Tag: UK Fish Trade

Around one third of the Icelandic economy revolves around the Fish Trade – and much of their sustainable whitefish makes its way directly through the port of Grimsby and on to UK consumers, via wholesalers, retailers and the food service sector – including much of the sustainable cod served in our UK fish and chip shops.

In April 2024 a team from Fishmongers’ went to Iceland to visit these sustainable fisheries at source – speaking with the catching and processing sector at Brim, the Icelandic government’s Marine and Freshwater Research Institute, the innovators behind the Iceland Ocean Cluster, and the rapidly evolving on-land salmon farming industry.

Drawing threads together, the team visited diplomats at the British Embassy in Reykjavík, where the Prime Warden Fred Stroyan hosted a Seafood Industry Reception alongside British Ambassador Bryony Mathew. This evening event, featuring British sparkling wine paired with Icelandic seafood, was well attended by people working across government and industry in Iceland, including the new-in-post Icelandic Minister for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, Bjarkey Olsen Gunnarsdóttir.

The Prime Warden is no stranger to Iceland, having long standing import relationships with the whitefish sector. The visit gave him a chance to draw the work of our Fisheries Charitable Trust closer to the innovation and sustainable practices of the Icelandic industry. Alongside the Prime Warden, Nigel Bankes, Court Member and Chair of the Fisheries Committee, led the Fishmongers’ team which also included Clerk Toby Williamson, Fisheries Director Andrew Wallace, and Programme Manager Eleanor Adamson. They were accompanied by Simon Dwyer of the Seafood Grimsby and Humberside Alliance (SGHA), who is working closely with the Fisheries Charity to boost our contribution and impact with the UK’s on land fish trading and processing sectors.

Gunnar Örlygsson, a key figure in the Icelandic seafood industry and long-time associate of the Prime Warden facilitated the visit, introducing the team to a wide cross section of those relevant to the Icelandic Seafood trade.  Alongside his wife Dunna Johannsdottir, they ensured that the Team experienced the spectacular scenery as well as the fish industry!

Fisheries Director Andrew Wallace said “This has been an eye opening and inspiring experience. The relationships cemented here will be a great asset as we grow our impact in the regional coordination of sustainably managed capture fisheries, and also in shaping our thinking about how we can best push forwards innovation on land, to support new ideas, products and value chains that fully utilise the fish we catch”.

SGHA’s Simon Dwyer said “I firmly believe the ‘Grimsby’ link with Iceland and fish is further solidified with Fishmongers’ Company engagement. I felt the meetings with producers, Government departments and the Iceland Ocean Cluster in particular, presented further opportunities for SGHA to engage with our key trading partner. The discussions around school engagement, skills, science, carbon and start-ups leaves lots of new opportunities.”

Members of the Livery Dan Aherne, CEO of New England Seafood and Libby Woodhatch, Executive Chairman of the Marin Trust, have been recognised in Intrafish’s guide to the 100 most influential executives working in the seafood industry today.

The Seafood Power 100 list recognises those who have made significant contribution to innovation, sustainability and profitability in our namesake trade.

Dan Aherne of New England Seafood, founded by our current Prime Warden Fred Stroyan, has been recognised for their work in connecting with UK consumers and driving domestic demand for seafood.

Libby Woodhatch has been recognised for her work at the Marin Trust, an international certification scheme program for marine ingredients, a “blind spot” in the seafood supply chain. The schemeworks to improve standards in the international fishmeal and oil industry, focusing on the factories bringing the product to market and assessing the fisheries that supply them, certifying 48% of average global production in the last five years.

Simon Dwyer, executive of the Seafood Grimsby and Humber Alliance (SGHA), whom the Company helped to found and is a key working partner in our support for the UK seafood trade, has also been recognised. The SGHA, who’s members make up approximately 60% of the UK seafood processing trade has been instrumental in supporting the industry to navigate the challenges of the pandemic and Brexit and has secured millions of pounds in government funding to support training and careers in the sector as well as driving sustainability and innovation.

The Company welcomed welcomed the UK Minister for Food, Fisheries and Farming, Mark Spencer and the Norweigan Minister of Fisheries and Ocean Policy, Cecilie Myrseth, to the Hall when hosting the Norwegian Seafood Council annual conference. Both Ministers addressed the conference and spoke warmly of bi-lateral trade and shared fishing opportunities and joined stakeholders from the seafood sector and related industries, from fishing fleet, seafood producers and exporters, to importers, suppliers, retail, food service and media.  

The Ministers met Prime Warden Fred Stroyan and Fisheries Director Andrew Wallace, alongside representatives of Seafood Grimsby and Humber Alliance (SGHA), who have worked tirelessly over the past three years with the seafood sector in Norway and ministerial departments in London and Oslo to smooth future trade flows since the introduction of the Border Target Operating Model. 

