Fish and Chip shop of the year competition
Fish, Chips and Sustainability: Good Catch Award finalists announced
16 December 2009
Three fish and chip shops have reached the finals for the Good Catch Sustainability Award as part of this year’s Fish and Chip Shop of the Year Competition, run by Seafish. With nearly 276 million meals sold each year from over 10,500 shops across the UK, fish and chips are a key part of our nation’s seafood culture. Alfie Grimshaw from Kenilworth, Colman’s of South Shields and Falmouth’s Harbour Lights, all impressed the judges with their work towards sustainable sourcing and knowledge of the issues around sustainable seafood.
A new award
The Good Catch Award, created for this year’s competition, recognises fish and chip shops that have shown initiative in improving the environmentally responsible practices of their business and the seafood that they buy, serve and promote. This new award aims to encourage further progress across the fish and chip sector by increasing awareness of sustainably sourced seafood and the practical support available to businesses.
Emily Howgate of Seafood Choices and Good Catch coordinator, said: “Ten, or even five years ago, sustainable sourcing would not have been on the agenda for most fish and chip shops. Now, with increasing consumer awareness of ethical and environmental issues, fish and chip shops are really starting to put sustainability on the menu – where it belongs. The Good Catch Award will help to create a race to the top in sustainable fish and chips and the finalists we’ve announced today are the front-runners.”
The winner
The winner of the Good Catch Award will be announced on the 21st January at the Fish and Chip Shop of the Year awards ceremony in London hosted by celebrity chef Aldo Zilli.
About Good Catch
Good Catch, an initiative of the Marine Conservation Society, the Marine Stewardship Council, SeaWeb’s Seafood Choices, and Sustain, the alliance for better food and farming, is a collaborative project that helps the foodservice sector navigate seafood sustainability. It directs foodservice professionals to a range of user-friendly materials and activities on sustainable seafood, including The Good Catch Manual: a rough guide to seafood sustainability. The Manual includes MCS seafood ratings, information on Marine Stewardship Council-certified fisheries, top tips to ask suppliers, all in an easy-to-use format. Together the Good Catch workshops, fieldtrips, publications and online tools create a collection of clear, consistent information and practical support.
For more information, visit the Good Catch web site.
The MSC is working with Good Catch on sustainability issues and the potential for certification with the Fish and Chip shop sector as part of its 'MSC on the Menu' project. This work has been funded by Defra's Greener Living Fund (GLF). For more information on the GLF, please visit the Greener Living Fund web site.
Further information
For more information contact media@msc.org.
For more information about Seafish visit the Seafish web site.
