There's something fishy going on

Brighton & Newhaven Fish Sales have been supplying fish to the Goodwood Estate and The Kennels for the last five years.

The business was formed in 1975 by a local fisherman selling his catch to local restaurants in the Brighton area. Fast forward to now, based at Shoreham Harbour, BNFS remain loyal to the area’s fishermen making it a key point of their philosophy to return a fair price to the hard-working fishing community for their catches.

Alex Grundy, who is a Sales Account Manager, came to talk to us about sustainable fishing and the impact of Covid-19.

What does a day in the life look like for the business?

“Fishermen will go out just before dawn. They will steam to their grounds before setting and hauling their fishing gear. As the fish comes on board they will gut it so it will remain fresher and then pack them in ice before coming back to the market. Once they are back in port they land the fish and then the fish will be sorted by species and then weighed and graded on a state of the art electronic grading machine.

“We have around 50 fishing boats that land to us, these boats predominantly fish along the Sussex coastline catching a wide variety of species including Sea Bass, Turbot, Brill, Plaice and Sole. The vast majority are day boats and will go to sea for a maximum of 12 hours. Fish will be landed back to us within a few hours of being caught which is why it is of such great quality and freshness.

“We’re what a modern corporation would call a fully vertically integrated company, where we catch the fish, we land the fish, we sort the fish, we prepare the fish and we deliver the fish.”

Sustainable fishing

“We work very closely with a number of different government departments on developing a Fisheries Management Policy that is both environmentally sustainable and beneficial for the long term UK fishing industry.

“We have direct access to fish quotas to cover landings made to our market from our fleet. This enables us to guarantee provenance for this fish and shellfish which is reasonably unique in our industry. It means fish that is landed to us is caught within the national and international quotas that have been set on the basis of scientific recommendation for suitable stock management.

“Our own fleet of fishing boats are continually being modernised to ensure maximum efficiency, ensure crew comfort and facilitate regulation changes as well as utilising the latest technology.

“Many of the UK fish stocks are in a better state now than since the 1970s and it is great to see these stocks being in good condition and within sustainable limits. Our commitment is to sustainable seafood stocks and the future of the British fishing industry and our customers are a key component of this commitment – without the support of our customers, we would be unable to support our local fishermen and the future of the British fishing industry.

“Building strong, long-term relationships with our customers is crucial to our success and we work closely with them to ensure they make informed decisions based on seasonality. This in turn aids the local fishing fleet to sell their catch when the fish is at its best quality and in abundance.”

What was the impact of Covid-19 on the business?

“It had a massive impact. We changed our infrastructure to a home delivery service. The objective was to keep fishermen at sea and for the community to be able to get food.

“We were overwhelmed with the volume of business. It was a brilliant response from the community, it kept our fishermen at sea, kept the team working, and it has now been integrated into our business. It has broadened our customer base and it’s been great to see people reconnect with the community and people wanting to buy local and good quality produce.”