CAPITAL REWARDS FOR RESORT FISHERMEN

Visit to port raises hope of all-round good deals supplying top London restaurants directly – and improving stocks

TOP London restaurants could be taking fresh fish direct from Bridlington fishermen in the future – and giving them higher prices for their catches while protecting stocks. The sustainable scheme would cut out the middleman and take the pressure off fishermen trying to make a living. But it would also mean much fresher fish for the consumer and allow them to know exactly where and when it was caught. The initiative grew out of a successful scheme involving a father-and-daughter team at Helston in Cornwall who began supplying a sushi fish restaurant called Moshi Moshi, based in London and Brighton.

The restuarant's managing director Caroline Bennett now hopes to expand this to some of the top restaurants in London, including Conran and Loch Fyne. Ms Bennett was in the port yesterday with Dr Malcolm MacGarvin, who has been involved with the scheme from the start, meeting North Eastern Sea Fisheries Committee officers before going on to meet fishermen in the evening.

Dr MacGarvin told the Yorkshire Post: "The family from Cornwall was getting species like wrasse for which there was no market and was considered inedible and used for pot baiting.

"But they (the sushi chefs) found it worked extremely well in sushi. They were able to use monkfish liver that was chucked overboard for the seagulls." The fishermen ensured they were back by 3pm so the fresh fish was arriving in London by 9am the next day and soon afterwards Moshi Moshi became a major customer. He added: "What we are interested in the long-term is improving sustainable fisheries and trying to link them up with the London restaurants.

"A lot of people try to work on fisheries with regulation; this is trying to come up the other side and create a demand for sustainable fisheries." Ms Bennett said many of their customers opted for their "clear conscience" dishes. They wanted to make an educated choice. She added: "The consumer will win because the quality of the fish is so much better."

The pair will be visiting about 10 more ports in the next three to four months and then hope to join up alliances of like-minded fishermen with restaurants. Andrew Sanderson, who nets from the beach for seatrout, sea bass and salmon, was one of the invited guests at a function in the resort last night. He said it seemed a great idea. "I think the days of catching a lot for a little have gone and now we have to think about catching a little for a lot." He sells a lot of his fish to Grimsby Fish Market, which sells on to wholesalers for London. "If we get better prices we wouldn't have to fish so hard," he added. "For us the price difference between £4 a kilo and £6 is a big difference and everything above £6 is a hell of a difference."

Giles Bartlett, of the fisheries committee, said: "Fishermen are not very good at price negotiations. They are price takers not price makers, so any initiative to increase the value of catches is welcome from their point of view and the sustainability point of view."

Alexandra Wood

YORKSHIRE POST

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