Fin + Flounder is a small family-run business located on Broadway Market in Hackney, London. They’re a small team of eight dedicated humans who strive to offer fish of the highest quality, exclusively sourced from sustainable fisheries and local fishermen. We're pretty proud to have their beautiful, fresh and locally sourced product on offer at both Emma and Leonard Streets, and talked with Wholesale Manager, Sam Konway about why sustainable fishing methods are crucial to both our community and to the longevity of wild fish stocks globally. Read his thoughts below:
As humans, it is vital to be aware of where our food comes from, as this dictates quality and also encourages us to respect what we have on our plates. As wild fish stocks continue to run low globally, we as consumers need to push for more ethical approaches to fishing and be more aware of where we are putting our purchasing power.
We should all be invested in how we leave the planet for our children and for generations to come. Sustainable fish is really important to our planet and our communities, as it both helps conserve wild fishing stocks at the same time as giving well deserved money back to the small independent fishermen who do line-catch and use respectable and sustainable methods when fishing.
We source locally, seasonally and always on the recommendations from leading bodies on sustainability, such as the Marine Conservation Society (MCS), Pisces and Seafish. If we aren’t unable source recommended fish, we simply don't offer that product. We buy direct from a number of day boats, support sustainable fishing practices at every opportunity, and follow a self-directed Sourcing Policy at all times:
- Our wild caught fish is sourced from managed stocks.
- We do not source from stocks that pose a threat to the integrity of the stock.
- We source farmed fish from well managed farms that farm to high environmental standards.
- We source farmed fish that is fully traceable to production site.
- We source from fisheries or farms that have been certified by independent international certification bodies such as the Marine Stewardship Council, Soil Association (UK) or RSPCA monitored Freedom Foods Scheme.
- We favour the following fishing methods when sourcing our stock: line caught, dived, hand gathered, sine netted. We do not buy any trawled fish.
We strive to constantly re-evaluate where our fish comes from and purchase 90% of our fish direct from fishermen themselves, or via Brixham Harbour. Our goal is to bring in as much line-caught and dayboat static net caught fish as possible and are always working towards further educating our customers on where our fish is caught, how and why this is really important to our planet and to our bustling little East London community.