Tom and Rob Aikens, Caroline Bennett of Soseki and Moshi Moshi, Geetie Singh of The Duke of Cambridge pub and Peter Weeden of Paternoster Chop House helped launch ‘Good Catch: cooking for change, serving the future’ today at London’s Billingsgate Fish Market.

‘Good Catch’ aims to help chefs and restaurateurs find practical solutions to sourcing sustainable seafood. A great deal of information is currently available to the foodservice industry, but many do not know where to begin. The first tool released through the initiative is the Good Catch Manual – a rough guide to seafood sustainability, designed to help seafood buyers navigate the complexities of responsible seafood procurement.

‘Good Catch’ is a joint venture of the Marine Conservation Society (MCS), Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), Seafood Choices Alliance and Sustain – the Alliance for Better Food and Farming. Half of global fish stocks are fully exploited and a further quarter overexploited. With UK seafood landings declining from 1.2 million tonnes in 1952 to just under 623,000 tonnes in 2006 and seafood consumption rising steadily, chefs and restaurateurs are increasingly recognising the part they can play in the responsible procurement of the seafood they serve.

“The British chef, as much as the consumer, has a huge role to play in bringing back marine life and promoting both clean seas and healthy fish stocks and biodiversity,” said Raymond Blanc of Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons. “The Good Catch Manual can help us on this path of responsibility and I am proud to be an active ambassador for this cause.” A recent undercover investigation of the high-end London sushi restaurant Nobu revealed that the restaurant was selling endangered Atlantic bluefin tuna without informing customers. ‘Good Catch’ seeks to provide practical information to seafood buyers up and down the supply chain to help address such sourcing concerns.

The Good Catch Manual takes the most recent recommendations from the Marine Conservation Society’s (updated September 2008) on over 50 species consumed in the UK. These ratings are included along with top tips to ask suppliers, information on the Marine Stewardship Council’s fisheries certification scheme and Chain of Custody programme for restaurants, as well as additional resources and materials for those in the foodservice industries looking to make their businesses more sustainable. Good Catch tools and resources, in addition to the Manual, include:
• www.goodcatch.org.uk - a website which directly routes users to sustainable seafood information and support;
• practical support on sourcing MSC certified seafood and highlighting it on menus;
• Fish Flash - a monthly e-bulletin with sustainable seafood developments and news;
• seafood-themed workshops such as a rough guide to seafood sustainability; engaging front of house staff; communicating a restaurant's responsible seafood efforts to customers; sourcing, serving and labelling MSC certified seafood;
• visits to fishermen, fish markets and other businesses.

“Sourcing and eating sustainable seafood has never been more important,” said ‘Good Catch’ coordinator Emily Howgate of Seafood Choices Alliance. “Chefs and restaurateurs are in a unique position to influence both the supply chain and consumers when buying and serving seafood, by supporting and offering sustainable options. Good Catch hopes to make it that much easier for them to be able to do this.”

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NOTE TO EDITORS:
‘Good Catch – cooking for change, serving the future’
Good Catch aims to help people in foodservice navigate the subject of seafood sustainability. It brings together the work of four organisations: the Marine Conservation Society (MCS), the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), SeaWeb’s Seafood Choices Alliance and Sustain. In addition to the ‘Good Catch Manual – a rough guide to seafood sustainability’, the initiative will direct foodservice professionals to a range of user-friendly materials and activities on sustainable seafood. Presented together through Good Catch, these create a collection of clear, consistent information and practical support, specifically designed to help restaurants and related businesses improve the sustainability of the seafood they buy, serve and promote. www.goodcatch.org.uk

Marine Conservation Society
The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) is the UK charity dedicated to caring for our seas, shores and wildlife. MCS campaigns for clean seas and beaches, sustainable fisheries, and protection for all marine life. The MCS fisheries programme promotes sustainable seafood consumption through its consumer awareness programme and by working with the foodservice, supply sector, and industry. For more information visit www.fishonline.org or www.mcsuk.org.
Sam Wilding of the MCS said: “The MCS’s fishonline website gives advice for almost every variety of fish to be found on sale in the UK. This information, alongside the supplier tips and information found in the Good Catch Manual, can help chefs and restaurateurs source their seafood more responsibly.”

Marine Stewardship Council
The MSC is an international non-profit organization that was set up in 1997 to promote solutions to the problem of overfishing. The MSC runs the only widely recognized environmental certification and eco-labeling program for wild capture fisheries. It is the only seafood eco-label that is consistent with the ISEAL Code of Good Practice for Setting Social and Environmental Standards and UN FAO guidelines for fisheries certification. The FAO “Guidelines for the Eco-labeling of Fish and Fishery Products from Marine Capture Fisheries” require that credible fishery certification and eco-labeling schemes include:
- Objective, third-party fishery assessment utilizing scientific evidence;
- Transparent processes with built-in stakeholder consultation and objection procedures;
- Standards based on the sustainability of target species, ecosystems and management practices.
The MSC has offices in London, Seattle, Tokyo, Sydney, The Hague, Edinburgh and Berlin. In total, more than 120 fisheries are engaged in the MSC program with 32 certified, 79 under assessment and another 20 to 30 in confidential pre-assessment. Together the fisheries record annual catches of more than 5 million tons of seafood. Of fish for human consumption, they represent more than 42 percent of the world’s wild salmon catch, more than 40 percent of the world’s prime whitefish catch and 18 percent of the world’s lobster catch. Worldwide, more than 1,600 seafood products resulting from the certified fisheries bear the blue MSC eco-label.
“It has never been easier to source and promote MSC-certified fish in restaurants,” said Laura Stewart of the MSC.
“The recent announcement by Compass Group UK & Ireland means that a diversity of their diners, from students and pupils to scientists and bankers, will have a wide-ranging choice of MSC-labelled seafood. The Marine Stewardship Council is excited to be involved with Good Catch to make it that much easier for restaurants and chefs to engage in the MSC Chain of Custody process, identifying sustainable choices with the MSC logo.”

Seafood Choices Alliance
Seafood Choices Alliance, an international programme of SeaWeb, provides leadership and creates opportunities for change across the seafood industry and ocean conservation community. Seafood Choices Alliance is about synergies and identifying creative solutions to long-held challenges. By building relationships and stimulating dialogue, Seafood Choices is encouraging and challenging all sectors of the seafood industry along the path toward sustainability.
www.seafoodchoices.org or www.seaweb.org