Family-run south west chippie, Harlees has been awarded Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification for all of its seven restaurants, meaning that all of their cod and haddock can be traced back to sustainable, well-managed fisheries.
The certification is a double celebration as Harlees takes the total number of MSC certified chippies in the UK past the 25 landmark.
Certified sustainable fish and chips
Harlees is the latest in a recent surge of UK chippies to gain MSC certification and their restaurants makes up just over a quarter of all 26 MSC certified chippies nationwide. Based around Dorset, all of Harlees’ seven restaurants will serve the nation’s favourites from sustainable sources.
Family tradition
The local fish and chip chain has been highly recommended in The Guardian, The Observer and Waitrose’s own magazine and all of this is thanks to the hard work of the traditional, family run business. Owner, Richard Long, is the third generation fish fryer in his family after his grandfather started his first shop in 1946:
“Sustainable seafood sourcing is very important to me and my business, which is why MSC certification is so important to us. With today’s media coverage it is vital to get over to your customers the term ‘sustainable’ and more of our customers want to know. Is it from sustainable sources? How do you know it is? Having the ecolabel proves this. Now we can promote that we serve only certified sustainable cod and haddock by putting the MSC ecolabel on our menu and help our customers make an informed, sustainable choice.”
Ruth Westcott, UK Foodservice Manager for the MSC, said: “It is absolutely fantastic to have Harlees on board. All of their hard work and dedication has paid off and now they will be serving certified sustainable fish and chips to their local community. Their restaurants make up a quarter of all UK MSC certified chippies, an incredible addition to the MSC and I hope others will follow in their footsteps.”
More Information
To keep in touch follow us on Twitter @MSCintheUK and Facebook.
For media inquiries, please contact [email protected].