Sole of Discretion has launched its ethical fishmonger business at Plymouth Fisheries, the second largest fresh fish market in England based within a large, purpose-built complex in Sutton Harbour.
The business is a social enterprise dreamt up by acclaimed restaurateur Caroline Bennett, who opened the country’s first rotating sushi restaurant in London in 1994, which is still going strong.
Ms Bennett was determined to put more ethically sourced fish on restaurant menus and to reward the fishermen who fish with environmental sensitivity, helping to protect the marine environment, and Sole of Discretion is the result.
The initiative will operate as a Community Interest Company (CIC), with shares wholly owned by the fishermen. Individuals will be able to buy high quality, ethically sourced fish directly from the Sole of Discretion hub at Plymouth Fisheries, and fresh fish will be supplied to customers, including national restaurants. The company will work closely with the marine biology department at Exeter University and the science and engineering faculty at Plymouth University to support research.
The first secured customer is nationwide food box provider Riverford, which has agreed an order for two tonnes of fresh fish a week.
Ms Bennett said that despite there being many good fishers out there who look after the quality of their catch and fish with environmental sensitivity, they get the same market-driven prices as everyone else.
“Sole of Discretion will create a mechanism to financially reward the fishermen who are the best custodians of our seas, and we’ll get fresh, high quality fish dispatched or frozen within hours of the catch being landed,” said Ms Bennett.
Ms Bennett’s aim is for more hubs to open at other UK locations, creating a nationwide collective of distribution channels for the inshore fishers.
Sole of Discretion started trading at the end of April, and customers will be welcome to visit the hub, based at Unit 5 of Plymouth Fisheries in Fish Quay, from mid-May, once chillers are installed in the building.
