At the National Marine Aquarium we’re on a mission. We want people to try the wonderful sustainable seafood that is available from around the world and in British waters.
As a conservation charity you would be forgiven if you thought we were opposed to all fishing, however we need to be realistic. Seafood is a staple of many peoples diet and could be the key to feeding nine billion people by 2050. However, this can only happen if remaining fish stocks are sustainable managed.
We are running a campaign within the Aquarium called Reconnect. This project aims to reconnect people with their seafood by starting a conversation in communities. We want the public to have a greater understanding of seafood sustainability. Thanks to our project Plymouth became the first city in the world to be awarded ‘Blue City’ status by Fish2Fork. Building upon this success the Aquarium is spearheading Plymouth’s bid in becoming a Sustainable Fish City.
The Sustainable Fish City campaign was established by Sustain with the aim to change the way we buy and eat fish. It asks local businesses and organisations to only sell and serve sustainable fish to their customers and employees by:
- Avoiding the worst: telling suppliers and caterers to remove endangered species from menus and catering and avoiding fish rated as ‘fish to avoid’ by the Marine Conservation Society.
- Promoting the best: Serving sustainably managed fish, such as MSC certified, and those rated ‘good to eat’ by the Marine Conservation Society.
- Improving the rest: Telling caterers and suppliers that the business only wants to serve sustainable fish and signposting these companies to organisations that can help, such as Sustain’s Good Catch and MCS.
Due to Sustainable Fish Cities Plymouth now serves 1,699,310 sustainable fish meals! Our biggest pledge to date is Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust, who serve over 1.1 million fish meals every year.
All of the universities within Plymouth have joined in as well, whilst City College Plymouth will be encouraging students to lead by example. CATERed, who cater for 67 local schools and serve a quarter of million fish dishes, have also guaranteed their support along with award winning Fish & Chip shops: Harbourside Fish & Chips, Kingfisher Fish & Chips and Rockfish and restaurants the Ship and the Dolphin House Brassiere.
So far the City has earned 3 of 5 stars needed to achieve Sustainable Fish City status and you can help us achieve the final two. If you are workplace that would like to pledge your support then please visit:
