Introducing the Skipper's Log

Introducing the Skipper's Log

At Rockfish sustainability is in our blood. It’s ingrained into the very cartilage of our anatomy. It’s what drives us to constantly evolve.

That’s not to say we’re always perfect. But that’s just the point. We’re never complacent. Continually casting our net in search of the next breakthrough in seafood conservation.

Like a Basking Shark filtering microscopic single-celled organisms out of the water with their giant gills. We, at Rockfish, want to suck up as much information as we can, filtering the truths from the lies and misinformation.

The problem with the green agenda – especially in relation to food – is that the landscape is constantly shifting. It’s easy to get bogged down with so many rights and wrongs, dos and don’ts, truths and lies.

Which is why we are launching this Skipper's Log. It’s our chance to roll up our trouser legs and pick our way bare foot through the seaweed. Poke our crab net amongst the mirky political and scientific rockpools in search of what good practice in seafood actually is. We want to be able to share our findings with you. Those pearls of wisdom. Simply so that not only can we be the best, but you can too. Together we want to create cultural change in fish eating.

The NHS tells us to eat at least two portions of fish per week. However only 33% of us actually achieve this. With 9% of us never eating any fish at all. Which is pretty shoddy for an island nation with some of the richest fishing waters in the world!

In 2019 when we started our collaboration with the Rockfisher (our fishing boat) it was a way for us to better understand the trials and challenges of the fishing industry.

We wanted to go further than the majority of restaurants whose relationship with their fish starts when it arrives nicely iced in neat boxes at their doorstep. Instead, we wanted to know what it’s like to have our hands at the cod end, catching the fish ourselves.

Since the launch of our Online Seafood Market we’ve been able to set up a zero-waste system at Rockfish. Meaning no fish we buy or catch is ever wasted or thrown away. Zero. If it can’t be served that day or posted to a customer, then we flash freeze it within hours of landing.

We hand select the best seafood from the Brixham Fish market and sell it the the day it is landed. Providing unique opportunities for our customers to buy the freshest possible fish.

And now with the Skipper's Log we have a chance to present our findings, the challenges we face, as well as the challenges of the world of fish. It’s a sneak peek into the wheelhouse of the seafood industry. With Brexit, wars overseas, domestic and international troubles, cost of living, inflation, housing, employment, the future is an uncertain one. With the Skipper’s Log we hope to report on how sustainable seafood is influenced by these political winds and economic tides.

When we set out to sea aboard the Rockfisher, and look back towards land, the distance gives a unique clarity on the challenges back at shore. It’s this clarity that we hope to achieve and replicate with this new undertaking.

At Rockfish we will always continually drive to become the most trusted provider of sustainable, fresh, quality seafood in this country. But from this post forward we’ll aim also to be the last word you need on all things fishy.