, the demand has been so high that the fish stocks have not be given time to replenish. It is said that 1/3rd of fish stocks are overfished, which really is quite shocking. Sustainable fishing allows fisheries to work closely with scientists to look at the patterns of growth and decline of fish stocks, these occur through births, deaths and migration. By analysing this data, the ‘maximum sustainable yield’ (this is how much a fish species can be fished before overfishing occurs) is calculated and this allows responsible fishing to occur, working with nature, instead of against it.

 

Farmed fish

There is a wide spectrum of ways that fish can be caught or farmed, and certification schemes help you identify which standards the fish you are buying has been subject too. At The Organic Butchery we only stock sustainable fish.

All of our Salmon is certified organic so that we can guarantee consistently excellent flavour and texture. The salmon is reared in the chilly, fast-flowing waters of the Irish Sea, off the coast of Antrim. It’s reared in Spring which mimics an Atlantic salmon’s natural reproductive cycle. The salmon are fed an approved organic feed which is GMO-free, with only natural pigments used in the organic salmon feed, resulting in a slightly paler flesh, in comparison to conventionally farmed salmon whose feed has been manipulated to enhance their pink flesh colour. Space is essential in any organic farming system and these salmon are no exception, with lower stocking densities meaning lots of freedom to move and grow, the space is double that of conventional fish farming systems. This space paired with clean saltwater with a strong flow ensures the salmon grow lean and strong, resulting in a better-tasting fish.

Our fine English ChalkStream® Trout is grown on the world-famous Test and Itchen Rivers in Hampshire. Slow grown for 2 years in fast-flowing pure chalk stream water, these artisan farmed trout are raised in conditions as close to wild trout as possible, to create an exceptionally lean fish with a unique and delicate taste. Any overflow water passes through specially designed settling channels to remove any waste before returning to the river, and this comes through in the clarity of flavour.

ChalkStream® farms are fully segregated systems, which minimises the impact on the unique chalk stream environments of the main rivers. The outflow from the farms pass through specially designed settling channels to remove waste and ensure the water returns to the river in the same class A rated condition. The Test and Itchen Rivers are two of the most highly monitored rivers in the UK and the farm outflows are subject to a constant testing regime by the Environment Agency to ensure water quality. In contrast to sea cage and loch reared fish, ChalkStream® has a proven low impact on the surrounding water environment.

If you want to understand if the fish you're consuming is truly sustainable, we recommend The Good Fish Guide. Use the website or app to search a particular type of fish, and check if it's classed as sustainable (Green rated), can be sustainable but needs to be consumed with caution, depending on how and where it is caught, or is the least sustainable (Red rated) and should be avoided.

 

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