Andrew Wallace, Fishmongers’ Company Director of Fisheries and SGHA board member, remarked: “This is the second year in a row we have hosted this conference at Fishmongers’Hall and it is always enlightening to hear about the importance of bi-lateral seafood trade and fisheries between our fishing nations. The Alliance board, which is headquartered in Grimsby, have been very focused on developing seafood trade opportunities with Norway and it was a great opportunity to share some thoughts on this with our respective Ministers and their officials”

Major Norwegian seafood exporter, Nordic Group AS, represented by Managing Director, Morten Hyldborg Jensen, commented “Over recent years we’ve had a warm, friendly and successful dialogue with our colleagues in Grimsby led by Simon Dwyer. We were delighted when Simon brought a delegation from the UK to visit our landing stations in Batsfjord, Norway, last May to see hands on our fish landing and processing facilities. This conference is always a great networking opportunity for both Norwegian and UK seafood businesses and various stakeholders.”

Key next steps in the de-carbonisation of the seafood industry have been laid out at a landmark event hosted at Fishmongers’ Hall.

The Seafood Grimsby & Humber Alliance (SGHA), in collaboration with industry leaders such as Hilton Seafoods, New England Seafoods, J Marr (Seafoods), and Sofina’s Young’s Seafoods, is spearheading the decarbonisation agenda within the UK seafood sector. The alliance took a significant step towards sustainability by launching the Seafish Industry Authority’s Seafood Carbon Emissions Profiling Tool at a workshop held at Fishmongers’ Hall on Thursday, 25 January.

Simon Smith, Chairperson for the Seafood Grimsby & Humber Alliance, highlighted the alliance’s dedication to supporting the decarbonisation of the seafood sector. The workshop provided an opportunity to introduce and demonstrate the Seafish tool’s capabilities, especially the recently added feature covering the wild-capture aspect. Developed collaboratively between SGHA and Seafish, this groundbreaking tool calculates the carbon footprint of seafood capture, harvest, and production, facilitating informed investment decisions to drive the necessary supply chain transformation toward Net Zero.

Seafood industry leaders, along with major retailers and food service businesses, are actively testing the tool’s ability to identify carbon hotspots in the wild-capture seafood supply chain. This data-driven approach will enable targeted efforts to reduce carbon emissions in critical supply chains. The event served as a platform to discuss progress and plan the next steps in utilising the Seafood Carbon Emissions Profiling Tool to support ongoing efforts for further decarbonisation of the seafood sector.

Marcus Coleman, CEO of Seafish, expressed the commitment to supporting a thriving UK seafood sector. He emphasised that the Seafish tool aims to quantify seafood’s position, both farmed and wild capture, as a low-carbon protein source, underscoring its role in healthy and sustainable diets.

Dr. Henrietta Boyd, a representative of the Fishmongers’ Company and facilitator of the workshop, highlighted that the Seafood Carbon Emissions Profiling Tool represents a significant leap forward in the collective journey toward a greener and more sustainable seafood sector. Once complete, the tool will empower stakeholders to make informed decisions for a healthier planet.

The collaborative efforts of SGHA and Seafish, along with the engagement of industry leaders, reflect a pivotal moment in the UK seafood industry’s commitment to carbon neutrality and sustainability.

Crisis, one of the leading UK homeless charities, works to support people sleeping rough and without permanent accommodation across the capital and beyond. Every Christmas they provide thousands of hot meals to those most in need.

Each year the Company donates a selection of seafood for use in fish pies to provide a warm and nutritious meal for London’s homeless at Christmas.

In 2022 the Company donated 360kg of a range of different fish and shellfish from Chamberlain’s at Billingsgate Market, to help Crisis feed over 1000 vulnerable people. In their Christmas campaign, Crisis provided over 3,480 people with support, from food and new clothes to long term help with housing, training, health and accommodation. They were able to give 450 people somewhere safe to stay over Christmas in hotel accomodation and served 1,724 people at their London day centres.

Nick Whiting, Corporate Donations Coordinator at Crisis explained “The fish pie is an annual favourite and was fed to over 1000 of Crisis’s guests and volunteers on Boxing Day over our four day centres in Bermondsey, Notting Hill, Hackney and Docklands.”

A new training course, funded by our Fisheries Charitable Trust in partnership with The City and Guilds Foundation, aims to showcase career opportunities across the seafood sector in England’s Northeast, recruiting more local people into stable, lucrative, and rewarding careers in seafood. 

Delivered by our charitable partners CatZero and Seafood Grimsby & Humber, alongside the Department for Work and Pensions, the programme has already seen participants secure careers in the seafood industry.

