Seafood Cornwall’s #FishToYourDoor initiative is bringing together fish merchants and customers across the country to support our fishermen through the coronavirus crisis.
Launching in the face of the current coronavirus pandemic, and coordinated by Seafood Cornwall, a new service is creating a register of would-be fish buyers and merchants across the county - and further afield.
Project lead and CEO of the Cornish Fish Producers’Organisation, Paul Trebilcock, encouraged those practising social-distancing, or in self-isolation - or those simply wanting to get hold of top-quality local catch - to get in touch with Seafood Cornwall to arrange contact-free doorstep deliveries of fresh Cornish fish: “This is a unique opportunity to support our fishermen and ensure you have access to plenty of healthy, local fish and shellfish. We’re working as a team to connect customers and merchants - in turn, this keeps the demand for fish up and keeps our fishermen going to sea. Everyone wins!”
As the spread of the coronavirus made headline news and restaurants across the country have been forced to close their doors, fish prices at markets across the south-west slumped. Pulling together as a community and keeping seafood businesses going through the coming months is a priority for Seafood Cornwall - an initiative launched one year ago to support Cornish fisheries. “None of us planned for a pandemic” notes Trebilcock “this is an unimaginably tough situation for businesses across the country. Thankfully, with Seafood Cornwall in place now for over a year, we’re in a great position to support our local seafood businesses, and make the lives of people in our community easier, too. We don’t see this ending once we are through the current situation, rather, this is the beginning of a better relationship between consumers and local fishing fleets so more people can benefit from eating healthy, sustainable locally caught fish and shellfish year-round.”
Those interested in ordering fresh fish and shellfish deliveries to their doors in the coming days, weeks and months are encouraged to:
· email Seafood Cornwall on: info@seafoodcornwall.org.uk;
· message Seafood Cornwall on twitter @CornwallSeafood, or;
· contact the Cornish Fish Producers’ Organisation on Facebook: www.facebook.com/Cornishfpo.
A register of merchants with fresh fish available and vans for delivery is being coordinated through the Seafood Cornwall team, who are also happy to answer any questions about Cornish fishing and local, seasonal fish species.
Many merchants can deliver beyond Cornwall - please spread the word to family and friends across the county to support our Cornish fishermen, and protect coastal communities from the worst of the economic onslaught from the coronavirus.