Sustainable Fishing at Rockfish

When I met Mitch Tonks back in March one of the first questions I was excited to ask was about sustainability and protecting the oceans:

One of my favourite things about Rockfish is that the staff sit you down and talk you through the catches of the day, the best way to have them served up and the best sauce for the meal. They all seem to have a real passion for offering advise.

Part of the training involves a 6am start at Brixham Fish Market to see where the fish comes from, how you prep it/cut it, how you batter it (to the right degree, holding for the right amount of seconds) and learning what best to serve it up with. This training is for everyone and not just the chefs. Laura even did it herself. Every morning the staff are briefed on the catches of the day. 

You do a lot for protecting the ocean. Why is that important to you personally?

It’s something that is in our DNA. We don’t do it because it’s cool or something we “should do”. Why would you cook fish that isn’t sustainable? Why would you use lots of single use plastic? 

Mitch went to Thailand last year and was so disappointed to see the vast amounts of plastic across the beaches.

Rockfish give out kids packs to encourage them to pick up plastic on beaches, they have taps outside all of their buildings so you can re-use your bottles and top up on route – customer or not…, each restaurant supports a local charity – Brixham’s one is called Till the Coast is clear (aims to clear local beaches) and the deckchair out the front is made using recycled fishing nets which had been washed up on beaches!!

Sustainability really is key it seems when it comes to Rockfish. Local fish is used and caught daily but it is all about making sure that there are a healthy amount of that species before plucking them out of the ocean. The fish is also certified sustainable by MSC. Not to boast but it seems that the South West fishery is well managed and quotas are controlled. Go South West! Read their statement here:

https://www.therockfish.co.uk/sustainability-statement/

As well as this it is important to ensure that the oceans are clear of rubbish, oils and plastic. Rockfish endeavours to assist in cleaning up the mess through charity assistance, ocean protector packs, removing single use plastic and making physical changes to their buildings (you can top up your water bottle outside the restaurant and the outside deckchair is made from re-usable ropes and nets!)

The great Ocean Protector Packs include the following:

Our Ocean Protector kids packs are available to all young children when eating in the restaurants.

What’s in Our Ocean Protector Packs?

Paper booklet –  paper material recyclable / biodegradable

Cotton Bag – Is recyclable and re-usable

Pencils – wood material recyclable and re-usable

Pencil box – paper material recyclable / biodegradable

Puzzle – Wood material recyclable / re-usable

Stickers – Paper / PLA coating –  recyclable / biodegradable

Beach Clean bag PLA material – recyclable / biodegradable

Wrist Band – Fabric recyclable / re-usable

Metal clip – reusable

HATS OFF to Rockfish for being sustainable and delivering great fish meals to happy hungry customers!