Our Commitment to Responsible Sourcing
Monday, July 18, 2016 : 12:56 PM
At Fishbox we have passion for tasty, high quality fish that is sourced from Scottish waters. We believe that everyone can and should have access to this nutritious and magnificent resource. As a former fisherman Magnus has dedicated himself to sourcing seafood responsibly, helping to secure the future of seafood for his successors and livelihoods of the communities that the fishing industry has supported for generations.
Responsible sourcing to us means protecting the marine ecosystem, supporting fishermen, ensuring safe, traceable and legally sourced fish and respecting the advice provided by scientists and marine conservation groups to help inform our purchasing decisions. We have a very close relationship with all of our fishermen and buyers and listen very carefully to what they are seeing in their catches, since this is the data that science and the conservation community are relying on.
We are aware that UK fisheries are complex and unfortunately there is no one answer or solution to make our fish fully sustainable, but here at Fishbox we believe in no discards and utilizing all the fish which has been landed.
No Fish Discards
What does this mean?
By-catch fish are not targeted by fishermen, but are instead caught by accident because they swim alongside other fish species. Fishermen use special equipment to avoid catching these kinds of fish but it isn't always 100% effective.
When by-catch fish are brought to market they are not in demand from big retailers or supermarkets. Since many by-catch fish do not fit commercial demand they are wasted. At Fishbox we think this is unnecessary food waste that can easily be prevented.
We believe in utilizing all of our fishermen’s catch, meaning no fish discards and no waste.
We think that allowing our customers to try a variety of fish will help them to eat seasonally and responsibly, reducing pressure on certain species.
Spiced Forkbeard with spaghetti, peas, spinach & sour cream - get the recipe here
Why might you receive a rated 5 species in your Fishbox?
Sometimes you might receive a fish in your delivery that some marine conservation groups have labelled as a potentially at risk species. We never target species in this category. We respect and pay attention to the information provided by conservation groups. The reason you may have a fish such a forkbeard or tusk in your Fishbox is because it is a by-catch product from our fishermen. We only receive by-catch fish on rare occasions and in small quantities. Since these fish are most likely to have gone to waste, we instead utilize this catch. If it is tasty and nutritious, why not let our customers enjoy it?
By-catch fish are still fully traceable. We can tell you where your fish was caught and what boat caught it. We can even tell you the Skippers name!
Many deep water fish, such as tusk and forkbeard, do not have adequate data as they are harder to track and study, which means measuring their sustainability is a challenge for scientists, conservation groups and fishermen.
What we are doing
We have a very close relationship with our fishermen and listen to what they say
We regularly review our seafood range and keep record of how much of each species we are seeing at market and passing onto our customers. We listen to conservation groups and their advice.
We aim to encourage seasonality and give our customers the chance to try many species of fish which would otherwise be ignored and wasted.
We want to encourage people to eat more seafood and try new species and recipes. Fish is such a healthy source of protein we think it should be promoted and celebrated as much as possible.
We know fish. We love fish. We want to ensure we have plenty of fish for generations to come!
Our Promise
You can feel safe in the knowledge that the Fishbox brand is dedicated to enjoying Scottish seafood and to preserving that resource for the future.