The first course – “Women into Seafood” – ran on 14^th to 16^th of June 2022. Delivered by the charity CatZero in partnership with the Grimsby Fish Merchants Association, the three-day course provided attendees a mix of hands-on training in seafood processing, alongside IT, marketing sale and procuring, plus site visits, and discussions with local business leaders.

Leia Wright, a 23 year old CatZero participant, who was introduced to the programme as part of her Universal Credit Assessment, has now found employment at Alfred Enderby, one of Grimsby’s oldest seafood businesses. Leia explained “The first day I met them and the very next day I was on a course, being helped to get skills to get employment…The Women in Seafood introduction led me to the job, I really felt that last little push helped me”.

Partick Salmon, owner of Alfred Enderby, was full of praise for their new recruit “She showed interest, and contacted us afterwards, which was impressive. While we weren’t particularly looking, there was an opportunity to offer some work, and we’d offered to interview anyway to give experience…She is very enthusiastic, takes on instructions very well and is productive. She has taken to the work in the salmon packing room, and she’s brilliant, we’re thrilled to have her.”

Pete Tighe, Operational and Partnership Manager for CatZero said: ““Leia has grown in confidence and motivation – the programme has got her inspired in the seafood industry. The opportunity was given to her and she’s taken it….The programme was a fantastic opportunity for unemployed people from the Grimsby area to learn about the opportunities open to them with the Seafood industry, that are right on their doorstep”. 

Alongside local business leaders and large processors, Emma McKeating, certified Advanced Fishmonger, joined the course to share just how varied and interesting the life of a real @girlyfishmonger can be. 

The Grimsby and Humberside region handles bulk of seafood imported and processed in the UK, employing over 6,000 people, and offering real opportunities for a diverse range of professional careers. 

Speaking about the course, Polly Rowe, from City & Guilds Foundation said: “The City & Guilds Foundation is passionate about supporting people with barriers to develop their skills. We’re delighted to be funding this exciting programme, alongside The Fishmongers’ to get more local individuals in the North East in to secure and sustained employment.”

“Simply Scallops” is a new initiative, organised by the Fish in Schools Hero programme and funded by the Company’s Fisheries Charitable Trust, enabling 5000 students in 50 schools across the country to cook and taste freshly cooked dishes made with British scallops. The Food Teacher’s Centre’s Fish In Schools Hero programme aims to ensure that every child gets a chance to prepare, cook and eat fish before they leave school, and ​​trains food teachers to be confident in preparing and cooking fish with students.

Scallops are an excellent food source for students to discover and learn about, as they are low in sodium and saturated fats and are more than 80% protein. Students will have the opportunity to try dishes such as tempura scallops, pan-seared scallops with butter and black pepper, preparing them poached in a bechamel sauce, or oven baked with herbs.

While archaeological findings have shown that scallops have been eaten by humans for thousands of years, commercial scallop fishery took off in Scotland in the 1930s. Despite this, most of the students participating, have never eaten scallops before.

Scottish Scallops have been provided free of charge to schools by MacDuff (Clearwater Seafoods), from Mintlaw, Aberdeenshire. 100kg of scallops are being donated, with 2kg goign to each school.

John Ashmore​​, Marketing Director Europe, Middle‑East and Africa At Clearwater Seafoods LP, member of the livery and co-opted member of the Company’s Fish & Fisheries Committee said: “We are delighted to support the Fish in School Heroes programme by supplying our scallops for thousands of school children to try. It is so important for children to have access to foods they may not otherwise try and be the next generation of seafood enthusiasts. Scallops are so quick and simple to cook, delicious to eat, as well as being healthy and nutritious.”

M&J Seafood have taken on the massive logistical challenge to get the frozen scallops from Scotland out to the 50 lucky schools across the country. M & J Seafood stepped up to the plate to distribute the scallops through their existing logistics’ network and out to individual schools nationwide.

Matt Orr, Operations manager at M&J Seafood:

“The M & J team are passionate about seafood! We jumped at the chance to support this great initiative, using our network to deliver the scallops to 50 schools, as this will inspire and educate the next generation of fish lovers!   

We have a great working relationship with MacDuff (Clearwater Seafoods) as they represent everything that M & J are proud to supply; British, fresh, sustainable, and delicious!”

