A new approach to sustainable fisheries

University of Exeter academics and students have been working with a new community interest company to develop an alternative approach to supplying sustainable fish.

Sole of Discretion works with fishers who use smaller boats, static nets and hand line fishing techniques, which help protect fish stocks and cause less environmental damage. The company pays these fishers a fair price for the fish they land making sure it doesn’t pay for them to fish is a less sustainable way.

This new approach is supported by research into the environmental impact of fishing from Exeter’s Professor Steve Simpson, Associate Professor in Marine Biology and Global Change.

The collaboration came about after an event, organised by Professor Simpson, that brought together fishing industry representatives, from restaurant owners to trawler men, to to develop a positive future for fisheries in 2050. Following this event Caroline Bennett, owner of Moshi Moshi sushi restaurant founded sole of discretion and began working with Professor Simpson and his students to develop an alternative to traditional fishing where the fishermen are rewarded for being environmentally sensitive.