The Fishmongers’ Company have been supporting core funding for Fish in School Hero since its inception in 2019, through their Fisheries Charitable Trust. Dr Eleanor Adamson, Fisheries Programme Manager, shared her excitement at the latest seafood offering:

“We are so pleased that scallops are arriving on the menu in school classrooms this week. By supporting Fish in School Hero to help teachers across the country to access and work with seafood products, we hope we are opening the door to conversations around nutritious, sustainable, locally sourced protein, especially in communities who may not traditionally access British seafood. Donations such as this one from Macduff, distributed with the reach of M & J, will make such a difference to the students 5,000 who are involved, and we are grateful for the ongoing contributions from the seafood sector in providing such reach and impact”

Student chefs across the country will be busy practising how to prepare and cook sustainable fresh seafood, and they will be learning how scallops live in sand and gravel on the ocean bed, as well as in mud, and are dredged from the seabed using purpose-built boats, to ensure a responsible, sustainable harvest.

Andrew Marr, liveryman and seafood entrepreneur, has been awarded a CBE for services to the UK fishing industry. 

Andrew retired as chairman five years ago but remains on the Board as a non- executive director of Andrew Marr Internaional, which has extensive interests in fish catching in Peterhead and Fraserburgh as well as in international fish trading and cold storage. 

Based in Humberside, the region responsible for processing over 60% of UK seafood, the Marr family’s involvement in the seafood industry stretches back to the 1870s, with Andrew joining the family business in 1960. 

Today the company has a global footprint and a portfolio of businesses across all sectors of the industry from logistics and sourcing to trading and distribution. Marrfish, one of their subsidiaries, supplies fresh fish and seafood to hotels, restaurants and pubs in London, the South East & East Midlands. 

A liveryman since 2011, Andrew served as High Sheriff of the East Riding of Yorkshire from 1999-2000 and he was appointed Vice Lord-Lieutenant of the East Riding of Yorkshire in 2011. 

Andrew is also an Honorary Brother of Hull Trinity House (founded in 1369) and a Younger Brother of London Trinity House. He is also a member and former Governor of the Company of Merchant Adventurers of the City of York, as well as being an Honorary Freeman of Beverley and President of the Beverley Civic Society. 

The Food Teacher’s Centre’s Fish in School Hero programme, funded by the Company’s Fisheries Charitable Trust, is bringing British mussels into 200 schools across the UK this week. The Fish in School Hero programme aims to ensure that every child gets a chance to prepare, cook and eat fish before they leave school, developing the next generation of seafood lovers.

Through “Mussel Power” 8000 students in 200 hundred schools across the country this week are cooking and tasting sensational freshly cooked dishes made with British mussels, such as Thai Style Mussel Broth, Tagliatelle Mussels, Seafood Pie, Mussel Fritters, Bacon and Mussel tart. The student chefs will be busy practising how to prepare and cook sustainable fresh fish, and they will be learning how mussels are rope-grown and harvested sustainably and provide key nutrients. Most of these students have never eaten mussels before.

“Can we order two tonnes of mussels please, and could you deliver them to 200 schools? We know that delivery might be quite tricky right now, but any chance?” This was the request that Simon Gray (Senior Associate, Food Teachers Centre UK) put to the fish industry.  He was overwhelmed with the positive response and ‘can do’ approach with Offshore Shellfish donating the produce and Fowey Shellfish and M&J Seafood providing the logistical support to deliver the mussels to schools across the country

“Mussels are one of the most under-utilised shellfish in this country, so we are getting young people to try them in the safe, positive environment of their food and nutrition lessons.  This would not have been possible without the amazing industry partners offering to support this so that there is no cost to schools. Schools are super excited and hugely grateful for Sarah at Offshore Shellfish’s generous gift and in awe of the logistical processing and delivery challenges navigated so expertly by Matt and Pat.”  said Simon.

Offshore Shellfish kindly donated 2 tonnes of grade ‘A’ rope grown mussels especially for this initiative. Sarah Holmyard, Offshore Shellfish, Head of Sales and Marketing says: “We are delighted to support the Fish in School Heroes programme by supplying our mussels for thousands of school children to try. It is so important for children to have access to foods they may not otherwise try and be the next generation of seafood enthusiasts. Mussels are so quick and simple to cook, are great for you, and great for the environment so are perfect for the children to try”.

Fowey Shellfish have been key in collecting and transporting the mussels, ready to be shipped off to schools all around the UK. Pat Currah, Operations Manager, explained: “Fowey Shellfish have been instrumental in the whole process and have arranged timely collection of the mussels from Brixham, transporting them back to Fowey to be depurated overnight, and then packed to maintain the quality and safety of the produce, ready for the next stage of the journey to schools.”

From there M&J Seafood have used their delivery team to transport the produce to the schools, ready to be enjoyed by hungry and eager pupils. Matt Orr, Operations Manager, said: “M&J Seafood have taken on the massive logistical challenge to get the shellfish out to the 200 lucky schools across the country. M & J Seafood stepped up to the plate to distribute the mussels through their existing logistics’ network and out to individual schools nationwide.”